Chamber and committees

I visited Salmar Aker Ocean’s Ocean Farm One, the world’s first offshore salmon farm, in Norway in August 2023, where I learned about high farmed fish survival rates, alongside reduced environmental impacts, made possible through farming in higher energy locations.

SalMar Ocean (previously Salmar Aker Ocean) has since met with the Scottish Government to discuss the consenting process for developing a salmon farm between 3 – 12 nautical miles.

Alongside work which builds on the fish farm consenting pilots aimed at delivering improvements to our consenting system, we have also been working to address regulatory gaps and to consider the long-term policy and regulatory framework required to support ‘offshore’ salmon farming in Scotland, as committed to in our Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture.

This includes our recent consultation on proposals to extend marine planning zones, to allow developers to submit planning applications for aquaculture developments out to 12 nautical miles to the relevant local planning authority. Results of the consultation are currently being analysed and will be published in due course.

Due to the innovative nature of the proposed development, Scottish Government officials and aquaculture regulators have met with the business to advise on consenting processes.

It is important that we work closely with leaders in the Psychiatry profession to address the challenges they are currently facing and the Psychiatry Recruitment and Retention Working Group are currently working towards producing a series of recommendations which will be presented to Ministers in Spring 2025.

Whilst the working group has been ongoing, the Scottish Government has worked in partnership with the profession on a range of measures to support recruitment and retention in psychiatry. This has included funding and supporting recruitment stands at the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) international congress events (2023 and 2024); working with NHS Education for Scotland (NES) colleagues on improvements to psychiatry webpages to increase engagement and on the promotion of vacancies; ensuring that the specific challenges facing psychiatry were considered by the Medical Locums Task and Finish Group and; supporting the Centre for Workforce Supply (CWS) in their direct work with NHS Health Boards to address challenges in filling vacancies and on the promotion of careers in Scotland.

We also continue to work with NES and the RCPsych to encourage medical students to consider a long-term career as a psychiatrist. This work includes the Choose Psychiatry campaign, undergraduate taster sessions and improved psychiatric placements at Foundation level. Recruitment into Core Psychiatry has improved drastically in recent years, with the exception of one unfilled post in 2020, 100% of entry level posts have now been filled for the fourth consecutive year (up from 63% in 2018).

The Scottish Government fully accredited one provider (Motability Operations Ltd) under the Accessible Vehicles and Equipment Scheme in 2019 and rejected five providers. One provider withdrew from the process. Four additional providers were offered conditional accreditation in 2023. We are working with these additional providers to include them as part of the Scheme.

We have simplified the accreditation process and have waived the accreditation fee to encourage smaller organisations or social enterprises to apply, subject to meeting the technical security standards necessary. Our intention is to ensure the scheme offers a choice of providers and continues to provide a valuable service for disabled people in Scotland.

FOI/202500450646 contained the spend category, Catering; Bar Equipment and Accessories. The following items are within this category -

Items for sample processing (knives, potato peelers, chopping boards, scoops, mills)

Protective clothing (disposable aprons/lab coats)

Storage boxes, plastic trays and jugs

Catering trolleys

Mops and cleaning chemicals

Water boilers to sterilise sample processing equipment

Freezers

Servicing of mills, and replacement of parts

Dishwashers

Compact Mobile Trolley

Vacuum Milk Jug

Replacement boiler for crew mess

Fridges

Crockery and cutlery

Chefs whites

Pots and sauce pans

Miscellaneous kitchen equipment

Bed sheets and linen for crew cabin areas

Milk Fridge, including materials, Powder/Hotwater/ Tank and maintenance agreement

Coffee Machine

Water Filter, Filter Cartridge

Cleaning Container and Carriage

Glass Rack 16 compartment x 5

Glass Rack 16 compartment x 4

Folding table,

Turbofan Convection Oven

Catering supplies for family and witness rooms

Kettle

Flasks for Tea/Hot Water

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS recognise and appreciate the patience and understanding shown by our neighbours as we try to deliver a lasting solution to the impact of noise.

We have taken a number of actions relating to the estate and supporting the women in our care to minimise the impact of noise.

We are in the final stages of designing and implementing a physical adaptation to the estate that is expected to deliver a significant reduction in noise from parts of the establishment identified as impacting our neighbours.

Local residents’ association and local elected representatives have been invited to a meeting at the establishment on 24 March, where SPS will present an update on progress and answer any queries presented by the group.

The deployment of medical agency staff, including locum psychiatrists, is a matter for individual NHS Scotland Health Boards. Health Boards should always be seeking to secure best value whenever they enter into arrangements regarding use of locums in order to maximise the impact that investment has on the quality and availability of patient care.

To address specific challenges in the recruitment and retention of permanent psychiatrist posts in Scotland, we have established a Working Group which is actively considering locum usage. The specific challenges facing psychiatry have been considered by the Medical Locums Task and Finish Group. The Psychiatry Working Group will make a series of recommendations and are expected to report to Ministers in Spring 2025.

Scottish Ministers have a number of mechanisms open to them to drive improvements in the delivery of services across NHS Scotland, with powers of direction under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 being just one of those.

About 1 million people in Scotland live with hearing loss and an estimated 70% are over 70 years old. Unaddressed hearing loss can cause distress due to cognitive decline and reduced social interaction, communication and education. Hearing loss is often accompanied by tinnitus, vertigo and balance problems and can be a contributing factor in dementia. Deaf people and people with hearing loss are less likely to be employed and have a lower household income than people with normal hearing. Hearing loss may also be a contributing factor to early retirement and could cost the UK economy £38.6 billion by 2031 (NHSE, 2017).

The temporary modifications were introduced as part of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 to support a cost-of-living crisis. The Housing (Scotland) Bill will seek to introduce permanent rent control legislation.

From 1 April 2025, existing requirements under the Private Housing (Tenancies)(Scotland) Act 2016 will continue to provide protection from above market rent increases. We are taking steps through a further wave of our Renters Rights Campaign to ensure tenants are made aware of their rights to seek a independent review of a proposed rent increase.

The Scottish Government is committed to reducing the need to practice restraint and seclusion. Across all settings we are clear that the use of restraint should only be used as a last resort in exceptional circumstances when it is the only practicable means of securing the welfare or safety of the child or another person.

A statutory framework covering all settings, including secure and residential care, health services and education settings would not be the most effective way of achieving a reduction of restraint and restrictive practice. Any scaffolding and support for children and young people in relation to restraint and seclusion, is best considered and addressed by each area independently to ensure that any support, training, guidance and reporting meets their needs in those particular settings.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with key partners, including the Children and Young People’s Commissioner and the Scottish Physical Restraint Action Group, to continue to reduce the use of restrictive practices through embedding transformational practice change and supporting developments in trauma responsive care.

The Scottish Government does not routinely disclose the content or source of any legal advice it has received on any topic or whether it has received any legal advice.