Chamber and committees

NHS Grampian is the only Health Board to trial technology ahead of the Deposit Return Scheme launch. In total NHS Scotland Assure has provided £1,000 to off-set the costs incurred by the Health Board for the trial.

The Scottish Government, through our initiative for responding to redundancy situations, Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE), has provided continuous support to assist the workforce of Stoneywood paper mill, in Aberdeen.

On 22 September 2022, PACE information was supplied to the administrator, Interpath Advisory, for distribution to the workforce immediately following the announcement of redundancies, to facilitate their self-referral to PACE services. As previously advised, a PACE support and employment event took place on 29 September, which was attended by approximately 136 individuals, followed by a Jobs Fair on 10 October, which was attended by approximately 500 individuals. Additional PACE support has also been routinely provided to the retained Arjowiggins staff, which included onsite delivery on 11, 24 and 31 January 2023. Further on site delivery may take place with retained staff, should demand be confirmed.

The Scottish Government has not carried out an analysis of the impact that citations for jury service may have on the wider economy.

Our national guidance ‘Included, engaged and involved part 1: promoting and managing school attendance’ encourages Education Authorities to consider the underlying reasons for absence, including those which arise from an additional support needs.

The guidance identifies that poor attendance can often be related to, or be an indication of, an additional support need and that schools should use their staged intervention processes to ensure that any barriers to learning are identified and appropriate support is provided.

The guidance establishes requirements regarding classifying and recording attendance and absence. It is for local authorities to record the reasons for absence for their pupils within the local authority management information system SEEMiS.

The Scottish Government agrees with the recommendations of the Climate Change Committee that we need plans to deter car use, to accompany current plans to encourage active travel and the use of public transport, the need for both is set out in the route map on 20% reduction in car kilometres by 2030.

That is why we have set out our future transport infrastructure priorities in the second Strategic Transport Projects Review published on 8 December 2022 that includes a focus on active travel, mass transit and bus priority for mode shift away from the predominance of cars.

However, the evidence is clear that incentivising sustainable alternatives alone will not be sufficient to bring about the behaviour change to deliver the scale of 20% car KM reduction. Therefore As outlined in our route map to achieving a 20% reduction in car kilometres by 2030 jointly developed with COSLA, we have commissioned research exploring equitable options for demand management to discourage car use.

The most direct levers on the cost of buying or running a petrol or diesel car – fuel duty and vehicle excise duty – are reserved. The recent rises in the cost of motoring underline the unfairness of the current, regressive motoring tax regime.

We will continue to press the UK Government for a fair and progressive future transport tax system that better incentivises the transition to zero-emission vehicles, reduces unnecessary journeys and raises revenues to fund policies to support a shift to more sustainable travel.

The Scottish Animal Welfare Commission has established a working group to consider the microchipping of cats alongside the UK Government’s recently published draft legislation. Scottish Ministers will carefully consider their findings once published.

The Scottish Government’s Code of Practice for the Welfare of Cats recommends that all cat owners should consider neutering and microchipping their pets as the best way of being reunited with their rightful owners, should they be separated.

The Scottish Government remains willing to consider areas where consistent changes to legislation in all GB administrations will improve the welfare of kept animals and strengthen the prospects of separated animals being returned to their owners.

From our latest review of the trunk road network there are 35 bridges which have been identified as requiring upgrades. These are located within the following Local Authority areas:

Transport Scotland, acting on behalf of the Scottish Ministers, is a statutory consultee in the planning process for all planning applications that have the potential to impact the performance and safety of the Trunk Road Network.

East Ayrshire Council consulted Transport Scotland on two separate planning applications for residential developments in Mauchline on the A76. Both planning applications were supported by detailed transport appraisals, the outcomes and recommendations from which were accepted by Transport Scotland. Following extensive dialogue with the developer regarding the proposed junction accesses onto the A76 trunk road, and submission of Road Safety Audits, Transport Scotland responded to the planning authority on both applications recommending approval subject to a number of conditions.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data. Court operational matters, including the system and arrangements for jury service, fall within the remit of the independent Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS).

Scotland’s seabird populations are an important part of our natural heritage and their protection is a high priority for the Scottish Government.

We recognise that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has had a substantial impact on wild birds and comes at a time when seabird populations in Scotland and globally are facing increasing challenges from a range of anthropogenic and natural pressures. The Scottish Government is working with the Scottish Avian Influenza Task Force to monitor and respond to HPAI on wild birds. This includes development of the HPAI in wild birds response plan which sets out the approach that the Scottish Government and its agencies will take to respond to an outbreak of HPAI in wild birds in Scotland.

However, further action is required to build resilience in our seabird populations. Through the UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative we will take action to reduce and where possible eliminate bycatch of sensitive marine species, including seabirds, in UK fisheries. Research is being undertaken into the impacts of seabird bycatch in Scottish longlines and we are working with the sector on implementing mitigation and continue to gather data through onboard observers.

The developing Scottish Seabird Conservation Strategy will play an important role in identifying further actions to help optimise the conservation prospects of seabirds in Scotland from existing and emerging threats, including disease threats, such as avian influenza. We aim to consult on the strategy in due course.