Chamber and committees

The Independent Review is continuing to seek views from stakeholders from across the education landscape on how a system of qualifications and assessment can uphold the rights of all learners, including those with additional support needs.

I am aware that Professor Hayward has met Angela Morgan, Chair of the Review of Additional Support for Learning Implementation, and has visited a range of schools where additional support needs have been specifically discussed. In addition, Professor Hayward has also spoken directly to young people with additional support needs.

The Review is scheduled to report to the Scottish Government by the end of May 2023.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-02113 on 19 April 2023 The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the Official report can be viewed at: Meeting of the Parliament: 19/04/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website

As part of their core activity VisitScotland promotes tourism in Scotland’s island destinations across their marketing, PR, destination development and support for tourism businesses.

April is Islands month as part of VisitScotland’s marketing calendar with a focus on three key messages of: Scotland’s islands are stunning throughout the year; Scotland’s islands have their own unique way of life; and Our islands feel remote but are easily accessible.

They are supporting and leading on campaigns which include: Arran; Cumbrae; Argyll islands; Skye; Outer Hebrides; and Orkney and Shetland. VisitScotland is also a key partner in the Spirit of the Highlands and Islands project.

Island destinations were represented at VisitScotland’s recent flagship Connect trade event in Aberdeen, which connects Scottish product with international buyers. Destination Marketing Organisations included VisitArran and Argyll & Isles Tourism Cooperative and CalMac and Northlink also attended the event.

The Scottish Government's role is to monitor the Schemes' compliance with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme Regulations 2011 and is not involved in the business operations of the Schemes. The Scottish Government therefore does not hold information on when SafeDeposit Scotland (SDS) first implemented the estimated response time. SDS monthly reporting call centre activity data indicates improvements in response times to both calls and emails from November 2022 onwards. Latest monthly reporting for March 2023 gives the average answer time for calls as 10 seconds, and 8 minutes for emails.

As set out in our 2022 Waste and Circular Economy Route Map consultation, we intend to set new circular economy targets for the period to 2030, which go beyond weight-based criteria.

We must ensure that any future targets correspond to our Environment Strategy and overall vision for a circular economy, alongside the four underpinning principles we set out in the consultation. These key principles included focus on achieving net zero by 2045 and the delivery of a sustainable international material footprint.

Our final Route Map is due for publication later in 2023.

The Community Land Scotland Gaelic Development Officer post is the result of a partnership between Bòrd na Gidhlig and Community Land Scotland and independent from the Scottish Government. The project is being evaluated externally to the Bòrd and though originally expected to be completed in February there have been in delays experienced by researchers who had difficulty in reaching some consultees. The draft report will now be presented to Bòrd na Gidhlig’s Policy and Resources Committee at its meeting on 9 May 2023.

We understand that the Bòrd have offered to meet with you discuss the project.

As set out in the November 2022 update to the Additional Support for Learning Review Action Plan, the Scottish Government discussed with GTCS and SCDE the viability of a first teaching qualification in additional support for learning being available at the initial teacher education stage.

The conclusion of these discussions was that this type of qualification may not be considered attractive to those considering a career in teaching and that student teachers need to experience the full spectrum of school teaching during initial teacher education and probation before being in a position to make an informed judgement on specialising in additional support for learning.

To help bring benefits to the people of Scotland.

The Lord Advocate attended the 13th Conference of the Network of Public Prosecutors or equivalent institutions at the Supreme Judicial Courts of the Member States of the European Union (Nadal Network) Conference in Vienna, Austria in May 2022 in her capacity as the head of the system for criminal prosecution in Scotland.

The Lord Advocate also visited Belgium and the Netherlands in November 2022 to build and maintain relations with key Belgian, Dutch and UK Government officials involved in international law enforcement matters.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15687 on 22 March 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

I will have lead responsibility for the proposed Wellbeing and Sustainability Bill.