Chamber and committees

It is important to note that the vast majority of Group A Streptococcal (GAS) infections result in mild illnesses that can be easily treated, and that complications are very rare.

Public Health Scotland (PHS), in line with standard public health procedures, are leading on the response to the earlier than usual rise in GAS cases. An incident management process is in place, and PHS are working closely with the other health agencies of the UK to ensure we have a clear picture of the situation.

PHS have also issued an alert to ensure health services act swiftly to identify and treat suspected cases, and guidance has been provided to nurseries and schools on the need for good hygiene measures, and steps to manage outbreaks to minimise transmission.

PHS are working with the UK Health Security Agency to develop guidance to manage clinical cases of GAS and iGAS to ensure consistency across the 4 nations.

The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer has issued a Medicine Supply Alert Notice providing advice on the supply of Antibiotics for the treatment of GAS. In addition, the Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group (SAPG) has issued interim guidance to support antibiotic management of GAS infection in children age 18 and under.

PHS have provided information through the media and online advising parents to seek advice from a health professional if their child is displaying symptoms of scarlet fever.

Further information on Group A Streptococcus and Scarlet Fever, including when to seek medical help, is available on NHS Inform .

Funding for CCTV is provided to local authorities through their block grant and, as with most of that funding, is not ring fenced. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available. This includes installing, upgrading and maintaining CCTV, and working with the police, based on local needs and priorities. First, they must fulfil statutory obligations within the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Police Scotland and CoSLA have highlighted ongoing challenges around the use, management, maintenance and funding for an ageing public space CCTV network. In response to this, in July 2022, the Scottish Government commissioned research on public space CCTV in Scotland. The purpose of this research is to collate a baseline of evidence in order to better understand the effectiveness and value of public space CCTV in Scotland. The research is due to conclude by the end of March 2023. The findings will be used to inform policy on public space CCTV and help future discussions with national partners.

The Scottish Government welcomes the commitment to transparency evidenced in Redress Scotland’s Progress Report and accompanying Facts and Figures Report, both of which were published on 5 December 2022.

The Progress Report details the first six months of the body’s existence (December 2021 – June 2022). Further progress has been made in the period since - on governance, staffing and processing capacity as Redress Scotland matures. A further update on activity will be given in Redress Scotland’s first annual report, due next year.

The Facts and Figures Report is the first of a regular series, sharing information about completed redress applications, types of applications, timescales for decision making and levels of redress awards. The reports will give up-to-date data on the work that Redress Scotland delivers. The Scottish Government welcomes Redress Scotland’s continuing plans to consult with the Survivor Forum about the information they publish and how they should develop their work in this area.

As set out in the Bute House Agreement, the Joint Working Group comprises members of the Scottish Government working with the Scottish Green Party and COSLA. The Joint Working Group will consider and decide as appropriate whether to seek to engage various organisations or professional bodies as it approaches its work.

Alongside the other UK governments, we are working to reform the producer responsibility system for batteries to increase battery recycling and make it easier for consumers to dispose of batteries responsibly. The four governments will be consulting on our approach in due course.

We recently consulted on proposals to increase household recycling quantity and quality, as part of our Waste Route Map. This included a co-design process with local authorities, waste service operators, and residents to develop better service design and delivery standards. This process will consider the scope for potential materials for future recycling services, such as batteries, alongside available markets and reprocessing capacity for collected materials.

The Scottish Government is supportive of the reintroduction of ferry services from Scotland to Europe.

My officials in Transport Scotland have engaged with a number of interested parties proposing such services and we will continue to engage with potential operators and Scotland’s main ports to provide information and advice on what the Scottish Government can offer in support of a viable commercial proposition. The Scottish Government and Transport Scotland have also been engaging with port and haulage stakeholders to explore options to increase trade moved through Scottish ports and we continue to work with Scotland’s main ports to explore the possibility of new ferry services to the Continent.

The outcome which the Scottish Government anticipated would be delivered through its appointment of a Chief Entrepreneur was to have someone with exceptional experience of growing start-up companies to scale with the credibility and influence necessary to command the respect of industry, investors and public sector leaders to take on a key role at the heart of government which covers designing, advising on and supporting effective programmes to successfully embed entrepreneurship across all sectors of the Scottish economy. This current appointment achieves that outcome. Under the terms of his contract, the Chief Entrepreneur will be in post for an initial term of two years.

The Chief Entrepreneur has had 9 meetings with education institutions since his appointment, not including daily engagements through email, social media and wider events. These engagements reflect the urgency and drive which the Chief Entrepreneur has brought to his work in government as well as the broad base of engagement and relationship building required in order to successfully embed entrepreneurship across all sectors of the Scottish economy. A list of all engagements undertaken by the Chief Entrepreneur in this time will shortly be published through the FOI process.

Progressing work to enable the establishment of a US pre-clearance facility is primarily a commercial matter for Edinburgh Airport and would ultimately need to be approved by the relevant authorities in the United States.

The Scottish Government works closely with Scotland’s airports to help grow international connectivity, while not returning to previous levels of emissions. Direct connectivity between Scotland and the United States has improved significantly in recent years but there are other US routes where a direct link would be positive for Scottish businesses, the tourism sector and the economy as a whole. Pre-clearance would help ensure the ongoing success of established routes and encourage the development of new ones.

In July, I wrote to the then UK Secretary of State for the Home Office to invite the UK Government’s view on Edinburgh Airport’s ambition to establish pre-clearance for outbound flights to the US given the role they would need to play in the process. While the Minister for Safe and Legal Migration recognises that this is a commercial matter, I am pleased that the response from the UK Government indicates that the Home Office, together with the Department for Transport, would be keen to explore this matter further should there be a commercial decision to proceed. We also remain in close contact with Edinburgh Airport.

Modelling by Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) projects that 29 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities will incur a net financial benefit from the implementation of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Local authorities are also expected to benefit from a reduction in the impact of litter, and from efficiencies to collection services following the implementation of DRS.

ZWS it is engaging with individual local authorities, in particular the three currently projected not to make savings, to assess the impacts of DRS on them and look at options for service improvements.

These calculations are based on commercially sensitive data provided in confidence to ZWS by local authorities. We will therefore not publicly identify the three local authorities that stand to incur a net cost.