Chamber and committees

Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, to discuss areas of mutual interest.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, to discuss areas of mutual interest.

The Scottish Government has no direct role in provision of student residential accommodation. However, we are determined to improve accessibility, affordability and standards across the rented sector and are carrying out, with a cross-sectoral expert group, a review of purpose built student accommodation, the recommendations from which are due to be submitted to Ministers soon .

Scottish Government is also developing proposals for improving privately-rented accommodation more generally, as set out in our draft New Deal for Tenants .

Throughout the development of DRS the Scottish Government and partners have developed and published a range of evidence on the benefits and impacts of the scheme.

The Scottish Government also provided all information which was required to make a decision on the IMA exclusion as part of the Common Framework Procedure.

The Scottish Government has responded promptly to any requests for further information from the UK Government to help with their decision on an IMA exclusion. In particular, on 18 and 28 April and 12 May, we provided further information on costs for businesses and consumers; on 18 May, we provided further information on the environmental and economic case for the inclusion of glass; and on 19 May, we provided further information on stakeholder views.

As set out in the response to S6W-17663, the Scottish Government and delivery partners such as Circularity Scotland, SEPA and Zero Waste Scotland continue to regularly engage directly with businesses to ensure all involved are ready for successful launch of the Deposit Return Scheme.

Any decision by an individual business or a specific trade association to make public their priorities is a matter for them. It is not appropriate for Scottish Government to do so.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Local authorities have responsibility for provision of social care services, and therefore the contracts with relevant providers. Building safety is a matter for the owner of the building.

Additionally, Health and Safety legislation is not devolved to the Scottish Government.

There are currently 170 Civil Servants working within the National Care Service Programme. Due to the matrix style approach to delivery of the Social Care business area, staff may not be working on the National Care Service Programme objectives 100 percent of their time.

The number of Civil servants working within the Programme can be broken down into:

• Full time: 154
• Part time: 16

We agree that this is important and we want to make sure that the sector is as safe as possible and those providing first aid in Scotland are valued and appropriately trained. Officials will take this under active consideration as they undertake further work and engagement with stakeholders and continue to scope the extent of issues raised by unregulated private first aid companies and consider the most appropriate and proportionate next steps.

The Scottish Government will always be guided by the democratically expressed wishes of the people of Scotland on constitutional matters.