Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government condemns all acts of antisocial behaviour, including vandalism, and we believe that our focus should be on preventing these crimes from occurring in the first place.

There are currently a number of provisions contained in the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 and Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 that specifically deal with the offence of vandalism and these include on the spot fixed penalties that the police can issue to those suspected of low-level statutory vandalism offences. Local agencies, such as Police Scotland and local authorities, are best placed to deal with these offences and it also open to them to undertake early intervention and diversionary work to prevent antisocial behaviour in their areas . We currently have no plans to replicate the UK Government’s proposals, but will monitor the development of this approach.

Investigation work has been undertaken on the upgrade of 4 laybys on the A77 between Ayr and Stranraer. The designs to improve these 4 laybys will be completed by the end of this calendar year with construction anticipated early in financial year 2024/25.

Planning for the review of the Agenda for Change system has commenced. The process will be undertaken in conjunction with NHS Scotland Staff Side and Employers in a confidential space with any amendments to Agenda for Change announced via existing channels.

Over the last two years our £1bn increased investment in our Agenda for Change staff has seen a Nurse at the top of Band 5 receive an uplift of 14.4% - more than £4,700

We recognise the need to modernise our service for both our current and future workforce and so we are undertaking a review of the Agenda for Change system in conjunction with Staff Side and NHS Scotland Employers. In addition, a bespoke Nursing and Midwife Task Force expert group has been set up to improve working conditions for nurses and boost workforce numbers

Work is underway to implement the Health and Care (Staffing) Act by Spring 2024 to support the wellbeing of Health and Care staff and Patients. Specifically, it aims to ensure appropriate staffing levels are in place to support high quality care for patients and service users.

The figure of £1.3 billion was included in the 2021 Green Finance Institute (GFI) report on the finance gap for nature related outcomes, and was for estimated woodland creation and maintenance costs up to 2031. Costs are calculated by multiplying the total target area of woodland to be created (as specified by the Climate Change Plan 2018 – 2032) with a unit cost per area for planting and, separately, subsequent maintenance. This figure is in line with estimates by Scottish Forestry, who were also represented on the project board for the GFI report. It should be noted that nature restoration costs can vary significantly between individual sites (the type and size of intervention, location and existing condition all being factors) and that a cost estimate for the whole of Scotland gives only a partial representation of restoration needs. The next Climate Change Plan will set out the costs and benefits of the policies it contains and will include details on financial costs of policies, including those in the forestry sector.

The Scottish Government welcomes the publication and recommendations of The Nursing Workforce in Scotland report by RCN Scotland.

NHS Boards are responsible for ensuring they have local policies in place to recruit effectively and retain their staff. They are supported in this through the Scottish Government’s National Workforce Strategy, which sets out the actions it will take in partnership with Boards to plan, attract, train, employ and nurture the health and social care workforce.

This has included completing a review of career pathways for healthcare support workers and publishing a national education and development framework, in November 2022, which provides information on how to progress into a registered practitioner role.

Our recently established Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce will also build on efforts to make Scotland the best place for nurses and midwives to work by developing plans for recruitment and retention. The Nursing Workforce in Scotland Report, and its recommendations, will be considered by the taskforce as a part of its work.

Over the summer we will continue to work with stakeholders, including the Royal College of Nursing, to develop a Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Action Plan.

Scottish Government and local authority websites provide information on a range of non-domestic rates reliefs, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme, with advice on eligibility criteria and how to apply. It also has a Non-Domestic Rates Calculator which is a tool which can provide ratepayers with an estimate of their non-domestic rates bill for the year and indicates whether a property may be eligible for the Small Business Bonus Scheme relief.

In response to a recommendation in the Barclay Review, the Scottish Government issued templates to all local authorities to support standardized bills across Scotland. These templates have been widely adopted and bills issued include advice that a range of reliefs and reductions are available to support ratepayers and direct them to further information.

The Scottish Government, through the National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care, has set out a number of short, medium and longer term actions that seek to progressively improve the quality of our health and social care workforce data, and its analysis. Further detail is set out in Part III of the strategy, 'Action', which can be found at: National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care in Scotland (www.gov.scot)

n line with the digital strategy for Scotland - A changing nation: how Scotland will thrive in a digital world , the Scottish Government is committed to the responsible use of data to transform the way that public authorities work together to reach some of the most vulnerable people in society and to improve services, increase efficiency and support delivery of the National Outcomes, set out in the National Performance Framework.

The Scottish Government is supporting data sharing across public services through implementation of Part 5 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 (the Act). The provisions enable data to be shared by specified public authorities for tightly defined purposes, to help them to deliver their responsibilities more effectively, while ensuring safeguards and protections are in place to prevent unlawful disclosure. As with any legislative framework, the Scottish Government is monitoring and reviewing implementation of the Act in Scotland.

The Scottish Government welcomes the findings of the Information Commissioner’s Office in The ICO’sreview into data sharing under the Digital Economy Act 2017 , published in March 2023. The report highlights that the Act provides a supporting framework for data sharing including robust safeguards that ensure organisations share data responsibly and in alignment with data protection principles, while also safeguarding people’s rights.

The UK Government is reviewing and consulting on the effectiveness of the debt and fraud data sharing powers in the Act. The Scottish Ministers have responded to the consultation in support of retaining the data sharing powers.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to alter the Road Traffic Act 1988 to make it an offence not to stop and report an accident involving a cat.

Under Section 170 of the Act, a driver is required to stop and report an accident involving specified animals, including horses, cattle, asses, mules, sheep, pigs, goats or dogs, due to the their status as working animals rather than domestic pets. The Highway code however does advise drivers to report any accidents involving animals to the Police and that if possible they should make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals and advise them of the accident accordingly.

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