Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Principals' salaries are for individual colleges to determine.

Whilst Public Sector Pay Policy does not apply directly to colleges, the SFC’s Financial Memorandum states that colleges must have regard to it.

We expect colleges and their boards to be mindful of Public Sector Pay Policy and demonstrate restraint when determining senior staff salaries.

Pay arrangements for senior staff must ensure value for money, affordability and sustainability in the longer term.

Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) have recently stated that their clinical physiology degree programme will not continue beyond the current cohort which commenced in September 2021 and as such Scottish Government are actively working with NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to review the ongoing provision and access to a clinical physiology degree for Scottish Students.

In October 2021, I was delighted to launch the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults, supported by a £15 million investment for 2021-22. This funding has now been successfully distributed to a wide range of grassroots, community based projects across Scotland. A further £15 million was announced this month for a second year of the Fund in 2022-23.

£15 million in both 2021-22 and 2022-23 is a significant investment in grassroots, community mental health and wellbeing support. To date, almost 2000 awards have been made to projects, focused on a range of at risk groups including older people and those facing social isolation, people with long-term health conditions and people facing socio-economic disadvantage. This is making a real difference to mental health and wellbeing in many communities.

To aid with pandemic recovery and respond to the high demand for community projects in 2021-22, an additional £6 million was provided in February, bringing total funding for 2021-22 to £21 million. We will continue to build on the success of this work in Year 2, and ensure that the sizeable additional £15 million investment makes a valuable impact on mental health and wellbeing within communities across Scotland.

My officials in Transport Scotland have been working with bus operators to monitor the impact on service levels and changes in vacancy levels. Officials are also in regular contact with the Department for Transport, DVLA and DVSA regarding issues about delays to licence applications and driver testing, which have affected recruitment and training of potential drivers.

In addition, Transport Scotland officials have convened a short-life group with operator reps, Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), COSLA, Skills Development Scotland, DWP and Scottish Government employment and skills officials to seek and facilitate solutions to workforce issues through the Labour and Skills Shortages Action Plan, as well as connecting Local Employability Partnerships with bus operators (through the Confederation of Passenger Transport) who are aware of opportunities in their areas.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to review the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017.

The fact that a particular type of development is not specifically mentioned does not necessarily mean it falls outside the scope of the Regulations. Guidance on establishing whether EIA is required is set out in Scottish Government Planning Circular 1/2017: Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations. The circular is available on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/planning-circular-1-2017-environmental-impact-assessment-regulations-2017/ .

I engage regularly with EIS-FELA and most recently met with EIS-FELA on 27th April and 17th May to discuss the current pay dispute.

I will continue to meet regularly with both sides, urging them to make every effort to resolve the current dispute without the need for further industrial action, which is absolutely not in the best interests of learners.

The mandatory training course will include information on important practical safety elements to consider when purchasing and using fireworks, including what is permitted under relevant fireworks legislation, as well as how to be a considerate and responsible fireworks user.

The Scottish Government intends to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders on the development of the training course, which will be set out in future regulations. This includes animal welfare charities, as well as other stakeholders such as community safety partners, disabilities organisations and the firework industry. It is recognised that stakeholder input will be important to ensure that the training course is fit for purpose, and includes information for licence holders on the broad range of issues and areas that are impacted by fireworks.

The Bill also includes a consultation requirement for regulations made in relation to the licensing system. This will ensure that stakeholders have the opportunity to contribute to and share their views and opinions on the proposed training course.

The Scottish Government has had no discussions with either party on this matter as local government pay and other employment matters are delegated to local authorities and COSLA.

However, we urge all parties to continue open, constructive dialogue to find a resolution which avoids any potential industrial action and reaches a satisfactory conclusion for both sides.

There are no immediate plans to make any changes, the resource will be kept under continual review and we intend on evaluating its effectiveness this summer.

The requested information is not centrally held. NHS Education for Scotland publishes annual data on joiners/leavers, but this information does not specify start date or professional background of joiners.

Information on joiners/leavers by staff group for each financial year can be found (turnover tab) here: https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/data-and-reports/official-workforce-statistics/all-official-statistics-publications/01-march-2022-workforce/dashboards/nhsscotland-workforce/?pageid=6429 .