Chamber and committees

Violence towards anyone is unacceptable and the safety of our children, young people and staff at school is paramount.

We have produced guidance for local authorities and schools to promote positive relationships and manage behaviour, including de-escalation of violent behaviour. There are a number of programmes that they use to do this.

Last week I met the Teachers Panel to discuss their experiences and how we could better support schools and pupils. The fifth wave of our Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research started last month and will provide a robust national picture of current relationships and behaviour. We will use this research and engagement with stakeholders, including the Scottish Advisory Group for Relationships and Behaviour in Schools, to inform the development of further future policy, guidance and support for schools and school staff.

The M8 Woodside Viaduct is a vital element of the motorway and road network serving Glasgow, the wider region and country, carrying approximately 150,000 vehicles per day. The decision to restrict traffic lanes on the viaducts was made for safety reasons by Transport Scotland’s Director of Roads, as reducing the live traffic loading on the structure was a key aspect to its management, continued use and repair.

Demolishing the structure was ruled out due to the economic, environmental and social impacts on businesses and communities served by the local and trunk road network, including the costs, durations and traffic volumes involved. The refurbishment option was considered to have less economic, social, traffic and environmental impacts. This decision was supported by stakeholders, who expressed significant concern over the impact of lane closures, let alone full closure of the viaduct.

This is a complex repair of an expansive structure that is trafficked by approximately 150,000 vehicles on a daily basis. Although temporary works are well underway, the final design for the permanent repairs is yet to be completed, which will then inform the overall project cost estimate.

The latest phase (propping works of the structure) includes a trial repair which is programmed for Summer 2023. The findings from that trial are key to the next stages as they influence the options for the final design and hence the total costs.

The M8 Woodside Viaduct is a vital element of the motorway and road network serving Glasgow, the wider region and country, carrying approximately 150,000 vehicles per day. The viaducts are generally in good condition, with the exception of areas of the concrete supports. Permanent repairs for these areas will involve localised repairs and strengthening as well as drainage improvements and deck refurbishment. On completion, these works will have added many years of service to this structure and network.

Regular meetings continue with stakeholders, including emergency services and Glasgow City Council, on the project development and progress.

In terms of the wider use of the M8 through central Glasgow, Scottish Ministers strategic transport investment priorities were set out in the second Strategic Transport Projects Review published in December 2022. In line with the Sustainable Investment Hierarchy, we are focussed on the safety and reliability of the existing motorway network.

Any proposal to alter the role or function of the trunk road through Glasgow, is about the wider public realm and land-use within the city, therefore it is more appropriate that this work is proposed and led by the City Council. Transport Scotland will continue to engage constructively with local authorities where proposals or projects are considered to have a potential impact on transport assets and services owned and or provided by Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government is committed to keeping The Promise and improving the outcomes of care experienced children and young people in education. To achieve this we continue to work with partners, including Education Scotland, COSLA and ADES.

Our national guidance, Included, Engaged and Involved Part 2 , is clear that exclusion should be used as a measure of last resort. The guidance includes particular considerations regarding the exclusion of care experienced young people.

Engagement activity includes with the Scottish Advisory Group for Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS), to consider exclusion in the context of promoting positive relationships and behaviour in schools.

The Scottish Government’s Serious & Organised Crime Taskforce (SOCTF) has identified environmental crime and in particular Serious Organised Criminal Gangs (SOCG) activity in waste crime as a priority area and supports the broad network of Scottish and UK regulators in working collaboratively to act against waste criminals.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is also a partner in the Joint Unit for Waste Crime set up by the UK Government in 2020, which aspires to reduce the impact of SOCG activity across the UK, on the environment and the economy, by targeting the criminal groups and activities posing the greatest risk, including those operating cross border.

We are working with other UK governments and regulators to implement a UK-wide mandatory digital waste tracking service. Implementation of this service will help SEPA to track regulatory compliance and tackle illegal waste exports and fly-tipping.

Alongside this, the Scottish Government is also currently developing a new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, which will help to tackle and minimise the instances of flytipping in Scotland. Our consultation proposals set out a range of proposed measures, including strengthening enforcement to deter flytipping behaviour.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

We have already implemented some measures, such as tightening waste exemptions, and are undertaking work to consider further measures similar to those mentioned in the UK Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.

In addition, where the necessary powers to tackle opportunities for waste crime are reserved, we are working with UK Government to ensure the interests of Scotland are fully considered. This includes in the development of a ban on exporting plastic waste to non-OECD countries.

The Scottish Government has not carried out an assessment of the impact of NHS staff pay awards on the independent hospice sector, however, Scottish Government Ministers are meeting with representatives from the sector in March 2023 to discuss pressures that hospices are facing.

That information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government does not hold estimated yearly costs of waste crime.