Chamber and committees

The latest available information on convictions is for the financial year 2020-21 and is provided in the following table.

Number of people convicted for animal cruelty offences, where main charge, 2016-17 to 2020-21.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving ferry services for our island and remote communities and I am open-minded to all practical and affordable proposals from our ferry operators to address current operational challenges.

I have previously approved time charters of the MV Arrow to add resilience and capacity to both the Clyde and Hebrides and Northern Isles Ferry Services.

The number of registered businesses in Scotland in 2022 was 175,175, which was down 1.1 per cent on 2021, but was 1,180 higher than in 2016. Registered businesses account for less than half the total number of businesses: the overall number of businesses (360,910) increased over the latest year and is now the second highest since the series began in 2000. The number of large firms in Scotland (employing 250 and above employees) has been affected by declines in sectors that have been most impacted by the pandemic and the cost crisis. However, employment in private businesses is estimated to have grown to quarter 3 2022 and is close to the highest in this series (beginning 1999), contributing to current high employment rates. For example, the latest Labour Force Survey estimates for Oct to Dec 2022 show the highest overall employment rate (76.6%) since records began in 1992.

The Scottish Government’s ‘There’s More to Care than Caring’ campaign launched 27 January 2020 and has run four times, with the latest activity starting on 23 January 2023 and due to conclude on 20 March 2023. We have evaluation data from the previous 3 campaigns, which details the achievements of the campaign in regards to engagement with the audience however this information is not broken down into subsectors across social care.

As I announced in my statement to the Scottish Parliament in December 2021, the publication of Scotland’s third River Basin Management Plan sets out our ambitious objectives aiming to improve the overall condition of Scotland’s water environment from 66% currently classified at good condition to 81% by 2027. Our position has not changed and the Scottish Government remains committed to meeting this target. In comparison, England’s water environment is currently classified at 16% in good ecological status only.

Patient care and service delivery are the statutory responsibility of local healthcare providers. NHS Boards are responsible for working with their partners to plan and provide health services which meet the needs of their populations. Use of the independent sector has been an option open to all Health Boards to help address short-term capacity issues and is an operational decision for them.

However, through Scottish Government investment, we continue to engage and support Boards to build their workforce and implement the National CAMHS Service Specification. The Scottish Government allocated around £40 million to improve CAMHS and Neurodevelopmental services for children and young people in 2021-22, and has invested £46 million in 2022-23 via the Mental Health Outcomes Framework to improve the quality and delivery of mental health and psychological services for all. The priorities for the funding this financial year have been to continue delivering improvements in CAMHS, psychological therapies, eating disorders and neurodevelopmental services for children and young people, as well as ongoing innovation and service reform.

As a result of our investment over recent years, CAMHS staffing has increased significantly. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) publishes quarterly statistics on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) workforce. The publication on 6 December 2022 showed, as of September 2022, the CAMHS community staff Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) was 1259 compared to 900.3 WTE in March 2021, when significant investment in CAMHS was made. This represents a 39.8% increase.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days

We recognise that rises in the cost of living are putting a huge strain on some families and they are facing unforeseen challenges.

The management of debt is an issue for education authorities and their finance departments. Councils have the power to make discretionary offers of free school meals to families, where they are experiencing financial hardship due to exceptional circumstances, who do not meet the regular eligibility criteria.

COSLA, working with partners from across Local Government, have developed a set of good practice principles for the management of school meal debt, which were published on 20 February 2023. The intended audience for these principles is local authority staff across a range of departments (including education, catering, finance and debt collection) as well as Head Teachers, class teachers and other school staff. The principles can be accessed through the following link: COSLA Publish Good Practice Principles for Managing School Meal Debt - 20th February 2023 | COSLA

The requested information on the number of recorded crimes of having in a school an article with a blade or point, split by local authority area, is provided below. As with the national picture, at least part of any reduction at the local authority level during 2020-21 (and any subsequent increase in 2021-22) will likely reflect the closure of the school estate during the pandemic related lockdowns.

Table 1: Having in a school an article with a blade or point not used in other criminal activity

Delivery of this action is a long term objective of the plan. The National Heart Disease Task Force will consider the prioritisation of work to be undertaken in 2023-24 as part of our ongoing implementation of the commitments within the Heart Disease Action Plan.