Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government expects all local authorities to comply with the school food and drink Regulations which are based on up to date scientific evidence and dietary advice about what energy and nutrients children and young people need in order to grow and develop healthily. The Regulations provide detailed specifications that must be met as food and drink is offered in schools and the accompanying guidance ‘Healthy Eating in Schools’ provides practical advice about how to meet the Regulations. The Regulations and guidance include specifications for and advice on meat provision in schools.

As long as the Regulations are being met, it is for local authorities to decide what meals to include on menus and as such the Scottish Government do not routinely monitor school menus. We have not been contacted by parents from Dumfries and Galloway about this matter. If parents do raise concerns about school menus we advise them to provide feedback to their local authority who can take this into account as they develop future menus.

The Scottish Government supports the development of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) as a common whole-system decarbonisation infrastructure with the flexibility to adapt over time to play a central role across the decarbonisation strategies of key sectors such as heat, industry and power. A proven technology, there are more than 50 CCUS facilities worldwide, with an estimated combined capture capacity of 96 million tonnes of CO2 per annum.

The Committee on Climate Change describes CCUS as a “necessity, not an option” to achieve net-zero emissions; indeed, the swift development of CCUS as a cornerstone of our energy transition is vital to achieving Scotland’s net zero emissions reduction targets.

Scotland is the most cost-effective place to begin CCUS in the UK, with existing oil and gas infrastructure available to repurpose for CO2 transport and storage. The development of CCUS could offer a range of transition opportunities for Scottish oil and gas firms and domestic supply chain companies.

We are already supporting efforts to deploy CCUS in Scotland, including through our Emerging Energy Technologies Fund, which will provide £80m over the next five years to support the development of CCUS and negative-emissions technologies. We have also provided funding and policy support to the Acorn CCS project in Aberdeenshire, considered the most advanced CCS project in the UK.

To date, we have required travellers to use the NHS tests, which can be booked through the UK Government’s booking portal for international travel.

The purpose of these tests is to identify any positive cases as quickly as possible so that contact tracing and genomic sequencing can be carried out and minimise the chances of delays and the risk of community transmission of the virus.

A robust and fast flow of data from laboratories to Public Health Scotland is therefore essential, and we have had concerns that private sector tests would not be able to meet these requirements.

However, we fully understand how difficult the restrictions on international travel are, both for the sector and for individuals who are keen to travel to see family, as well as for other important reasons. We are therefore exploring options to allow private sector testing to be used for people arriving in Scotland, provided we can ensure the swift and accurate flow of data to Public Health Scotland.

The release of red-legged partridges and pheasants is a legal activity and is expressly permitted under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.

At present there is no evidence that gamebirds are having an impact on the features of protected areas as shown by NatureScot’s Site Condition Monitoring work and little information to suggest that they are having an impact on Scotland’s wider natural heritage. The Scottish Government therefore has no current plans to legislate in this area.

Hourly rates of pay for Agenda for Change Staff are published online . Bank staff participating in the programme who do not also hold contracts of employment with the host health board are paid at the grade and pay band as specified in their bank contract, relating to the role profile pursuant to which they have been deployed.

The Scottish Government has set sessional rates of £230 and £231 for independent contractors (GPs, dentists, optometrists and pharmacists) taking part in the COVID-19 vaccination programme. These rates, which cover a 3.5 hour session, reflect both the market conditions for hiring these professionals and the roles being filled in the programme.

The cost for training a student in dentistry is comprised of a number of components, including costs for university training, clinical outreach, and vocational training. The university costs for Scottish-domiciled undergraduates are approximately £32,641 for Year 1 (pre-clinical) students and £42,989 for students in Years 2-5 (clinical). For students in Year 5 there are also additional clinical outreach costs of approximately £31,467. The costs for the one-year vocational training that dentists must undertake after graduation is approximately £61,201 per dentist.

The Scottish Government supports the development of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) as a common whole-system decarbonisation infrastructure with the flexibility to adapt over time to play a central role across the decarbonisation strategies of key sectors such as heat, industry and power. A proven technology, there are more than 50 CCUS facilities worldwide, with an estimated combined capture capacity of 96 million tonnes of CO2 per annum.

The Committee on Climate Change describes CCUS as a “necessity, not an option” to achieve net-zero emissions; indeed, the swift development of CCUS as a cornerstone of our energy transition is vital to achieving Scotland’s net zero emissions reduction targets.

Scotland is the most cost-effective place to begin CCUS in the UK, with existing oil and gas infrastructure available to repurpose for CO2 transport and storage. The development of CCUS could offer a range of transition opportunities for Scottish oil and gas firms and domestic supply chain companies.

We are already supporting efforts to deploy CCUS in Scotland, including through our Emerging Energy Technologies Fund, which will provide £80m over the next five years to support the development of CCUS and negative-emissions technologies. We have also provided funding and policy support to the Acorn CCS project in Aberdeenshire, considered the most advanced CCS project in the UK.

The Scottish Ministerial Code outlines a code of conduct for members of the Scottish Government (the First Minister, Cabinet Secretaries and Law Officers) and junior Scottish Ministers, including on the use of personal social media accounts. No other Scottish Government guidance has been issued to Ministers in this regard.

Further information

The Scottish Ministerial Code outlines a code of conduct for members of the Scottish Government (the First Minister, Cabinet Secretaries and Law Officers) and junior Scottish Ministers.

Section 10 concerns Ministers And The Presentation Of Policy. There is reference here to the use of social media, which states:

10.10 Ministers may retain personal social media accounts (e.g. Facebook, Twitter), provided that any activity on their account is not at variance with their obligations to Parliament or their duty to observe the principle of collective Ministerial responsibility. It is Ministers’ personal responsibility to ensure that social media activity in their name does not breach these requirements or bring the Government into disrepute.

10.11 If Ministers wish to use social media for official policy communications, they should use an appropriate Government account.

The Scottish Ministerial Code can be found online at https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-ministerial-code-2018-edition

We continue to keep all measures under close review. Live background music is currently permitted at wedding receptions operating at 1 metre physical distancing from level 2, but full live band entertainment is only permitted in settings operating under performing arts or events guidance at 2 metre physical distancing from level 2 at this time. Dancing is not permitted at this time, except for the first dance by the marrying couple and the parents of the marrying couple where they reside in the same household. Physical distancing requirements are a key factor in determining when these activities can fully return to wedding receptions and as the First Minister confirmed in the statement to Parliament on 11 May, a review of this is currently underway and will report back shortly.

The Scottish Government’s Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan, published in July 2020, sets out how domestic passenger services in Scotland will be decarbonised by 2035.

Public control of ScotRail will facilitate the integration of rolling stock and train service plans with infrastructure works and thus improve the efficient whole system delivery of the Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan.