Chamber and committees

On 2 September 2021 the Scottish Government published the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021, which replaces the 2014 National Child Protection Guidance.

The revision of this guidance was undertaken through a collaborative process informed by extensive public and stakeholder engagement over a period of two and a half years. The review was overseen by a National Guidance Steering Group comprised of representatives from stakeholder organisations and other key interests.

The Scottish Government ran a formal public consultation on draft guidance between 21 October 2020 and 31 January 2021. A total of 159 consultation responses were received from a wide range of organisations and individuals. Where respondents have given their permission, responses have been published on Citizen Space . In addition to the public consultation, seven virtual stakeholder engagement events were held during November and December 2020. These events were used to engage with Child Protection Committees and practitioners, with a facilitated discussion structured around the consultation questions. An independent analysis of consultation responses was commissioned and engagement was undertaken with many respondents to better understand their views and reflect in final draft.

The key themes emerging from the engagement process were: status of the guidance and degree of local variance; ensuring an appropriate balance between the current context and direction of travel as the aspirations of The Promise are realised; clarity on the timing of the refresh of Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) and further guidance on the role of the named person; the balance of support and protection regarding poverty and neglect; accessibility and usability of the guidance; inclusion of practice notes; expectations of timescales for implementation.

Feedback and proposed changes were considered by the Steering Group at every stage of the engagement process. Where there was agreement, the drafts were updated. Feedback along with rationale for decisions was then given to those who had provided comment. On 2 September 2021 the Scottish Government published a consultation report which included the independent analysis of consultation responses and engagement activity and the Scottish Government’s response.

The current list of prescribed offences where a victim impact statement can be made is set out here - The Victim Statements (Prescribed Offences) (No. 2) (Scotland) Order 2009 (legislation.gov.uk). The Scottish Government has committed to expanding the scope of the Victim Statement Scheme and work is currently ongoing to explore extensions to this list.

The Scottish Budget 2022-23 sets out almost £2 billion of low carbon capital investment in Scotland’s public infrastructure, including almost £350 million to drive forward our commitment to decarbonise the heating of 1 million homes and £124 million capital investment to support high quality active travel in walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure.

The Bioenergy Policy Working Group have met six times since the Bioenergy Update was published in March 2021.

As I confirmed on 1 February, based on the ongoing disruption arising from Covid, the SQA has taken the decision to invoke the Scenario 2 contingency and revision support will be made available in early March.

This revision support will complement the significant modifications to courses and assessments that the SQA have already made to take account of the expected disruption to learning this year.

The timing of the revision support gives learners the opportunity to complete the learning for their courses and focus on their coursework before their attention moves more fully to preparing for exams. It is important that teaching and learning is not narrowed too far in advance as this would negatively impact the learners’ breadth of knowledge and understanding as well as the next steps in their learning. In addition, the timing allows SQA to fully align the revision support with the question papers which are still being finalised.

Further information regarding the 2022 exam diet preparation, including the approach to exceptional circumstances, grading and appeals as well as support for learners, was included in my statement on 1 February 2022 and can be found at: Meeting of the Parliament: 01/02/2022 | Scottish Parliament Website .

Audit Scotland operate independently from the Scottish Government. The Auditor General has highlighted seven themes in their Strategic Priorities and Future Work Programme, including Climate Change. For more information on Audit Scotland please visit Audit Scotland | Audit Scotland (audit-scotland.gov.uk) .

The Scottish Government does not have plans to produce a joint net zero delivery framework with local authorities. We continue to support public sector leadership on the climate emergency through ongoing engagement with key bodies such as the Sustainable Scotland Network, Scottish Leaders Forum, COSLA, Environment and Economy Leadership Group and the Scottish Cities Alliance.

The Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plans include proposals and policies to deliver Scotland’s emissions reduction targets and the updated Climate Change Plan, published in December 2020, sets out a framework for all sectors of society to contribute to our journey to net zero including the role that local authorities and other parts of the public sector must play. This is supported by a legislative framework for local authorities delivery of net zero, where local authorities are required to report annually on their climate duties. Looking ahead, we have committed to publish our next Climate Change Plan in the first half of this Parliament.

The Scottish Government continuously reviews energy consenting frameworks, and looks for opportunities for further efficiencies and improvements while ensuring protection of our natural resources. In line with an existing Programme for Government commitment, Marine Scotland Directorate are putting in place the resources, processes and structures to respond to the challenge of the additional volume of applications which will flow from ScotWind.

As independent Chair, it is for Dr Church to determine and manage the process of the review. I am, therefore, unable to respond on his behalf regarding the number of meetings he will hold with waste industry representatives.

However, Dr Church has assured me he wishes to hear from all interested stakeholders during the review and I would encourage anyone interested to respond to the Call for Evidence which is open until 21 February.

The Scottish Government does not assess risk on a sector by sector basis as the risks of a significant number of people gathering together indoors is the same regardless of the activity that brings them together.  

For the purposes of the capacity limits on indoor gatherings the Scottish Government considers a live event to be something that brings together a significant number of people for communal participation in a leisure or entertainment activity.  

The Scottish Government carried out an impact assessment of the live event regulation and its impact on businesses which include, but is not confined to, Bingo halls. This has been published at the link below: The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 6) Regulations 2021 (legislation.gov.uk).