Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has regular discussions with the General Teaching Council for Scotland on a wide range of topics, including child protection and safeguarding. I also refer the member to the answer given to S6W-05202 on 17 January 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government does not have a blanket policy of applying unlimited liabilities in its ICT contracts and contractual liability may be unlimited, capped or excluded.

The Scottish Government Model Terms and Conditions for ICT Services Contracts (Model Terms) contain provisions relating to liability that are intended to be reasonable and proportionate and to strike the right balance in allocating risk and liability for all parties.

Liability is unlimited where it cannot be restricted as a matter of law, including for death or personal injury, or fraud. Liability is also unlimited for specific types of loss such as intellectual property, tax and TUPE where Scottish Government has potential exposure to third party claims.

All other liability may be capped or limited on the basis of a fixed sum or a percentage of the overall contract value. The Model Terms do not include mandated levels of financial liability. It is for contracting authorities to determine, based on the risk profile of the project and taking into account the nature and extent of the risks involved in the services, the value of the contract and the amount of insurance cover available to each party, the appropriate levels of financial liability which should apply.

The Scottish Government does not hold information centrally on Local Authority workforce data or vacancies.

On 2 September 2021 the Scottish Government published the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland. This non-statutory guidance describes the responsibilities and expectations of everyone who works with, or comes into contact with children and young people, families and carers in Scotland. The key role of the education workforce in protecting children is affirmed and strengthened by the inclusion of education staff in all references to multi-agency arrangements.

Following publication, local authority schools, Grant Aided Special Schools and independent schools will review and update their procedures in line with the national guidance.

A National Child Protection Guidance Implementation Group has been established to support implementation over the next 18-24 months. Education Scotland and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland are both represented on the group, which will also engage with the Scottish Council of Independent Schools to support all schools with implementation of the guidance over the coming months.

There are currently no plans for a national blind persons entitlement to enable free travel on rail services however for those that are blind or visually impaired there are alternative discounts available. Details of these can be accessed via:- https://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/using-your-railcard/other-discounts/ 

Scotland’s chemicals, oil refining and manufacturing sectors - to which the Grangemouth region is the main contributor - employs c.7,000 people and contributes an annual GVA of over £800m. However, with that economic strength also comes 30% of all Scottish industrial emissions. A specific focus on Grangemouth is therefore key to achieving a net-zero economy by 2045, and getting this right will be crucial if we are to deliver a Just Transition, not only for the region, but for Scotland as a whole. Futureproofing this vital industrial hub will help support a long-term, sustainable future for Grangemouth.

The Grangemouth Future Industry Board, of which Falkirk Council is a key partner, was established in 2020 in recognition of this. The Board brings together public sector leaders in order to unlock potential investment that boosts the economic development, innovation, and competitiveness of the site, with decarbonisation and just transition at the heart of everything it does. Just Transition has been a topic of Board discussions during the last year, and minutes of these meetings can be found on the Scottish Government’s website.

The Board’s focus has been on the best ways to support the delivery of a Just Transition for the industrial cluster as a whole. Delivering a successful Just Transition will require the input of all who will be affected. The Grangemouth Future Industry Board will be engaging with both industry and wider interest groups across the coming year to understand how to support the delivery of a Just Transition for the industrial cluster in a way that positively benefits all of those involved.

Our current advice on vitamin D supplementation is based on the consensus of the scientific evidence, as presented to all UK nations by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN).

On 19 June 2021, SACN published a paper summarising the monitoring of recent evidence on nutrition and COVID-19. It is available at

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/992875/SACN_Process_for_monitoring_evidence_on_nutrition_and_COVID-19__June21_.pdf.

SACN concluded that, to date, the monitoring exercise had not identified any new trials in relation to vitamin D and COVID-19 that would change current dietary advice or require the re-review of the rapid guideline published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Public Health England and SACN on 17 December 2020. The rapid guideline states:

• people should continue to follow existing advice on vitamin D supplementation to maintain bone and muscle health
• there is currently not enough evidence to support taking vitamin D solely to prevent or treat COVID-19

The rapid guideline is available at https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG187

The UK COVID-19 Therapeutic Advisory Panel (UK C-TAP) is continuing to monitor ongoing COVID-19 related Vitamin D trials. I understand the SACN secretariat is in contact with the NICE surveillance team and officials supporting UK C-TAP to ensure complementary approaches. Evidence on vitamin D in relation to COVID-19 is also being monitored by the multi-agency initiative ‘Research to Access Pathway for Investigational Drugs in COVID-19’.

We will continue to look to NICE and others who are closely monitoring this evidence base.

The information requested is management information and is not currently published, however, Public Health Scotland produce a weekly COVID-19 Statistical Report, with the most recent version being published on Wednesday 19 January. This report provides a range of information including the number of LFDs reported through various channels in Scotland.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

However, in 2021-22, sport scotland invested approximately £1,315,600 into Scottish Swimming. Over the past five years, sport scotland has invested £6,836,282 into Scottish Swimming. Scottish Swimming developed and introduced a National Learn to Swim Framework in 2014 to support aquatic providers to enhance their community learn to swim programmes.

The Framework, which is supported by Scottish Water and delivered by aquatic partners every week already helps children to become safe, competent, and confident swimmers and these water safety themed lessons are an essential part of the Framework to help educate on water safety.

Section 2 of The Fisheries Act 2020 (the Act) requires the fisheries policy authorities (UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government, and Northern Irish Executive) to prepare and publish a Joint Fisheries Statement that:

• sets out the policies of the fisheries policy authorities for achieving, or contributing to the achievement of, the fisheries objectives in the Act;
• contains a statement explaining the use the fisheries policy authorities propose to make of fisheries management plans in order to achieve, or contribute to the achievement of, those fisheries objectives; and
• contains a statement explaining how those fisheries objectives have been interpreted and proportionately applied in formulating those policies and proposals.

Work on a draft Statement has been undertaken in recent months with officials from each of the administrations collaborating and sharing proposed content to ensure that each fisheries policy authority’s interests and needs have been properly taken account of. Having agreed the content of the Joint Fisheries Statement, under Schedule 1 to the Act (at paragraph 3), each of the fisheries policy authorities is required to lay a consultation draft of the JFS before the appropriate legislature and to specify a period for its scrutiny. In addition, the Act enables an appropriate legislative body to pass a resolution on the consultation draft of the JFS, or enables an appropriate legislative Committee to make a recommendation on it.

The Scottish Parliament is of course the appropriate legislature to consider the consultation draft of the JFS and I am announcing that it is my intention to lay the Joint Fisheries Statement in the Scottish Parliament for scrutiny on 17 January 2022. The document can be found here: Consultation on the draft Joint Fisheries Statement - Scottish Government - Citizen Space

The Act also requires the fisheries policy authorities to specify a “scrutiny period”. I am proposing that this period should run from 17 January – 25 February 2022. This will allow the Scottish Parliament to synchronise its scrutiny process with the other UK legislatures. I have also written to the Rural Affairs Islands and Natural Environment committee today to advise them of this timeframe, given that they may be asked to undertake scrutiny on behalf of the Parliament.

It is also our intention that the draft JFS will be the subject of a public consultation from 18 January – 12 April 2022.