Chamber and committees

NHS Boards are responsible for the management of their administrative assets and for identifying restructuring requirements. Any such costs would be met from Boards’ delegated budgets.

The Scottish Government is committed to the sustainability of frontline GP services and has increased the budget for General Medical Services by more than £227 million since 2020-21.

The Scottish Government has published the minutes of these meetings. The final National Bairns’ Hoose Governance Group meeting took place on 26 June 2024, so no subsequent meetings of the National Bairns’ Hoose Governance Group have been held since this date.

Vessel deployment is an operational matter - as such, Ministers expect the operator to assess all the options, and present that recommendation in consultation with Transport Scotland.

The Scottish Government has no involvement with the procurement of replacement equipment to retain as vessel spares. This is the responsibility of the operator.

There have been 35 public bodies established since 2013 which are included below. Further information on their core functions is publicly available on the National Public Bodies Directory: https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-public-bodies-directory/.

Muirburn is currently guided by the Muirburn Code: https://www.nature.scot/doc/guidance-muirburn-code which is a non-statutory code and sets out both the law and good practice relating to muirburn.

Section 3.3 of the current Muirburn Code clearly states that the person undertaking muirburn must not burn within 30m of a public road; create smoke that is a nuisance; and endanger anyone’s health and/or safety.

Anyone with concerns that the law is not being complied with in regards to muirburn should contact Police Scotland.

The Wildlife Management and Muirburn Act 2024 introduced a provision to further regulate the use of muirburn including that all muirburn will need to be carried out under licence.

A condition of the licence will be that anyone carrying out muirburn must have completed a training course. In future this will include both an online and a practical course. Currently no training is required for carrying out muirburn in Scotland.

NatureScot are also currently consulting on a new Muirburn Code that will accompany the licensing scheme, which sets out the essential considerations for muirburn, including where and when muirburn can be carried out, the required notifications before setting muirburn and necessary safety measures. The muirburn licensing scheme and revised Muirburn Code are being introduced to help ensure that muirburn is carried out safely and appropriately.

The Scottish Ministers keep the law that sits within the powers of the Scottish Parliament under review to ensure it is fit for purpose.

The Scottish Law Commission’s aspects of family law project is focusing on a review of the civil remedies available for domestic abuse as part of the 11th Programme of Law Reform. We will consider the outcomes of this work when the Commission’s report is published.

In terms of safe accommodation, local authorities have the legal duty to provide advice and assistance to people who are at risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness. This includes providing temporary accommodation in the short term if someone has nowhere safe to stay, and permanent accommodation if someone is found unintentionally homeless. Therefore, anyone at risk of homelessness following court proceedings should contact their local authority. They are best placed to provide advice on the housing options available and what further support they can offer.

Local authorities must ensure that school meals, free or paid for, meet the nutrient standards set out in the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. The nutrient standards are based on scientific evidence and dietary advice and designed to ensure that children and young people are provided with meals that contain an appropriate amount of energy and key nutrients to support their healthy growth and development. Operational decisions such as what food and drink to include on menus and what portion sizes should be provided are a matter for local authorities. The statutory Healthy Eating in Schools guidance contains practical advice on portion sizes recognising that needs are likely to be different across the school age ranges and notes that local policies should be in place to address that.

Scottish Government do not hold information on all public sector leases centrally. The following table shows the top 10 most expensive leases held by Scottish Government. This is made up of the costs of rent and service charges.

The NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026 was published in August 2021 with a commitment to provide annual reports on progress through the delivery outcomes set out in the plan. These reports are published online and can be found at:

NHS Recovery Plan: annual progress update 2022 – https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-recovery-plan-annual-progress-update/

NHS recovery plan: progress report 2023 – https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-recovery-plan-progress-report-2023/

NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026: annual progress update report 2024 – https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-recovery-plan-2021-2026-annual-progress-update-report-2024/

In line with previous years, an further annual progress report for 2025 will be published by the end of this year.