Chamber and committees

There is no legislation that specifically sets out rules on the use of netting on buildings to prevent birds from nesting or roosting. However, anyone obstructing or preventing any bird from using its nest during the nesting season through the installation of netting, would be committing an offence under Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside (Scotland) Act 1981.

Bird netting can be an effective and lawful measure when used correctly. Guidance is available on the RSPCA webpage , the NatureScot webpage , and the RSPB webpage on how and when to use bird netting.

There is no legislation that specifically sets out rules on the use of netting on buildings to prevent birds from nesting or roosting. However, it is an offence to obstruct or prevent any bird from using its nest during the nesting season, under Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside (Scotland) Act 1981, and this would include the use of netting to prevent access to a nest.

Enforcement of the law in relation to wildlife crime is the responsibility of Police Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on how many whole-time equivalent GPs have (a) been employed and (b) retired or left the profession, in each year since 2019.

Data on the GP Workforce is published annually by NHS Education for Scotland in the General Practice Workforce Survey report and includes the whole time equivalent number of GPs in Scotland.

Data on the Whole-Time Equivalent GP Workforce is published annually by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) in the General Practice Workforce Survey report . As of March 2023 the estimated WTE number of GPs (excluding GP registrars/specialist trainees) was 3,478.4, where 1 WTE is defined as 8 contracted sessions per week.

GP headcount is published by NES through the General Practitioner Headcount report. In September 2023 there were 5,168 Headcount GPs in Scotland (including GP Registrars on placement in general practice).

NES are due to publish results from the 2024 General Practice Workforce Survey and the 2024 General Practitioner Headcount data later this year.

The 2018 GP Contract was negotiated on a national basis with the BMA’s Scottish GP Committee which represents all Scottish GPs. The Contract is based on the transfer of some services to Health Board delivery to allow GP practices to focus on what only GPs can do. This means that GP practices are no longer the default providers of vaccinations.

The Scottish Government agreed a process with the GP committee to allow the continued delivery of vaccines, and other services intended for transfer, by GP practices where, due to remoteness and rurality, Health Board delivery would be difficult.

The seven key principles of service design are that any redesigned services should be:

? safe for patients and staff;

? person-centred;

? equitable;

? outcome focussed;

? effective;

? sustainable; and

? affordable

The vast majority of vaccinations are now delivered by Health Board employed staff with a consequent release of capacity for GP practices.

If vaccination rates drop in any Health Board area, the Scottish Government would expect that board to examine its vaccination arrangements and make any necessary adjustments, including the full use of the flexibilities provided under the GP contract, to ensure a proper level of vaccination. This is a continuation of the expectation the Scottish Government would have had of Health Boards when delivery was mostly in the hands of GP contractors; Health Boards were still responsible for ensuring that a proper level of vaccination was met.

The decline in childhood uptake we are seeing nationally is of course a cause for concern. On 16 July, Public Health Scotland published a report on ‘Understanding and addressing declines in childhood immunisations’. This research provides valuable insights into various aspects of childhood immunisation delivery in Scotland.

The Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme are working together to take forward the recommendations in the report. This will ensure that the learning and good practice highlighted in this report is put into action to improve uptake, and ensuring that the delivery of immunisations across all childhood programmes is equitable and accessible.

The Scottish Bracken working Group last met on 27 June. The next meeting is due to take place on 19 September.

More information on the group, including meeting minutes, can be viewed at the following link: Bracken: Scottish Working Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

No application for the use of Asulox during 2024 was submitted.

Asulam, the active substance in Asulox, has been withdrawn in the UK for over 15 years. For 10 years Asulox was approved annually as an emergency authorisation, for limited and controlled use each season, following application by the Bracken Control Group. An application must be submitted in order for emergency authorisation to be considered. Emergency authorisation applications are then assessed on a case-by-case basis against the legislative requirements.

The planned in-service dates provided by CMAL in the June 2024 update to the NZET Committee were end November 2024 for MV Isle of Islay and end March 2025 for MV Loch Indaal.

Transport Scotland, CMAL and CalMac will keep these dates under review as the vessel builds progress. The dates will be subject to successful completion of construction, now entering the complex systems commissioning phases, and further crew familiarisation and berthing trails upon arrival in Scottish waters.

Further updates will be provided to Parliament in due course.

Advance works to a cost of £22.6 million have been undertaken for the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project, to de-risk the main construction works contract.

This cost is broken down as follows:

The Scottish Government has been working with AssistFM and Improvement Service to map existing breakfast provision across Scotland, including a survey to all primary and special schools to understand the scale and uptake of provision.