Chamber and committees

We are monitoring progress against this commitment through the Annual Delivery Plan’s being provided by Health Boards and the Public Health Scotland annual Scottish Health Service Costs Publication. We are providing support to individual NHS Boards towards meeting the target via our routine engagement and in-year/end-year reviews. We are also developing additional guidance and advice to NHS Boards on the criteria to report against the target with the aim of providing a consistent benchmark nationally.

In Scotland, climate change is part of the cross-curricular entitlement of Learning for Sustainability (LfS).

It is well established that some occupations are restricted by capacity and age due to the physical demands of those roles, making it untenable to expect them to be carried out until the State Pension Age. This was recognised by the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 which set a pension age of 60 for firefighters, police officers and the armed forces.

Prison officers do not have a dedicated pension scheme as they are members of the Civil Service pension scheme, which is a reserved matter for the UK Government. The Scottish Government has raised concerns with the UK government regarding the requirement for prison officers to carry out frontline operational duties including control and restraint until the age of 68. We have always accepted that some jobs are restricted by capacity and age, and need to be viewed and treated as such.

The Scottish Government and SPS both duly recognise that prison officers work in a very challenging environment and are committed to a person centred approach to all employees and their circumstances.

We are deeply concerned by the allegations arising in January 2024 that UNRWA staff may have been involved in the October 7 attacks on Israel. Ahead of Scottish Government awarding funding to UNRWA in November 2023, UNRWA provided a copy of the regulatory framework which governs financial management and staff conduct within the organisation. That regulatory framework was scrutinised by Scottish Government officials as part of our due diligence process ahead of awarding funding.

Immediately after these allegations emerged, Scottish Government officials contacted UNWRA with specific reference to the serious allegations that had been made public to seek assurance on finance, and to enquire about the investigation as a matter of urgency. In particular, Scottish Government officials asked UNRWA for an update on what Scottish Government’s contribution to the UNRWA appeal had been spent on and assurance that it had not contributed to funding any proscribed terrorist groups. UNWRA responded to that Scottish Government enquiry, confirming that the Scottish funding within the UNRWA appeal had been used to contribute towards supporting lifesaving activities targeting vulnerable groups (children, women, and elderly) with protection and emergency hygiene needs.

As part of the agreement governing the contribution to this appeal, UNRWA is required to provide Scottish Government with the UNRWA Annual Operational Report for the period 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023 no later than 31st July 2024.

In February, Scottish Government officials received an update from UNRWA that the UN Secretary-General, in consultation with the UNRWA Commissioner-General, commissioned an independent review to assess if the Agency is doing everything it can to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches. A final report is expected in April and will be made publicly available.

UNRWA released a press statement on 26 February 2024 stating that it is not aware of and has received no specific allegations regarding any systemic diversion of aid in Gaza by Hamas or other armed groups.

UNRWA is the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza and the primary source of life-saving aid for 2.3 million people. In pausing support for UNRWA, the lives of millions are being put at risk. The UK Government and the international community must work with the UN to find mechanisms to sustain and increase the levels of life-saving aid getting into Gaza.

The Scottish Government welcomes the model of early intervention being piloted as part of the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC) ‘No Time To Wait’ project. We will continue to engage with ECHC as the ‘No Time To Wait’ pilot continues and look forward to learning more from the evaluation of the model in due course.

We recognise the important role third sector organisations, such as ECHC, play in supporting and improving children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. That is why we fund a variety of organisations and services with a focus on prevention and early intervention to ensure all of Scotland’s children, young people and families receive the right care and support, at the right time, in settings which best meets their needs. In this financial year (23-24) we have invested a further £15 million into community mental health services for children, young people and families through our local authority framework to achieve this aim.

Education Scotland’s Improving Gender Balance and Equalities (IGBE) programme aims to establish interventions to effect long term cultural change with a particular focus on challenging gender stereotypes, and addressing the impacts of unconscious bias to encourage greater gender balance across occupations. The IGBE Programme works with school clusters to explore and assess interventions to address gender imbalances in participation, curricular preferences and learner pathways at every stage (3-18 years). The Programme is supported by £300,000 of Scottish Government funding in the current financial year.

The Teaching bursary advisory group is reconvened at the end of each year’s scheme. The role of the group is to review the implementation of the bursary scheme and provide advice on any necessary changes for the following year’s scheme.

The 2023-24 Teaching bursary advisory group is due to meet in March. Members include the Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland, COSLA, Universities and the Scottish Council of Deans.

Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL) data for 2022-23 showed record levels of attainment in literacy with 73% of primary school pupils achieving the expected Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) level for literacy, the highest figure since records began in 2016/17.

The proportion of P7 pupils achieving the expected level were at record highs in 2022-23 for literacy, and for each of the literacy organisers including reading where 81% achieved the expected level. The literacy gap between Primary 7 pupils from the most and most deprived areas and those from the least deprived areas was the narrowest on record in 2022-23 (20.5 percentage points). More information can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/achievement-curriculum-excellence-cfe-levels-2022-23/documents/

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24499 on‎ 23 January 2024. 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 natural regeneration of trees, scrub and associated ground vegetation across most parts of Scotland will be potentially vulnerable to deer (and other herbivore) impacts, such as browsing, fraying and trampling (as will young, planted trees and shrubs). When considering the impact of deer on our natural environment we look at a variety of evidence as well as advice from NatureScot. The data available for the impacts of deer numbers on natural regeneration is limited and may be combined with data for planted trees.

On Scotland’s National Forests and Land alone, which makes up almost 10% of Scotland, around 150 million young trees, naturally regenerated and planted, can be vulnerable to deer damage impacts at any one time. This includes native woodland, productive woodland (broadleaved and soft conifer tree species), and the expansion of natural regeneration onto open ground. The number and area of young trees and scrub vulnerable to deer damage impacts across the whole of Scotland will be significantly higher.

In terms of national data and evidence, recent statistics on Woodland Ecological condition produced by Forest Research shows that herbivore damage, which includes wild deer, is widespread with almost 50% of woodland area in unfavourable condition as a result of grazing.

Alongside that report, a 2013 a study on the National Forest Estate found that 15-20% of young trees had been damaged by deer. Then in 2014 the first Native Woodland Survey of Scotland assessed around 311,000 hectares of Scottish woodland, found that deer were present in over 70%, and that over 30% of that area had high or very high browsing impacts which were considered too high for the woodlands to survive by natural regeneration.

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to deer densities and our focus is on evidence of impacts when considering the best approach, the Deer Working Group recommended a target of 10 red deer per square kilometre in open hill, red deer range. We accepted that recommendation, and recognise that there are some areas of Scotland where that target is already being met. However, there are also areas of Scotland where deer populations, all four species, may be in excess of 20 deer per square kilometre and will be causing significant damage. We also recognise that in areas where there is to be natural regeneration, a density of 10 deer per square kilometre is still too high. The successful establishment and sustained management of natural regeneration can require low to very low deer densities of 1-5 deer per square kilometre, and for many woodland and open ground habitats may need to be sustained at densities as low as 2-3 deer per square kilometre.