Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government hasn’t undertaken any analysis of the number of students articulating from college to university in the last financial year.

Latest data covering articulation from college to university is published in the annual Scottish Funding Council (SFC) publication ‘Report on Widening Access’, which relates to those starting university in the 2021-22 academic year.

Report on Widening Access 2021-22 - Scottish Funding Council (sfc.ac.uk)

Data covering the 2022-23 academic year will be published later this year, with 2023-24 data in 2025 and the current academic year (2024-25) being published in 2026.

Whilst the Transport (Scotland) Act was implemented in 2019, sections 120 and 121 required secondary legislation to be enacted. This secondary legislation was enacted and came into effect on 1 October 2023.

We expect reports from Health Boards in Winter 2024. Assessments will be made once these reports are received.

Yes, it is the intention of the Scottish Government that Professor Anna Glasier OBE will remain Women’s Health Champion beyond June 2024.

The Women’s Health Champion, Professor Anna Glasier OBE, has been central to the delivery of the Women’s Health Plan, and driving forward action to improve women’s health in Scotland.

The legislation sets out maximum processing times and authorities are working within these to process applications as quickly as possible. Existing hosts can continue to operate while their applications are being processed and licensing authorities are prioritising applications from new hosts during this transitional period. Hosts are encouraged to work with councils to supply missing documentation in a timely manner, as incomplete applications will understandably increase processing times.

Licensing authorities administer local short-term let licensing schemes based on a cost recovery model. When I met with the City of Edinburgh Council recently on this matter, it advised it is resourced to handle the volume of enquiries and applications it has received, this includes a team who will specifically focus on ensuring a quick turnaround of temporary exemption applications for the summer period.

I am interpreting your question as relating to the number of prisoners who may potentially be released early under emergency release powers.

Section 11 of the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 (which came into force on 26 May) provides Ministers with a power to release prisoners in emergency situations. I have now laid draft regulations for emergency release, setting out the eligibility criteria, for Parliament’s consideration and approval.

The number of prisoners that would be released in specific geographical areas would depend on a number of factors, including the composition of the prison population at the relevant time and the application of the Governor’s veto, for example.

The Scottish Government intends to publish costs of the tribunal, which will include payments it has made towards the legal costs of Sheriff Jack Brown in relation to his fitness for judicial office tribunal proceedings. Following a recent Freedom of Information request for this information, the Scottish Government will publish these details on its website, as soon as possible after the Freedom of Information response is issued.

Migrant workers are essential contributors to our communities, public services, and vitally help address skills shortages.

Scotland’s Fair Work Action Plan sets out actions to become a leading Fair Work Nation by 2025.

The Scottish Government have funded the Worker Support Centre since 2022 to provide free and confidential support to seasonal migrant workers so that more of them understand their workplace rights and how to exercise them. RSABI (founded as the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution) provides practical, emotional, and financial support to all people involved in the Scottish agricultural industry.

Control over employment and industrial relations legislation is currently reserved to the UK Parliament; while this remains the case, we will continue to use our Fair Work policy to drive up labour market standards for workers across the Scottish labour market.

Following engagement with teachers and stakeholders, the Scottish Government has further considered the role of the national education agency, including how it can add most value to Scotland’s education system.

An excellent curriculum from 3-18 requires national leadership and direction. Therefore, the primary purpose and focus of Scotland’s national education agency will be to lead curriculum design, delivery and improvement, including the provision of resources to support high quality learning and teaching.

The national agency will also have an important role in supporting a thriving professional learning sector through a national framework for professional learning and will build on the existing and well-regarded national leadership professional learning programmes.

The Scottish Government is ambitious for all of Scotland's children and young people and Scotland’s local authorities and schools have an important role in creating the conditions for them to thrive. The national agency will work with local authorities to inform approaches to wellbeing, inclusion, behaviour and enabling better support for those with additional support needs. The national agency will also employ its unique national perspective to inform, share and promote wider approaches to improvement to close attainment gaps as set out in the National Improvement Framework.

The Scottish Government has determined that refocussing Education Scotland will deliver the change and improvement necessary to achieve excellence and equity for Scotland’s children and young people including across Gaelic Medium Education.

Work is underway to set out further detail on transition plans and associated timescales, including for the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive for a refocussed Education Scotland and HM Chief Inspector of Education, both of which will be taken forward as quickly as practicable. In line with previous commitments, there will be no compulsory redundancies as a result of this reform.

Scottish Ambulance Service see volunteers as a key part of its 2030 strategy, there is an emphasis on working collaboratively with communities to improve population health, enhance the resilience of communities and deliver high quality emergency care for patients. Community First Responders are an integral component of this approach.

Co-ordination of Community First Responders (CFRs) and Wildcat Cardiac Responders sits within the Scottish Ambulance Service National Risk and Resilience Department (NRRD). The Community Resilience team within NRRD provide governance, recruitment, training, and support to CFR schemes and ensure the consistency of operating practice across Scotland.

CFRs subscribe to an agreed governance framework and clinically approved Scope of Practice. The primary focus of the role is responding to cardiac arrests, heart problems, chest pains, breathing difficulties, stroke and choking. Volunteering is flexible and there is no minimum requirement.

CFRs are dispatched, predominantly via Airwave radio, by the Alternative Resource Desk (ARD) within the Ambulance Control Centre. CFRs may also use the GoodSam app to ensure an expedited response to known and suspected cardiac arrests.