Chamber and committees

As set out in the most recent Public Health Scotland (PHS) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) waiting times quarterly publication, CAMHS is classified as multi-disciplinary teams that provide treatment and interventions for children and young people experiencing mental health problems.

Where they are awaiting an assessment for a neurodevelopmental condition such as ASD or ADHD, they may not be considered for CAMHS because they do not meet the National Referral Criteria described in the CAMHS national service specification standards. Broadly these state that if a child is presenting with mental health problems that are causing significant impact on their day-to-day lives and other approaches are not appropriate. However in some individual cases, it may be the case that patients with neurodevelopmental conditions are still reported under CAMHS as long as they fit the specification criteria.

The Scottish Government continues to deliver on its commitment to build the case for an independent Scotland within the EU, through the development of a prospectus to give people the information they need to make an informed choice about their future. I’m pleased to confirm that on 25 April we will publish the thirteenth paper in the Building a New Scotland series ‘Building a New Scotland: Justice in an independent Scotland’.

The paper sets out how independence would give Scotland the powers to take all the decisions in justice areas that are currently reserved, creating opportunities for more focused and creative action on some of the most challenging issues facing our society, such as drugs and gambling. The paper also describes how Scotland would be an open, engaged and positive international partner, able to play a key role in justice issues across borders, particularly around counter-terrorism, cybercrime and serious organised crime.

The Scottish Government is continuing to prepare further papers in the Building a New Scotland series and these will be published shortly. I can also confirm that the matters raised in this publication will be taken forward as part of a future debate on BaNS publications in the Scottish Parliament.

‘Building a New Scotland: Justice in an independent Scotland’ is available to view on the Scottish Government website from 25 April at www.gov.scot/newscotland

The Scottish Government will play a key role in delivering Project Gigabit procurements in Scotland. The Scottish Government will lead delivery of local (Type A) and regional (Type B) activity, providing opportunities for alternative network suppliers in Scotland. We will also work alongside the UK Government to manage the UK-wide (Type C) framework in Scotland.

This is a recognition of our strong track record of delivering large scale digital infrastructure programmes and will allow us to align Project Gigabit with our own Reaching 100% (R100) programme.

The first local procurement in Scotland is expected to launch imminently, covering the Borders and East Lothian areas. A regional procurement, in the Dundee, Aberdeenshire, Angus, and Moray Coast areas is expected to follow in the coming months.

The Scottish Government and Building Digital UK (BDUK) have worked together to prepare further procurements, and these will be launched if and when we are confident that there is the market interest needed for them to succeed. We are also preparing the ground for the UK-wide (Type C) framework to deliver across Scotland.

Unlike our R100 programme, there is no predetermined level of funding assigned to deliver connections in Scotland via Project Gigabit. Instead, funding is allocated to each individual procurement based on a model developed by the UK Government.

As we work jointly to deliver these procurements in Scotland, we will continue to urge the UK Government to match our ambition for Scotland’s digital infrastructure with a sufficient level of financial commitment to deliver in this wholly reserved area.

The Scottish Government has stated an ambition to establish a pilot scheme on methane supressing feed products. Officials are currently exploring options for the proposed scheme.

The pilot scheme will support policy development around the appropriate use of methane supressing feed products. Officials will consider the appropriate targeting of such a pilot scheme, this will include consideration of farm business specialisation and size including the role of livestock crofts in such a pilot scheme.

The Scottish Government has been supportive of the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association since their inception in Scotland and since 2016-17 has supported the movement’s growth. In the financial year 2023-24, grant funding was provided under the portfolio of myself. However, the work of the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association is cross-cutting and is not supported by a specific minister. As with other third sector organisations, engagement with the organisation spans across a range of portfolio areas including health and social care, equalities, and communities.

Since 2019 the number of teachers in Scottish schools has increased from 52,247 to 54,033 and the pupil teacher ratio has improved from 13.6 to 13.2.

Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of teaching staff, and the Scottish Government continues to provide local authorities with £145.5 million in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers more widely.

The Strategic Board for Teacher Education is also considering issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail, together with work to improving the promotion of teaching as a valued career.

Since 2019 the number of teachers in Scottish schools has increased from 52,247 to 54,033 and the pupil teacher ratio has improved from 13.6 to 13.2.

Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of teaching staff, and the Scottish Government continues to provide local authorities with £145.5 million in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers more widely.

Our Teaching Bursary Scheme is offering a £20,000 payment to career changers who are looking to undertake teacher training in hard to fill STEM subjects – physics, maths, technical education, computing science, chemistry and home economics.

The Strategic Board for Teacher Education is also considering issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail, together with work to improving the promotion of teaching as a valued career.

The Scottish Governments Foreword - Health and Social Care Standards: my support, my life - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) set out what people should expect when using health, social care or social work services in Scotland including care homes. They seek to provide better outcomes for everyone; to ensure that individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and that the basic human rights are upheld. Standard 2.12 states that if residents are unable to make their own decisions, the views of those who know their wishes, such as carers, independent advocates, formal or informal representatives must be sought and taken into account.

The Care Inspectorate is the regulator of care services in Scotland and is a non- departmental body and independent of the Scottish Government. Using the Health and Social Care Standards, they inspect services to ensure the safety, protection and wellbeing of residents. Through their inspection process, they review personal plans to determine the capacity status of individuals in receipt of care and support. If a valid s47 certificate of incapacity is in place they will review that the legal proxy advocate is involved in pro-active decision making about the care and support in accordance with the individual.

The most recently published figures show a cumulative spend of £7.141m which supports the assessment, urgent interim measures and remediation of those buildings with the pilot programme. Information on expenditure is published quarterly on gov.scot

https://www.gov.scot/publications/single-building-assessment-spending-information/

The ‘Hate Monster’ is a Police Scotland campaign which ran for 6 weeks in Spring last year. The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

I will assume you are referring to the Scottish Government’s ‘Hate Hurts’ campaign which ran in March. The campaign showed the impact that hate crime has on those affected to help people recognise their experiences, highlighted the forms that hate crime can take and encouraged those who are witnesses to, or victims of hate crime to report it.

The campaign sends a message of reassurance to all communities in Scotland that hate crime will not be tolerated. c£390k was invested in the ‘Hate Hurts’ national campaign which included a broadcast and print.