Chamber and committees

As reported by the Deputy First Minister on 21 st November, the £13 million originally allocated for 2023-24 has been announced as part of the savings required to reach a balanced budget. We are now considering all options for the device commitment, including a range of delivery options. Ultimately, local authorities have responsibility for the procurement and management of their own digital assets.

As of 06 November 2023, there are 40 civil servants working within the Covid Inquiries Response Directorate. The breakdown by civil service grade is as follows:

As part of the scientific trial on electrofishing for razor clams, the Scottish Government has collected biological information related to the species. This has included live samples of razor clams which have been analysed to determine sex, stage of maturity, spawning time and length-weight relationships.

Scottish Government has worked closely with fishers to identify spawning season through first-hand experience and knowledge gathered through fishing. Annual progress reports are published online: 2018-2019 , 2019-2020 , 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 ).

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23070 on 4 December 2023. 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 Scottish Government first established the Covid Inquiries Information Governance Division in July 2021 to support the Scottish Government in promptly responding to requests for information from the both the UK and Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry.

The division then became the Covid Inquires Response Directorate in February 2022 and is part of Director General Corporate. I have portfolio responsibility for the Covid Inquiries response.

The Scottish Government is taking action to support families with the cost of school uniform and clothing so that every child in Scotland can attend school feeling comfortable, confident, and ready to learn.

In partnership with local authorities, we have delivered on our commitment to increase the level of school clothing grant in Scotland. This vital support for families has increased to at least £120 for eligible primary school pupils and £150 for eligible secondary school pupils. As part of action to further reduce the cost of the school day for families, we have committed through the 2023-24 Programme for Government to increase funding to local authorities for school clothing grant in the next financial year. This is in addition to the increased funding for school clothing grant that was provided in 2023-24 financial year which took the total funding provided to local authorities to £13m.

To further support families, we will also introduce national guidance on school uniform and clothing. This will support schools to work with families to develop and implement affordable and sustainable uniform and clothing policies that recognise the individual needs, circumstances and identities of all pupils and reduce costs of families. It is anticipated that the guidance will be published in spring 2024.

These measures are being taken forward as part of our wider action to tackle child poverty and protect people as much as possible during the ongoing cost of living crisis.

(a) The NHSScotland Staff Governance Standard includes the requirement for Health Boards to demonstrate that staff are appropriately trained and developed. There is an expectation that employers will ensure that resources are appropriately allocated to meet local training and development needs taking into account the current priorities of both the service and service users.

There are examples of Health Boards delivering on these expectations in relation to BSL. For example, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde offer a suite of BSL professional learning opportunities including courses for staff to learn basic BSL. Public Health Scotland also offer professional learning to support NHS staff to increase their awareness of BSL and to reflect on their own practice.

(b) Under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004, local authorities have duties to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those who are deaf. Local authorities are supported in implementing their duties under the 2004 Act through the statutory code of practice on additional support for learning. Where a teacher wholly or mainly teaches a pupil who is deaf, local authorities have a duty to ensure they are appropriately qualified.

The Scottish Government funds the Scottish Sensory Centre to provide advice and training to school staff on support for children and young people with specific communication and sensory needs. Education Scotland has also developed a professional learning resource which seeks to support staff to engage more effectively with BSL users.

The Scottish Government has received a number of requests from the UK Covid-19 Inquiry under Rule 9 of the Inquiry Rules Act 2006, and has been asked not to disclose the evidence that has been requested or provided, as have all core participants.

As a result, the Scottish Government is unable to confirm or comment on the details of any Rule 9 requests to individuals.

The Scottish Government remains fully committed in its cooperation with both the UK and Scottish Covid-19 Inquiries in their independent work to explore the handling of the pandemic and to identify the vital lessons we all need to learn.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23205 on 4 December 2023. 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 Scottish Government uses official statistics to monitor trends on reported incidents and people’s own experiences or perceptions of antisocial behaviour. These include the quarterly Recorded Crime in Scotland bulletin; Scottish Crime and Justice Survey and Scottish Household Survey (both annual surveys).

Reported antisocial behaviour over the last decade has decreased. I recognise that not all incidents are reported, and anecdotal information arises. However, the Scottish Government surveys people’s own experiences, which indicate that people generally feel safer, and the core Recorded Crime data of reported incidents, which also indicates an overall decrease in antisocial behaviour.

To understand the impact of the Young Persons Free Bus Travel Scheme, the Scottish Government have committed to an ongoing evaluation during the first five years of operation. This includes a one year after launch evaluation which will be published later this year and include consideration of the impact of antisocial behaviour on cardholders, other bus users and the bus industry.