Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is fully cooperating with both the UK and Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry and is in regular communication with Inquiry teams as required as both a core participant and a provider of material.

The Scottish Government is unable offer a running commentary on the conduct of the UK public inquiry which should be allowed to carry out its investigations and liaison with parties like the Scottish Government as it sees fit.

Antisocial behaviour is unacceptable on Scotland's public transport and in wider society. Tackling anti-social behaviour must focus on the causes, not the mode of transport. While the Young Persons Free Bus Travel Scheme changes the way in which bus travel is paid for, it does not affect bus operators’ conditions of carriage that all passengers are expected to follow.

The police, local authorities, and other local agencies are responsible for tackling anti-social behaviour at the local level. It is these agencies, empowered by the Scottish Government, working in a concerted and co-ordinated way with local people that are working to tackle the problem effectively.

I recognise that no single approach will tackle all anti-social behaviour. However, we support a suite of enforcement activities including Formal Warnings, Fixed Penalty Notices and Antisocial Behaviour Orders, alongside positive diversionary and early intervention activities. The Scottish Government will continue to work with partners to strengthen options to tackle anti-social behaviour.

The Scottish Government is encouraging anyone witnessing such incidents to report this behaviour to their local council’s Antisocial Behaviour Team and to report all criminal behaviour to the police.

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 members of the Ministerial Oversight Group on Homelessness are:

• Paul McLennan MSP, Minister for Housing (chair)
• Elena Whitham, MSP, Minister for Drugs & Alcohol Policy
• Maree Todd, MSP, Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport
• Emma Roddick, MSP Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees
• Natalie Don, MSP, Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise
• Jenni Minto, MSP, Minister for Public Health and Woman’s Health
• Joe Fitzpatrick, MSP, Minster for Local Government and Planning
• Siobhan Brown, MSP, Minister for Victims and Community Safety
• Patrick Harvie, MSP, Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights
• Graeme Dey, MSP, Minister for Higher and Further Education; and Minister for Veterans

The Ministerial Oversight Group on Homelessness remit is to bring together ministers from across the Scottish Government to identify the actions required across portfolios to prevent and end homelessness. The group then collectively ensures delivery of these actions. The group provides a space for shared political leadership and enhanced policy links with a view to ensuring everyone has a safe, warm place to call home.

We have published further information on the Ministerial Oversight Group on Homelessness on the Scottish Government’s website at Ministerial Oversight Group on Homelessness - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . This includes the membership and terms of reference of the group. The Ministerial Oversight Group on Homelessness has so far had one meeting. The minutes, once available, will also be uploaded to this webpage.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials have been in frequent contact with farmers and farming representatives regarding the impacts of the extreme weather and severe flooding in October, including Storm Babet. I held a roundtable with NFUS and other agricultural representatives following the flooding in early October to gain an overview of the impacts at that stage, and visited an affected farm in Perthshire to meet a range of agricultural representatives. Officials have also been in regular contact with farmers, including through our area officer networks, to understand the impacts of the severe flooding in early October and from Storm Babet across the country.

In the aftermath of Storm Babet, I spoke at the NFUS Autumn Conference on 26th October and confirmed there that we would work with the agricultural sector to bring forward support for the repair of the floodbanks damaged by the extreme rainfall during October that protect our vitally productive farmland. I then spoke with farmers at the AgriScot conference on 22nd November and confirmed that following that engagement with the sector the Scottish Government has now established and funded a scheme for agricultural flood bank repair, with a budget of £1.8 million set aside.

The Scottish Government has been working closely with the UK Government to implement the proposed amendments to the Renters (Reform) Bill that would make it illegal for landlords and letting agents to apply a blanket ban on renting to people who receive benefits or to families with children.

It is intended that a further amendment for Scotland will be tabled at the Bill’s Report Stage. This will ensure that an important legislative proposal to benefit renters can commence in Scotland at the same time as England and Wales.

I have notified the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee and the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee, at the earliest possible opportunity, of my intention for a Legislative Consent Memorandum to be lodged in relation to that amendment, after it has been tabled at Report Stage.

The numbers of teachers who have participated in the Teacher Induction Scheme since 2016 is provided in the following table:

In relation to the ARC Bill, these outcomes bear their ordinary meaning.

The Agriculture Reform Route Map published a glossary of terms including an understanding for regenerative agriculture in June this year.

The cost of the most recent national donor gamete campaign delivered in partnership with NHS Scotland is £50,519.60 inclusive of VAT.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) about registration waiting times for teachers qualified outside of Scotland (QoS) and I have raised this directly with Pauline Stephen, Chief Executive and Registrar, at the GTCS. We are aware that they receive a high number of applications – approximately 1,300 a year – and that GTCS has been taking steps to improve waiting times for decisions.

In August, GTCS reported that it had recruited additional staff to deal with the QoS workload, which initially had a greater impact on processing times for ‘qualified within the UK’ applications. They are continuing to look for ways to manage the workload as efficiently as possible.