Chamber and committees

This information is not held by the Scottish Government, and this would be a matter for Local Authorities. However, not every Local Authority has a Young Carer Champion, and if they do, they are not necessarily a teaching member of staff.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19616 on 6 July 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 four delivery model pilots of school swimming have now been completed and an evaluation is currently being undertaken which will be published in September. We will work with Scottish Swimming and sport scotland to utilise the learning from these pilots to consider the best approach for a continued roll out of a national framework for school swimming.

The decision on whether or not to issue a statement of prosecution policy in relation to the prosecution of users of any proposed safer drug consumption facility is for the Lord Advocate to consider in her position as independent head of the systems of prosecution and investigation of deaths. This decision is independent of Scottish Government so the timing of this response is unknown.

Once the Lord Advocate reaches a decision the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy will be able to respond appropriately, likely including a ministerial statement.

The allocation of places on the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) is based on students selecting a preference of five local authorities in which they wish to undertake their probationary year. The system is set to ensure that all newly qualified teachers are, in the first instance, offered a place in one of their preferred choices.

As an alternative to selecting a preference of five local authorities, a student can opt for the Preference Waiver Payment whereby they waive their right to express a preferred local authority and will be prioritised to remote and rural local authorities in return for an additional payment.

TIS does not provide a guarantee of future employment within that council. The future employment of teachers is solely a matter for local authorities. While it is for councils to recruit and employ sufficient teaching staff to meet the needs and interests of children and young people living in their areas, we would expect them to fill posts in an open and fair manner.

The Scottish Government is providing up to £246 million to SPT, towards the estimated total project cost of £287.5 million for the Subway modernisation programme, which includes: a smartcard ticketing system; new rolling stock and signalling; refurbished stations with improved accessibility.

To date, the Scottish Government has provided just over £142 million since 2011-12 to Subway Modernisation:

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, published earlier in the summer, sets out the shared vision of the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) to improve mental health and wellbeing.

It will be supported by an accompanying Delivery Plan and the Workforce Action Plan in the autumn and, thereafter, we will publish related actions to support students.

In the last 3 years surface dressing has been used in 5 locations on the Trunk Road Network. These locations are:

• A76 Bargower (South of Kilmarnock)
• A701 Boreland (North of Dumfries)
• A75 Hetland Hall (Between Annan and Dumfries)
• A75 Kinmount (Between Annan and Dumfries)
• A75 Bladnoch (West of Newton Stewart)

Scottish Government is aware of community concerns and Scottish Forestry attended a public consultation drop in event held in Langholm on 4 th May this year, which was arranged by the land owners and their forestry agents with encouragement to do so by officials.

As a result of the drop in session, the proposal which is being developed by Gresham House Forestry on behalf of James Jones and Sons, a private sector sawmilling company, will incorporate ideas and suggestions provided by the local community. It is expected that Sitka spruce, in the final design, will amount to only 25-35% of the total area, with the rest of the tree planting being designed to incorporate other diverse conifer species, native broadleaves and open unplanted ground. In addition, more than 40 % of the area will be retained for agricultural purposes, with the protection and incorporation of existing and new footpaths and public access routes.

The Scottish Government has not conducted an assessment regarding discharge levels from Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS) in Scottish ports. Whilst statutory port authorities have individual powers to regulate vessel activities within their harbour limits, the responsibility for shipping emission regulations is reserved to the UK Government. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is responsible for enforcing all shipping regulations in UK waters, to ensure vessels are meeting UK and international safety and environmental regulations.