Chamber and committees

A policy decision has been made to link the student loan age cap in Scotland to the UK state pension age, ensuring a 5 year gap between the two. This was implemented to allow students sufficient time to complete their studies, enter repayment and pay back some/all of their student loan. The current age cap of 61 reflects the UK state pension age of 66 and will increase in line with any future changes.

The Scottish Government is working in partnership with governments and football associations across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland on the joint bid to host EURO 2028. This bid was submitted jointly by the five football associations of the UK and Ireland on 12 April, 2023. The winning bid will be announced on 10 October, 2023.

Together with the Scottish Football Association and partners across the bid nations, we are continuing to develop legacy, sustainability and governance plans, in the event of a successful bid. UEFA EURO 2028 will have a significant global reach and has the potential to leave a positive lasting legacy in Scotland by generating significant economic, environmental and social benefits. The bid vision – Football for all, Football for good. Football for the future’ – is a promise to help the Football Associations and UEFA grow a more diverse and inclusive game.

Through the Bus Partnership Fund, Transport Scotland has awarded an initial £26.47m of funding to Bus Partnerships to develop and deliver bus priority measures on both local and trunk roads. The Scottish Government remains committed to providing further funding for bus priority once Partnerships have identified further projects supported by completed business cases.

The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) will inform the Scottish Government’s transport investment programme over the next 20 years and help to deliver the National Transport Strategy. STPR2 recommends bus priority is implemented in Scotland’s cities and towns where congestion is highest, many of which are being progressed though BPF. In the case of the motorway network, Transport Scotland would progress plans for the M8, M77 and M80, which includes looking at actively managed hard shoulders for buses like those already operating on the M90/M9 Queensferry Corridor and on the M8 eastbound approach to Hermiston Gait.

All these measures are aimed at reducing the negative impacts of congestion on bus services for passengers and addressing the decline in bus patronage.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19812 on‎ 1 August 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

As advised in the answer provided for S6W-12757 on 16 December 2022, phase 1 of the tactile paving at 18 stations was completed in March 2022.

Network Rail advise that, working closely with ScotRail, the aim is that all remaining stations owned and managed by Scotland’s Railway will have tactile paving installed by the end of 2023. These works are subject to sourcing materials.

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

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.