Chamber and committees

Police Scotland is reviewing the project’s timings as part of their wider planning for 2023/24 and beyond.

My predecessor met with the Assistant Chief Constable on 9 February on this matter, and whilst all those involved with delivering the National Dashcam Safety Portal remain committed to implementing this important safety initiative, I have asked my officials for an urgent update from Police Scotland on this matter.

Officials have met with the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) to discuss attracting more people to apply for environmental health courses and to work in local authorities.

The Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health is due to meet with REHIS soon to discuss these themes.

The Scottish Social Services Council, as the regulator of social care services, publishes an annual report on the social services workforce which can be found on their website here: Scottish Social Service Sector: Report on 2021 Workforce Data (sssc.uk.com) .

Their latest report shows that, at the end of 2021, there were more than 208,000 people working in the social services workforce.

The introduction of biometric identification systems is a matter for local authorities and schools to decide upon at local level.

Our position is clear that the views of parents, pupils and school staff should be taken into account as part of any decision-making process to introduce and implement biometric identification systems. Furthermore, information collected through a biometric system must, like all personal data, be processed fairly and lawfully in line with data protection law.

Information on Social Care Eligibility and Waiting times is collected and published by the Scottish Government. This is publicly available via the following link: Social Care Eligibility Criteria And Waiting Times, Scotland, 2020-21 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Many Local Authorities have reported difficulty in providing the information asked for in this data collection, which has had a significant impact on the robustness of the information available for analysis. We have been working with Public Health Scotland (PHS) to consider the future of this data and are developing plans to capture waiting times data within existing Social Care collections returned to PHS, aiming to make it more straightforward for partnerships to provide data, and in turn resulting in more complete and consistent data in the future.

The Scottish Government is working with partners in local government, The Scottish Sensory Centre, Sense Scotland and the General Teaching Council for Scotland to update existing guidance on qualifications and teacher competencies for those who teach children and young people with sensory loss.

A public consultation on the updated guidance is planned for later this year.

The latest statistics show that despite the challenging economic conditions, the total number of businesses in Scotland rose to 360,910 in 2022, a 5.2 per cent increase on the previous year.

However we know businesses in Scotland are struggling because of Brexit and the UK government’s mismanagement of the economy. That is why the Scottish Government is doing all it can, through our limited levers, to provide immediate support to businesses including the lowest Non-Domestic Rates poundage in the UK.

At the same time, we are delivering our National Strategy for Economic Transformation to achieve our long-term ambitions for a stronger, fairer, and greener economy. The activities we are delivering are supporting businesses, encouraging and cultivating new businesses, and attracting more businesses to Scotland.

We are working closely with delivery partners, businesses, the third sector and trade unions to successfully implement the strategy and transform our economy.

Education Scotland are leading on a national engagement programme for Pupil Support Staff, which sought the views of Pupil Support Staff, senior leaders, children and young people and parents and carers.

The 4 month consultation element of the programme was extended and closed in March 2023. Over 2,500 surveys were completed representing all 32 local authorities. Analysis and evaluation of all the programme responses is in progress as is the programme report and should be completed by July 2023.

The programme has provided the first national opportunity for Pupil Support Staff to share their views on a range of areas including whether they feel it would be beneficial to have their own workforce vison and set of values. They were also asked to collaborate on the development of any potential workforce vision and values using draft versions provided. A wide range of suggestions and comments were received and this feedback is currently being collated within the programme evaluation report.

Once a Community Payback Order (CPO) has been imposed, its management – including with regard to compliance and attendance – is a matter for the courts and local authority justice social work services. The Scottish Government therefore does not collect or collate this information.

Managing compliance effectively is critical to achievement of the purposes of a CPO. If an individual does not attend any part of their CPO, this will be investigated by justice social work services. If the reason for absence is not acceptable, this will result in the commencement of a formal warning process, which can result in the case being returned to court under breach procedures, where the court will consider the breach.

Seventy-nine per cent of orders which ended during 2021-22 did not involve any breach applications for the duration of the order. It is up to the independent courts to decide the most appropriate outcome where a CPO has been breached, based on all of the circumstances of the case, and ultimately this may include the imposition of a custodial sentence.

To help bring benefits to the people of Scotland.

The Solicitor General attended the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting in Mauritius in November 2022 as part of the UK delegation, led by Justice Minister Mike Freer, to raise and maintain Scotland’s profile and share best practice with Commonwealth Law Ministers regarding issues being faced by legal systems and the importance of the rule of law.

The Solicitor General also attended the European Conference of Prosecutors that was organised between the Council of Europe, the Italian Ministry of Justice and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation held in Palermo in May 2022. The conference brought together high-level prosecutors from all Council of Europe member states to share their perspectives and challenges concerning the independence and accountability of public prosecutors, while taking into account the existing systems rooted in different legal cultures.