Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities to recruit Equity and Excellence Lead posts across all 32 local authorities, but does not monitor the movement of specific staff.

Scottish Government publishes snapshot figures of graduate level posts in funded Early Learning and Childcare in each local authority annually in ‘Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland’ report. The latest figures were collected in the week commencing 12 September 2022 and published on 13 December 2022, in Table 19 of the ‘Additional early learning and childcare tables’: Supporting documents - Summary Statistics For Schools In Scotland 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

This showed that 422 Equity and Excellence Leads were in post at that point in time, 376 Full Time Equivalent (FTE). This was an increase from 2021 when there were 356 (327 FTE).

The Scottish Government is engaging with Screen Scotland to explore all avenues for supporting the future of Screen Machine. I am also meeting with Regional Screen Scotland, who operate the Machine, on 5 October, so I can hear directly about the Machine and the support it needs to continue.

We recognise the value of cinema to communities as an important cultural asset, and we particularly understand the role Screen Machine plays in bringing cinema to communities for whom such access is limited.

We welcome the funding provided by Screen Scotland earlier this year, which allowed Screen Machine to lease a temporary replacement cinema until April 2024.

Health and Social Care Partnerships submit monthly reports to Public Health Scotland on the number of people waiting for packages of care. The last published submission on the 21st August showed that 294 people were waiting for a care at home package in the community and 65 people were waiting for a care at home package from hospital on the 7 th of August in Dumfries and Galloway. 84 people were waiting for a social care support assessment from the community and no one was waiting for a social care support assessment from hospital on the 7th August in Dumfries and Galloway.

These figures represent a snapshot and will vary on a daily basis as individuals are added to lists at point of assessment and are subsequently assigned care packages.

The Scottish Government knows that the sector faces challenges and is committed to working with all partners to improve social care support services and to delivering a National Care Service to provide high quality care across the country.

Council Tax is a local tax and the responsibility for the administration of the system, including the application of any reductions, rests with each individual local authority.

Properties that are incapable of being occupied, that are undergoing, or which have undergone, major repairs or structural alterations are exempt from Council Tax for up to 12 months. Local authorities also have discretionary powers to reduce the Council Tax liability of unoccupied properties by up to 50% for an unlimited period.

In the Programme for Government we committed to begin work to phase in an expanded national offer for more families with two-year-olds, focusing on those who will benefit most. We already offer 1140 hours of high quality, funded early learning and childcare to around a quarter of families with two year olds who experience the most disadvantage.

We now have the highest number of two year olds ever accessing the existing funded 1140 offer and following years of work with the UK Government we now have new data sharing agreements in place which mean that, for the first time, local authorities are able to access much better information to allow them to identify and contact eligible families.

We will continue to work closely with local authorities and providers to maximise uptake of the existing offer as we develop plans to phase in the expansion.

Over the next year we will also work with local authorities and our partners in the sector to develop plans to expand access to around 40% of families in Scotland over time.

Further detail, including on the additional investment required to deliver the childcare expansion over this Parliament, will be set out at the Scottish Budget for 2024-25 later this year.

The current arrangements for religious and belief celebrants, and civil registrars, to solemnise marriage and register civil partnership allow couples to choose from a wide range of options for their ceremony to satisfy both the requirements of the law, and of any religion or belief.

These arrangements were broadened under the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 (the Act). Couples can now have their marriage solemnised by a celebrant from a belief body as an alternative to having a civil or a religious ceremony. Intended civil partners also have the same options as those who wish to marry.

The Policy Memorandum that accompanied the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill in the Parliament set out the Government’s reasons for rejecting the option of opening the solemnisation of marriage to celebrants with no link to a religious or belief body at paragraph 28.

This remains our position and we have no plans to change the law.

Today I am pleased to announce the launch of ‘A Warm Scots Future’ in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and the Scottish Refugee Council.

The paper sets out the policy direction for the next phase of Scotland’s response to the humanitarian crisis created by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. This will help the Scottish Government, and its partners, to transition from an emergency response to a long-term and holistic approach that supports the integration of displaced people from Ukraine. This is in alignment with the New Scots approach, which aims to support integration from day one.

To aid this transition, five overarching and interlinked strategic priorities have been identified to guide the next phase of Scotland’s Ukraine response. These are:

1. A trauma informed, holistic and rights-based approach to long-term integration, in line with the New Scots refugee integration strategy

2. Reduce reliance on welcome accommodation

3. Boost long-term, settled housing that leaves a legacy for Scotland

4. Pursue clarity on routes to settlement, family reunification and repatriation

5. Continued partnership and collaboration, ensuring good governance and recognising the lived experience of displaced people from Ukraine.

We will now work closely with partners to deliver against these strategic priorities, and ensure displaced people from Ukraine achieve the best outcomes possible as they build their lives in Scotland.

‘A Warm Scots Future’ Policy Position Paper.

I can confirm Dame Sue Bruce, the Chair of the Independent Review of Inspection, Scrutiny and Regulation of Social Care Support in Scotland, has submitted her findings to Ministers and the Independent Review of Inspection, Scrutiny and Regulation Recommendation Report alongside the IRISR Call for Evidence Analysis Report have been published on 27 September 2023.

Dame Sue Bruce has made 38 recommendations and I will consider these in full before setting out a full response.

I am content with the recommendation report provided by Dame Sue Bruce and I will consider the recommendations in full before setting out a full response and make a statement to Parliament.

The 2023-24 Scottish budget provides over £250 million funding to NHS Boards to support Covid-19 and other services. This funding is used to support the Covid-19 vaccination programme, testing, personal protection equipment and public health measures.

Within monthly financial returns issued to Scottish Government from NHS Boards on their Covid-19 expenditure with over £45 million of reported expenditure as at month 4. Please note, this total is based on the most recent figures reported by NHS Boards.

Information is not presented in the way requested due to the information being received from numerous stakeholder systems.

From August 2022, when the new legislation came into effect:

Management information received from Police Scotland internal systems on 26 September 2023.

Offences recorded under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 by Police Scotland.

• Legislation went live 6 October 2022:

Section 21 - Proxy Purchase - 2 Crime Reports raised – enquiries ongoing.

• Legislation went live 6 June 2023:

Section 35 – Pyrotechnic in a public place – 4 Crime Reports raised – 2 arrested and report submitted to COPFS, 2 reported to COPFS.

o Section 36 – Pyrotechnic designated sporting/music event. 9 Crime reports raised – 6 reported to COPFS (2 disposed through Early and Effective Intervention), 3 undetected (incidents captured on CCTV – no suspect identified).

Management information received from Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) on 14 September 23.

• A total of seven charges, across five cases, have been reported to COPFS under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022.
• Of those seven charges, four (across two cases) are currently pending and awaiting a decision on how to proceed. All of those four charges are for contraventions of S.21(1) (the proxy purchasing charge).
• The remaining three charges, across three cases, were prosecuted in court, with two (both contraventions of S.35(1) – possession of a pyrotechnic article in a public place) still ongoing.
• The third one (a contravention of article 36(1) – possession of a pyrotechnic article in a designated venue or at a designated event) plead guilty to the common law charge of culpably and recklessly igniting a pyrotechnic article within a football stadium, and the accused’s plea of not guilty was accepted to the statutory charge under S.36(1) on that basis.
• Sixty one charges have been reported to COPFS with the statutory aggravation under S.44 for emergency workers.

Management information received from Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) administrative database (COPII).

• The management information received from SCTS (and published by the Scottish Government quarterly being the latest update January 2023-March 2023) indicates that there are no convictions recorded for accused prosecuted for charges under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022.

Source: Police Scotland, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) administrative database (COPII).