Chamber and committees

Section 8(5) of The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020 sets out that SEPA must publish and maintain a list of registered producers in such manner as it considers appropriate. The Regulations do not specify a date or deadline by which that publication must be made publicly available. SEPA remains committed to make this available on their website before the scheme goes live in August 2023.

Scottish Ministers’ powers relating to inspection of educational establishments and services are set out in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. Inspections of educational establishments are carried out by HM Inspectors.

HM Inspectors develop and maintain a set of specific inspection and review guidance which describes how HM Inspectors work in particular sectors or areas of provision. This is published on Education Scotland’s website.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15129 on‎ 7 March 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 set out in Section 8 of The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020 , SEPA will publish a register of all producers who are registered ahead of the scheme launching.

Over half (55.8%) of the people in Scotland who have never worked aged 16 to 64 were in full-time education. Just because someone does not have a job does not mean they are not making a valuable contribution to our economy and society.

In October 2021-September 2022, the latest data, it was estimated that 257,500 people aged 16 to 64 years in Scotland had never worked, 7.5 per cent of the population. The lowest level and rate since October 2010-September 2011.

The proportion of the population aged 16 to 64 who had never worked had been increasing over time, reaching a peak of 8.8 per cent in October 2015-September 2016. Since then, the proportion has typically been decreasing.

The estimated number and proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in Scotland who have never worked is provided in Table 1. Estimates of the number of people who have never worked are available from 2004 onwards.

Table 1: Estimated number and proportion of the people aged 16-64 who have never worked, Oct 2004-Sep 2005 to Oct 2021-Sep 2022, Scotland

The Scottish Government holds some of the information asked for and this has been provided in the following table.

Table - The number of Significant Adverse Event Reviews commissioned for a Category I event – data held by Scottish Government .

The information has been provided with the following caveats:

• This table shows Category I adverse events receiving a Level 1 review, or Significant Adverse Event Review (SAER), as reported to Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) through the national notification system. This does not include ‘never events’ (defined as: “serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur if relevant preventive measures have been put in place”).
• It covers the period January 2020 to February 2022. Prior to this date, this information was not collected centrally.
• The Scottish Government does not routinely request the information from HIS. Further information will be held by HIS.

Data on SAERs commissioned before January 2020 will be held by individual NHS Health Boards.

Homelessness data collected by the Scottish Government is management information gathered by local authorities as part of carrying out their statutory duties in providing support to anyone in Scotland who is found to be unintentionally homeless/threatened with homelessness, and who is eligible for homelessness assistance, including students. Detailed information on occupation or student status of household members is not currently collected in the homelessness data returns.

The review of homelessness data collections is considering what changes need to and can be made to data generated by local authorities with the aim of bringing these up to date, improving consistency and better meeting user needs.

A public consultation on changes required for the homelessness data collections was carried out in Winter 2020. No responses were received from universities, colleges or the National Union of Students Scotland. Feedback on Scottish Government homelessness statistics can be provided to the homelessness statistics and analysis team at any time via their dedicated inbox [email protected].

Data gaps identified during the development of new homelessness data collection content will be considered as part of the review. Decisions on content will require a balance to be struck between asking local authorities to record any additional information, the resources this would require to implement, data quality and how much this would improve the overall monitoring of homelessness in Scotland.

In consultation with local authority data providers a review was felt to be valuable to ensure data collections were as up to date as possible, reflecting changes in homelessness legislation, terminology and policy. In addition, the review would aim to rationalise the collections by updating these to better reflect the data needs of the sector and data users.

Work is ongoing and we anticipate that a full review of existing content, development of new or alternative content and agreement on final content will be concluded by end 2024-beginning of 2025. This includes time to adequately research content, hold in-depth discussion with data providers and stakeholders to understand data requirements and feasibility of collection. The work will involve review of all relevant legislation and statutory guidance. The aim is to also build in an opportunity to share draft amended content publicly, with a final opportunity for stakeholders to provide feedback before content is fully agreed.

Further information about each of these policy matters is as follows.

(a) Conversion therapy

A ban on conversion therapy was a commitment in the SNP’s 2021 manifesto. It was agreed by Cabinet in August 2021, both as part of the Bute House Agreement and as part of the Programme for Government 2021-22.

(b) Deposit Return Scheme

A commitment to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme was agreed by Cabinet in August 2017 as part of the Programme for Government 2017-18.

Cabinet agreed the design of the Deposit Return Scheme in April 2019 and agreed the original commencement date for inclusion in legislation in January 2020.

The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020 were approved by the Scottish Parliament in May 2020 and Parliament agreed The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Amendment Regulations 2022 in February 2022.

Cabinet has been updated and had the opportunity to comment on the implementation plans for the scheme on many occasions.

(c) Alcohol advertising

A commitment to introduce restrictions on alcohol advertising in locations where children would be readily exposed to it was included in the SNP’s 2021 manifesto. A commitment to consult on such restrictions was agreed by Cabinet in August 2021 as part of the Programme for Government 2021-22. The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Legislation approved the publication of this consultation paper in November 2022.

(d) Safe access zones

A commitment to support any local authority that wants to establish byelaws to create protest-free buffer zones outside clinics that provide abortion services was included in the SNP’s 2021 manifesto. Cabinet agreed this commitment in August 2021 as part of the Programme for Government 2021-22. The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Legislation agreed to support the development and drafting of Gillian Mackay’s Member’s Bill (the Proposed Abortion Services Safe Access Zones (Scotland) Bill) in July 2022.

Zero Waste Scotland are currently working with businesses from the initial round of applications and an announcement on the outcome will be made in due course.