Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government welcomes The UK Commission on Bereavement’s report and the focus it brings to improving the experience of people affected by grief. We value the holistic approach taken by the UK Commission on Bereavement which recognises that bereavement touches many aspects of our lives, including emotional wellbeing and health, school and work life, finances, and housing.

Our programme of bereavement work sits across Ministerial portfolios, reflecting the wide range of impacts bereavement has on people’s lives. We have already taken steps to progress and align our cross-Government programme of work to ensure we adopt the holistic approach advocated by the UK Commission.

The Scottish Government is open to exploring how it can support land reform objectives using its limited powers over taxation and included a question on how these powers could be used in the consultation for the upcoming Land Reform Bill.

All responses to the consultation are currently being considered and a full consultation analysis will be published later in the spring. Any proposals on taxation will be considered in the context of the current devolved settlement and against the Scottish Government’s Framework for Tax.

The Scottish Government remains opposed to the forced installation of pre-payment meters, and we welcome Ofgem’s recent announcement that suppliers will not be restarting prepayment meter installations next month, as previously intended. Scottish Government officials are engaging with Ofgem on its current review of guidance for suppliers on the use of pre-payment meters to ensure that the rights and interests of Scottish consumers are fully considered.

The Scottish Government, through our initiative for responding to redundancy situations, Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE), has provided continuous support to assist the workforce of Stoneywood paper mill, in Aberdeen.

On 22 September 2022, PACE information was supplied to the administrator, Interpath Advisory, for distribution to the workforce immediately following the announcement of redundancies, to facilitate their self-referral to PACE services. As previously advised, a PACE support and employment event took place on 29 September, which was attended by approximately 136 individuals, followed by a Jobs Fair on 10 October, which was attended by approximately 500 individuals. Additional PACE support has also been routinely provided to the retained Arjowiggins staff, which included onsite delivery on 11, 24 and 31 January 2023. Further on site delivery may take place with retained staff, should demand be confirmed.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data. Court operational matters, including the system and arrangements for jury service, fall within the remit of the independent Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS).

The Scottish Animal Welfare Commission has established a working group to consider the microchipping of cats alongside the UK Government’s recently published draft legislation. Scottish Ministers will carefully consider their findings once published.

The Scottish Government’s Code of Practice for the Welfare of Cats recommends that all cat owners should consider neutering and microchipping their pets as the best way of being reunited with their rightful owners, should they be separated.

The Scottish Government remains willing to consider areas where consistent changes to legislation in all GB administrations will improve the welfare of kept animals and strengthen the prospects of separated animals being returned to their owners.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data. Court operational matters, including the system and arrangements for jury service, fall within the remit of the independent Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS).

The Scottish Government has not carried out an analysis of the impact that citations for jury service may have on the wider economy.

We recognise the importance of Junior Doctors to NHS Scotland and the important work they contribute. Their demands for an above retail price index pay increase, plus an additional ask of 23.5% – meaning a pay raise of more than 35% - are unaffordable.

We have written to the independent Doctors and Dentist Review Bodies and asked them to consider a separate and specific recommendation for Junior Doctor pay in 2023. BMA Scotland have confirmed they wish to remain within the DDRB process this year.

Junior Doctors earn a basic salary plus a pay banding on top of their salary, meaning that the majority of Junior Doctors in their first year (FY1) are earning a salary of £40,000 plus a year. Their salaries continue to rise every year, and in their second year of training the majority will be earning £49,000+ per year. They are on a career journey towards becoming a senior doctor such as a Consultant or GP, with salaries in excess of £100,000 per year.

Information on the deferral rate for disabled students entering Higher Education is not held by the Scottish Government.

UCAS collect and publish information each year on the number of applicants, applications and acceptances for UK providers. As part of their releases, UCAS publish the number of acceptances who defer entry to a later year split by Domicile, Age and Gender, in their interactive dashboard. Deferral rates for those with a Disability Declared are not included.

UCAS Undergraduate end of cycle data resources 2022 | Undergraduate | UCAS

UCAS do publish the number of acceptances with a Disability Declared overall. This shows in the 2022 cycle, there were 6,535 Scottish domiciled acceptances with a Disability Declared, 17.5% of all Scottish domiciled acceptances.