Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government responded to the legal services regulation reform consultation analysis report on 22 December 2022. The response may be viewed at the following link: Legal services regulation reform - consultation analysis: Scottish Government response - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The response underpins the Scottish Government’s commitment to reforming legal services and to retaining the sector’s independence within a system that provides greater flexibility in how complaints are handled, to benefit both consumers and legal professionals. The response also sets out how the existing regulatory framework for legal services should be modernised to provide users with increased confidence, support growth in the sector and strengthen consumer protections.

I understand that the Law Society of Scotland has written to you directly on this matter however, I can confirm that it is the Law Society’s policy and practice to remove any suspended solicitor from their online searchable database. This is done as soon as they have been suspended, regardless of any outstanding disciplinary processes.

The Scottish Government regularly publishes data relating to the number of completed matches, where a displaced person from Ukraine has arrived at their hosted and longer term accommodation in Scotland, under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The number of completed matches by Local Authority can be found in Table 1 in a supporting document called Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: December statistics tables as follows - Supporting documents - Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics - December 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

An accompanying report is published alongside the tables and can be found at the following link: Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics - December 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Additionally, the UK Government regularly publishes data relating to visas and arrivals under the Homes for Ukraine scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukraine-family-scheme-application-data/ukraine-family-scheme-and-ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-homes-for-ukraine-visa-data--2 .

Displaced people with visas are free to enter the country and live and work where they want. Not everyone entering the UK through the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (including those sponsored by the Scottish Government) will need accommodation provided to them. They may make their own arrangements, including renting their own accommodation or staying with friends and family. Some arrivals may have also self-matched with a volunteer host, assisted by a charity or support network. Those arrivals may never be in contact with a welcome hub or local authority seeking accommodation.

The Scottish Government has committed to developing a Bill on the regulation of legal services within this parliamentary session, and will continue to engage with stakeholders representing the consumer and legal perspective taking that forward.

The analysis of responses to the consultation on Review of Part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and creation of a Family Justice Modernisation Strategy was carried out by KSO Research Limited following a public tendering exercise.

Officials have met with various stakeholders representing the private rented sector including Propertymark, Scottish Association of Landlords, Chartered Institute of Housing, Scottish Land and Estates, Citizens Advice Scotland and Living Rent.

Decisions on future plans for the private sector rent freeze, as well as other measures contained in the Act, will be announced in the coming weeks.

There are currently no plans to implement the C:Card scheme across all NHS Boards in Scotland, however free condoms are available through a number of initiatives and can be accessed across the country.

All NHS Boards in Scotland offer free condoms, but the way in which this service is provided varies. Most NHS Boards offer free condoms by post to anyone living within the Board area, as well as making them available to pick up at various NHS facilities and other locations including some schools. Third sector organisations, such as Waverley Care and the Terrence Higgins Trust, also provide free condoms.

The Scottish Government are currently developing a refreshed Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework. As part of this work, the provision of contraception will be considered, and any learning from the C:Card scheme will be taken into account.

Information on the number of dentists is provided by NHS Education for Scotland and can be found at: Data tables | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot)

We do not hold information on country of origin of dentists, nor information on Dental Care Professionals as this group is in the main employed by independent dental practices.

The information requested is not held centrally.

To Date the Scottish Government has had no contact with the UK Government regarding M&Co entering administration.

The Scottish Government will do everything in its power to help those affected by any possible forthcoming redundancies through our initiative for responding to redundancy situations, Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE). Our PACE team contacted the administrators for M&Co immediately to offer support for any individuals affected by redundancy.

I have also contacted the administrators at Teneo directly and offered to speak with them to discuss the situation.

The cost of responding to these types of incidents or spills are a matter for the public bodies, the relevant authorities, or agencies. The information requested is not held centrally and therefore the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.