Chamber and committees

Work to develop the establishment of Scottish Cities of Refuge will start later in this Parliamentary term.

The development of Cities of Refuge will align with the approach of our New Scots refugee integration strategy, which sets out the vision of a welcoming Scotland, where people seeking protection are supported to rebuild their lives from the day they arrive.

From March 2020, a series of Temporary Special Leave Measures (specifically through https://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/dl/DL(2020)05.pdf and https://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/dl/DL(2020)30.pdf )were introduced to both support NHS Colleagues and assist in the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading across our NHS Sites.

In particular:

• Since March 2020, NHS Staff who have been absent due to COVID-19 have been paid in full as if they had been at work; and,

• Those absences have not counted towards normal sickness absence triggers for those staff.

As we are now at a different stage in dealing with COVID-19 it was confirmed (on 24 June), and in broad alignment with other UK Nations, that all Temporary Covid Policies (including Special Leave) will be removed ( https://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/dl/DL(2022)21.pdf) .

In particular, from 1 September 2022, NHS colleagues who are absent due to COVID-19 will revert to contractual sick leave entitlement.

I can confirm that on that date, no-one will see their Sick Pay stop with the vast majority receiving six months full pay followed by six months half pay.

Through the ClimateXChange centre of expertise the Scottish Government has received expert advice on the use of animal feed additives which have the potential to reduce methane emissions. This advice has suggested that more data are needed to assess the full potential of feed additives and feed materials in reducing methane emissions from livestock.

FSS and FSA are responsible for assessing animal feed safety in GB. Any new innovative feed material would be considered through the feed risk analysis process. For feed additives these are products that require to be authorised by the GB regulated product process before they can be sold and used in animal feed in GB and may only be used for the purpose stated in the authorisation. The FSA and FSS carry out the risk analysis process for regulated products such as feed additives and provide advice to Ministers who decide whether the product can be placed on the market in England, Wales and Scotland. Feed additives intended to reduce methane production in ruminants are new and highly innovative feed additives and within the GB regulated products application process are being categorised and risk assessed as; zootechnical feed additives under the functional group ‘as substances which favourably affect the environment’.

Scotland’s export performance is published annually in the Export Statistics Scotland (ESS) report at the start of each year and provides the Scottish Government with estimates of Scotland’s international and domestic trade in both good and services, excluding oil and gas. The timing and content of the ESS publication is determined independently of ministers.

ESS relies heavily on company data collected through the Global Connections Survey (GCS). However, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in the postponement of that survey in 2020 and impacted the publishing the ESS in 2020 and 2021. However, data collection for the GGS 2020 and 2021 data is due to start imminently.

Our most reliable and up to date source of export data is provided by the ESS 2019 report - Export statistics Scotland: 2019 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . Based on ESS 2019, the USA is our top international export destination with an estimated value of just over £6bn in total exports.

We fully understand that women want mesh removal surgery undertaken by surgeons who enjoy their full confidence and a range of measures are now in place to ensure that this happens.

The Complex Pelvic Mesh Removal Service has been established in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC). This service assesses needs and where appropriate, and subject to shared decision making and informed consent, performs mesh removal surgery. The Service has undertaken a number of mesh removal surgeries since its designation, despite the impact of the pandemic on activity levels across the Health Service. To complement Scottish services women can also, if they so wish, request to be treated at one of the NHS England Specialist Centres.

In addition, and exceptionally, women now have the option to request to be referred on to one of two independent providers. A contract with Spire Healthcare, where Professor Hashim operates, was agreed earlier this year and arrangements for the first patients to travel to Bristol are underway. Furthermore, I am pleased to be able to announce today that a contract has been agreed with Gynaecologic and Reconstructive Surgery Ltd, Missouri, USA, where Dr Veronikis operates. NHS National Services Scotland will now work closely with NHS GGC and local Health Boards to facilitate the arrangements for those who wish to travel to the USA for mesh removal surgery.

It is expected that anyone seeking mesh removal from either Professor Hashim or Dr Veronikis first discuss this with their local clinicians within their own Health Board. If considered appropriate at that stage, and in line with a process agreed with the independent providers, they would then be referred to the Complex Pelvic Mesh Removal Service in NHS GGC for consideration by a full multi-disciplinary team (MDT). If it is agreed that surgery is appropriate, the patient can choose to be treated by the service already available in NHS Scotland or to be referred to a specialist NHS centre in England or to one of the independent providers. Each of these options will be available free of charge. I would encourage anyone who wishes referral to one of these services to make their wishes known to their clinical team, if they have not already done so.

The independent analysis report of the responses to the not proven verdict and related reforms consultation will be published today, 12 July 2022 and will be available at https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781804356890 .

The consultation received 200 responses, of which 21 were from organisations and 179 from individuals, and these will also be published today, where we have permission to do so, at https://consult.gov.scot/justice/not-proven-verdict/ .

We must now give careful consideration to the full range of views received on these complex issues. The findings from this consultation analysis, along with a range of other information and evidence from engagement and consideration of the issues, will inform the decision making process on any potential recommendations for reform.

Any potential reforms will be considered alongside wider work, including the outcome of the current consultation on improving victims’ experiences of the justice system . That consultation includes consideration of those recommendations of the Lord Justice Clerk’s review on improving the management of sexual offence cases which require legislative change to implement.

The final recruitment figures under Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27 will be published today, 12 July, at 10:30am, at Mental health workers: quarterly performance reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . A total of 958.9 whole time equivalent mental health staff have been recruited in key settings over 4 years, significantly exceeding the original commitment for 800 additional workers.

The prior notification and approval process introduced in 2014 enables planning authorities to consider the impacts of agricultural and forestry private ways (sometimes referred to as hill tracks) on the environment and local amenity. Through this process, the planning authority can require changes to the design, manner of construction and route of a proposed private way to minimise potentially harmful impacts. It is for the relevant planning authority to consider each prior notification application on its individual merits.

It is open to the planning authority to refuse prior approval if they consider such impacts cannot be satisfactorily mitigated. Furthermore, if the proposed development would require an environmental impact assessment, the permitted development rights do not apply.

The Scottish Government is currently carrying out a review of permitted development rights in Scotland. We have committed to consider the permitted development rights for private ways as part of the review programme and we will consult on proposals for change in due course.

The Green Freeports bidding process closed on 20 June and five bids were submitted from: North East Scotland Green Freeport; Clyde Green Freeport; Forth Green Freeport; Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport; and Orkney Green Freeport. Neither P&O Ferries nor DP World are involved in any of these bids.

The Scottish Government has been clear that fair work practices sit at the heart of Green Freeports and any application which does not show a clear commitment to fair work practices will not be supported by the Scottish Government. We are determined to ensure that Green Freeports will create significant numbers of good, green jobs, and deliver positive benefits for Scotland’s businesses, workers and communities.

The UK is currently experiencing the largest outbreak of avian influenza to date, which has affected commercial and backyard flocks of poultry and other captive birds, as well as wild birds, including our internationally important seabird colonies.

While maintaining high levels of biosecurity among domestic flocks helps protect against disease, addressing the disease among wild birds can pose significant challenges. The Scottish Government is taking the current situation very seriously and continues to work with a range of partner organisations to monitor and respond to the situation where action can be taken, recognising the importance of communication and coordination in preparedness and responses.

As part of the co-ordinated GB response to avian influenza, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) on behalf of Defra, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government, carries out year-round surveillance, including testing of dead wild birds reported to Defra’s GB-wide national telephone helpline. This helps us capture information on the general location and strains of avian influenza that might be prevalent across Great Britain, as well as species affected.

Dedicated monitoring at key colonies can also assist in the response to the outbreak in wild birds, which is why we welcome the significant work by NatureScot, the National Trust for Scotland, RSPB Scotland, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and other partners to collect data on the number of dead wild birds located at key colonies, as well as monitoring apparent population changes.

Working with our partners, the Scottish Government will continue to review its response planning to current and future avian influenza outbreaks, based on the latest scientific advice and existing disease control measures. We will also be identifying with partner organisations whether anything else can be done to respond to the outbreak and improve the resilience of our internationally important seabird populations.