Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government regularly reviews its policies in relation to domestic abuse, with a clear example being the Domestic Abuse Disclosure Scheme which is currently subject to a formal evaluation being carried out by Glasgow Caledonian University in partnership with Police Scotland, and the development of a Multi-Agency Domestic Abuse Homicide Review model.

This information is not held centrally.

Information on the numbers of teachers not in school for Covid-19 related reasons each week can be found here in the 'School Staff Absence' tab: COVID19 - Schools and Childcare Information August 2021 | Tableau Public

The Scottish Government takes bullying very seriously. Bullying of any kind is completely unacceptable and must be addressed.

In November 2017, the Scottish Government published updated anti-bullying guidance ‘Respect for All: The National Approach to Anti-bullying for Scotland’s Children and Young People’

In August 2019, we introduced a consistent and uniform approach to recording and monitoring incidents of bullying in schools. All schools and local authorities are expected to be using the new approach.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans for the numbers of bullying incidents to be collated at a national level. Recording and monitoring is essential and best carried out locally where recurring patterns can be understood and acted upon. An evaluation will be undertaken later this year to assess how successfully the new system has been embedded.

respect me, Scotland’s anti-bullying service, continues to provide support to all adults working with children and young people to give them the practical skills and confidence to deal with all types of bullying behaviour.

Schools are best placed to support learners and give them the best chance to demonstrate their potential. Guidance makes clear that schools should ensure remote learning materials are in place in circumstances where they are required. We continue to make resources available to support that contingency.

£4 million of funding is being made available to schools and colleges to increase Easter study support where appropriate, particularly for those from the most deprived backgrounds. Schools and colleges have the flexibility to deliver that support as they see fit, including online.

This support is complemented by an enhanced range of options for online learning through the National e-Learning Offer (NeLO). In the event of school staff absences and learners revising at home, even at short notice, NeLO is available. Educators can refer their learners to collections of resources - recorded, supported and often live interactive webinars - and schools can make parents and learners aware that these resources are available whenever remote learning is required.

The routine vaccinations for pregnant women have continued in Scotland throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We encourage all those who are eligible to take up the offer of vaccination.

The flu vaccine has been available to pregnant women, (via their midwife) from the start of the current programme, which launched on 6 September 2021, and continued to be offered until the end of the flu season, 31 March 2022.

An evidence review on international approaches to challenging demand is being carried out by Scottish Government’s Justice Analytical Services (JAS), and will be published later this year as an official social research report.

As is the case with all Analytical Services Divisions within the Scottish Government, JAS provide impartial evidence-based advice to support policy development - with all social research needing to comply with the Scottish Government’s ethical principles. These principles specifically require researchers to consider and address ethical risks to protect against distortion and bias in the interpretation of findings.

This analysis will support the development of a model for Scotland which effectively tackles and challenges men’s demand for prostitution, whilst taking into account Scotland’s unique legal and societal landscape.

The routine immunisation programmes have continued in Scotland throughout the COVID-19 pandemic despite code black status being declared in some NHS Boards.

Uptake rates for routine programmes have remained consistently high across Scotland. Maintaining the best possible uptake of immunisations is a priority for the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland, and this reflects the hard work and commitment of our colleagues within the NHS.

The latest statistical releases from Public Health Scotland can be found here: Publications - Public Health Scotland

An exam exceptional circumstances service will be available for learners who miss their exam due to, for example, illness which would include being ill with Covid-19.

This service is based on SQA’s established annual process. If a candidate is eligible for exceptional circumstances, their centre will provide appropriate assessment evidence gathered during the course of the year. The SQA will review this, along with any exam script and coursework, against the national standard to award appropriate grades.

Recruitment of invigilators is an operational matter for the SQA. SQA is working with centres to ensure sufficient numbers of invigilators are available, with contingencies in place to mitigate any unexpected absences due to Covid-19 during the exams.

In November 2021, 10 organisations were invited to submit a bid to tender through the Public Contract Scotland website, to undertake lived experience engagement relating to the current support service provision and needs of service users who are engaged with, or have lived experience of prostitution in Scotland, to better inform future service design. From those invites, one supplier responded with a tender for this work.

The evaluation criteria applied included the quality questions set out in the invitation to tender. These included an understanding of the current policy context regarding prostitution and the proposed approach to delivering a service mapping exercise and lived experience engagement. The invitation also asked for CVs of staff, setting out relevant experience, qualifications, and examples of recent relevant commissions in order to demonstrate the capability to deliver requirements. The criteria also assessed value for money, the price of the tender was evaluated against the value of the contract, this included a review of the costs submitted.

Following the review of the tender received, there was consensus from the evaluation panel (comprising of Scottish Government officials) that the criteria for awarding the contract had been met, and to award the contract.