Chamber and committees

The purpose of having bees at the Parliament is not to produce honey but to partially demonstrate our compliance with the biodiversity duty under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 which places a statutory duty on all public sector bodies in Scotland to further the conservation of biodiversity. The honey is a by-product from having bees and is sold at a profit minus any costs for bottling and labelling.

Notice is not required to be given as the beekeeper has a security pass and is fully security cleared.

Our current bee keeping supplier uses the wax from their hives, including the Scottish Parliament, to supply the beeswax used for the Great Seal of Scotland.  We do not receive or make any payment in relation to this.

The beekeeper attends as is required and does not need to make an appointment as he has a security pass.

We have produced 144 jars in the last five years. Each jar is 227g. We received 99 jars in the financial year 2022/23 and 45 jars in 2024/25.

The current contract runs until March 2025. The usual tendering process is being run for the bee keeping services.

The Scottish Government is committed to transforming holistic family support in local communities through the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding. That is why we have agreed with COSLA that the funding for Children's Services Planning Partnerships, who are driving the transformational change at a local level, will increase from £32 million to £38.1 million in 2025-26 and in 2026-27.

The Scottish Government has a contract with Office Papers to supply newspapers on an ad-hoc rather than a subscription basis. This contract was renewed in February 2022 to run for three years. Review meetings with the contractor take place on a quarterly basis. Business units making purchases under the contract are expected to ensure these are justified.

The current guidance in the Care Home Infection Prevention and Control Manual (CH IPCM) produced by Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland states that before a resident is admitted to a care home it is important to undertake a risk assessment for infection.

At all times a thorough risk assessment should be undertaken prior to discharge to a care home to ensure that the care home is able to provide the care required and for the safety of the resident and others including staff, other residents and visitors. For example, if the individual requires to be isolated, that there is a suitable physical space and staff available for the delivery of care and support to an isolated resident.

The responsibility for carrying out individual risk assessments prior to discharge is between the individual Health Boards, Local Authorities and Integration Authorities.

It is the responsibility of integration authorities to carry out joint needs assessments as part of their strategic planning process. This information is therefore not held centrally.