Chamber and committees

Having been driven to extinction, beavers are now again an established part of Scotland’s wildlife, and the Scottish Government recognises that they will play an important role in restoring Scotland’s natural environment. Through their creation of wetland habitats that support a range of species including invertebrates, fish, amphibians, birds and mammals. Beaver dams can also play an important role in filtering sediment from watercourses and in mitigating flooding.

We will support trapping and translocation projects as a proactive measure to help establish beaver presence in areas of Scotland outside their current range and beyond areas where it might be expected that natural expansion would reach in the short term. As set out in the Shared Policy Programme, financial and practical support will be made available to facilitate translocation.

NatureScot have played a key role in working with stakeholders to develop our approach to beaver management and build sufficient experience enable us to take this significant step in expanding the beaver range in Scotland. NatureScot will lead on developing a national beaver strategy to direct this work as part our programme to restore and enhance biodiversity across Scotland. We will ask NatureScot to put this new policy direction into effect from the start of the new trapping season in the summer of 2022. This will mean that projects that aim to create new populations of beavers outside their current range will be considered for licenses. As is normal with these types of projects, groups proposing them would be expected to provide support on aspects such as consultation, monitoring and management. Trapping and translocation as a licensed mitigation measure will be carried out by or on behalf of NatureScot.

We will ask NatureScot to examine aspects of trapping and translocation with a view to guidance and streamlining the process. For example there may be scope for expanding the range of techniques and traps employed, as well as reducing some of the current measures and monitoring of beavers trapped and released within Scotland. We will also ask NatureScot how capacity for trapping and translocation can be increased if necessary to support additional demand.

All use of trapping and translocation will continue to be in accordance with animal welfare best practice and in accordance with the IUCN Guidelines and the Scottish Code on Conservation Translocations. Both of these documents emphasise the need for meaningful consultation and the importance of local acceptance of translocated animals. This will remain an important aspect of the Scottish Government and NatureScot’s consideration of translocation proposals.

The Scottish Government understands that through their modification of the environment, beavers can produce negative impacts on some species, on agricultural land, forestry and on infrastructure. Many of these impacts can be reduced or avoided through mitigation measures that allow beavers to remain in situ . NatureScot will continue to provide advice and financial support for such measures for as long as they are required. We will also promote the development of ideas for beaver mitigation techniques employing new technology. Lethal control will continue to be utilised as a management measure where necessary and as a last resort.

In conclusion we look forward to facilitating the expansion of beavers as part of our efforts to restore Scotland’s natural environment while supporting land managers to manage any risks this may pose. We will build on the experience of managing beavers in Scotland learned over the last twelve years or so and enabling the biodiversity and hydrological benefits to be seen over a wider area of Scotland, while continuing to ensure important economic interests can continue to be protected.

This rapid review will be carried out by people with clinical expertise and will set out expectations for the delivery of support for people who experience mental health and substance use problems. It will involve key stakeholders and be led by the views of people with lived and living experience. The remit of the review will include, but is not limited to, the following:

• The provision of assessment and specialist support for people who experience a dual diagnosis of a mental health condition alongside their substance use problem;
• The delivery of psychosocial support to people with substance use problems in settings which include third sector and primary care;
• The impact of additional, multiple and severe disadvantages on the need for, and delivery of, appropriate mental health and substance use services.

The review will be completed and a report will be published in late Autumn 2022.

In July 2016 it was agreed by Scottish Ministers and COSLA that from 2016-17 onwards 80% of the flood component of the general capital grant would be allocated to large scale projects and distributed according to the SEPA prioritisation of flooding schemes and works set out in the Flood Risk Management Strategies. There were 40 eligible schemes on SEPA’s prioritised list, which was published in December 2015. The Scottish Government is currently committed to funding these 40 schemes subject to the caveat that these remain viable projects. For an eligible scheme, grant funding will also cover all capital expenditure related to the scheme before building work has commenced. What is a capital cost is determined in accordance with proper accounting practice.

We remain on track with the autumn/winter vaccination programme, which has been prioritising the most vulnerable by either inviting them to come forward for vaccination or by vaccinating people in settings such as care homes.

We are enabling boards to make use of healthcare students and primary care staff - including GPs, GP practice staff, dentists and pharmacists – to help boards meet demand.

COVID-19 booster vaccines are being offered to the same groups who were prioritised at the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) have advised that at least 6 months should have passed since a second dose before a booster is administered, however there is some flexibility to offer a booster vaccination to the most vulnerable groups after five months.

As of 17 November, 1,237,376 individuals, which is 25.9% of the Scottish population aged 12 and over, have received a third dose or booster vaccination. This shows Scotland has vaccinated more of their 12+ population than the other three nations at this stage of the vaccine programme rollout.

The SPCB is responsible for funding the Members’ Expenses Scheme and for determining which indices are used to uprate the overall provisions, which include staff cost provision.

At the SPCB meeting on 5 March 2020, the SPCB agreed to index SCP annually using a mix of Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) and the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) index. This move to a ‘basket’ of indices was considered to provide a steadier basis for any increase as fluctuations are more likely to be moderated. SPCB agreed that this approach should be adopted for future indexation of staff cost provision as a transparent means of determining any increase. There has been no change in this position.

This index is now used as part of the budget setting process and part of our submission to the Finance Committee for the next financial year.

Prior to the start of the new parliamentary session, an in-depth review of the Staff Cost Provision was undertaken. The report on the Review of the Members’ Staff Cost Provision was finalised and circulated to all Members in December 2020. This resulted in a change from the start of Session 6 where members would benefit from increased funding equivalent to one additional FTE staff member.

The SPCB undertakes Members’ Expenses Scheme reviews each session to ensure that the Expenses Scheme continues to support Members in carrying out their roles and to identify where there are any beneficial improvements to the Scheme which could assist Members whilst continuing to maintain the principles and transparency associated with the Scheme. Given the Scheme, including the Staff Cost Provision, has recently been reviewed the SPCB will consider the need for any further review later in the parliamentary session as part of their normal review processes.

The Scottish Government has committed to Keeping The Promise by 2030 and will continue to work with The Promise Scotland, and partners to do so.

The consultation on the creation of a National Care Service closed on 2 November 2021 after receiving over 100 written responses, over 3000 people reached through engagement events. The consultation paper set out questions, which go further than the recommendations, made in the Independent Review of Adult Social Care, and propose that social work and social care services for children and young people should be considered as potentially beneficial for inclusion within the scope of the NCS.

Scottish Government need to consider how best to ensure the consistent delivery of services to all families, with a focus on those children and families in vulnerable situations. This is frequently related to the need for provision of joined-up support to families, and wellbeing needs arising where a parent/carer requires services for adults.

All views on the National Care Services and the inclusion of Children’s Services are welcomed and will be carefully considered in planning for the future design and delivery of the NCS. We are working with children’s participation groups to ensure that meaningful engagement can take place with children and young people.

The Scottish Government currently directly employs the following number of solicitors, set out below by pay band/grade. SCS - Director is the most senior grade with legal trainees being the most junior grade. It should be noted that there are other individuals who may be qualified solicitors employed in non-legal roles in policy/operational directorates across the Scottish Government but that information is not centrally known or held.

Directorate for Legal Services

NHS Boards are expected to ensure that patients, including those living with severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) have access to a range of professionals to provide the appropriate management of their condition. We would further expect clinicians to have good awareness of guidance relevant to their practice area and apply these taking account of individual circumstances and discussions with the patient.

In light of the final National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline for ME/CFS being published, we are considering how best to review and update existing Scottish guidance, and will be reviewing the need for specialist services as part of this work.

We are regularly engaging with our stakeholders, including the third sector, people with lived experience and clinicians working in this area, to drive forward care and the development of pathways. We plan to undertake a structured programme of stakeholder engagement in early 2022 to initiate the revision of Scottish guidance and to identify opportunities for improvement.

We have recently supported the creation of a Priority Setting Partnership by the James Lind Alliance and Action for M.E. to agree the top 10 priorities for future research on ME/CFS. This approach brings patients, carers and clinicians together to identify and prioritise research uncertainties in the field of ME/CFS, before disseminating the results to research funders.

We are investing £4.5 million of funding to implement the Neurological Care and Support Framework. Commitment 13 of the Neurological Care and Support Framework involves supporting neurological research, and we welcome proposals for ME/CFS research.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the lived experiences of young people who require additional support, and to ensuring that young people are at the centre of all transition planning for their future.

The Scottish Government has partnered with Association for Real Change (ARC) Scotland to deliver the Principles into Practice Trial Programme that sets out practical steps to be taken locally to coordinate planning and practice to deliver better outcomes for young people who require additional support to make the transition to young adult life, and to measure the difference they are making.

The Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) funding helps learners with additional support needs to overcome difficulties they may encounter in the course of their studies. Their Access and Inclusion strategy facilitates the SFC to outline areas of strategic importance and to direct funds to address these priorities. The Access and Inclusion Fund is an integral element of colleges’ core funding and is used to support the teaching and learning of disabled students.

The college funding formula also contains a bespoke price group which recognises the higher cost of teaching students who have greater difficulty in learning than the majority of other students and who have been assessed as requiring additional support. The bespoke courses delivered through this price group have smaller class sizes, and the funding model provides the college with additional resource to recognise the additional costs involved.

For 2021-22, SFC also issued clarification that students with disabilities, supported learners and students whose educational development does not match a standard progression model may be supported over an extended timeframe and on a non-standard pattern of progression.

Renewable energy is a crucial element of our transition to deliver a net-zero economy and We are determined to maximise the economic opportunity for the Scottish supply chain from both our onshore and offshore wind potential. We remain fully committed to using every lever within our devolved competence to support and grow the wind supply chain here in Scotland.

In offshore wind, the first cycle of ScotWind leasing is currently underway, which will provide a pipeline of new projects from the late 2020s onwards. As part of the ScotWind bidding round, applicants have submitted a Supply Chain Development Statement (SCDS) to Crown Estate Scotland, outlining the supply chain activity they commit to undertaking within Scotland, the UK and overseas.

There is considerable additional and ongoing work to support the growth of our domestic supply chain and capitalise on the economic opportunity resulting from offshore wind including the Strategic Infrastructure Assessment (SIA), which was referenced as a 100 Days’ Commitment of this government. Published on 20 August the SIA is now being taken forward by Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC), with the group developing an action plan to take forward the SIA’s recommendations. This assessment highlights the need for urgent investment in port infrastructure to support the growth of the sector. We look forward to SOWEC taking forward next steps on the recommendations set out in the report.

For onshore wind, our consultation on the draft Onshore Wind Policy Statement was launched on 28 October 2021 and will run until January 2022. This considers and seeks views on a variety of issues related to onshore wind including supply chain issues, and specifically seeks views on minimum local content, similar to the sector deal for offshore wind.