Chamber and committees

All new policy commitments or changes to existing policy, that have a financial cost for local government, must be approved through the formal financial governance process which requires agreed recommendations from the joint Scottish Government and COSLA Officers’ Settlement and Distribution Group and political agreement from Scottish Ministers and COSLA political Leaders.

Recognising that some occupations were restricted by capacity and age due to the physical demands of those roles, the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 set a pension age of 60 for those in uniform services. The definition of such personnel was restricted to police, fire and the armed forces (Hutton Inquiry).

Unlike those uniform groups, prison officers do not have a dedicated pension scheme as they are members of the Civil Service pension scheme, which is a reserved matter for the UK Government. The Scottish Government opposed the attack on public pensions following the Hutton Inquiry and in particular the requirement for prison officers to carry out frontline operational duties including control and restraint until the age of 68.

SPS do not assess age to determine whether a prison officer is capable of carrying out their duties but recognises that front line staff work in a very challenging environment and are committed to a person centred approach to all employees and their circumstances. SPS has arrangements in place to support staff who may no longer be able to fulfil the physical demands of their role and these cases are managed in accordance with the circumstances of each individual.

Prompt payment of suppliers is critical to the sustainability and resilience of our supply chains, particularly our SMEs. Paying suppliers on time, in full and within a maximum of 30 days also supports our economic recovery and growth. The Scottish Government refreshed the 2009 prompt payment policy earlier this year, consolidating existing guidance and providing advice on how public bodies may choose to track and monitor payment performance. This updated policy sends a clear message to industry that late payment is not acceptable for the Scottish Public Sector.

The Scottish Government has been contacted directly and indirectly by 6 local authorities with resource concerns in relation to complying with this policy, mainly regarding the resource required to monitor prompt payment through the supply chain.

The clinical assessment of someone presenting at accident and emergency (A&E) with suicidal intentions includes an assessment of risk. Clinical assessments involve a clinician interviewing the patient, often using risk assessment tools (which are selected by individual Health Boards), as well as considering any recent, similar presentations at A&E. Repeated A&E presentations will indicate a higher risk.

Each Health Board has arrangements in place to ensure patients presenting at A&E with suicidal intentions are properly assessed and cared for. In practice, this generally involves specialist mental health clinical staff working alongside A&E teams to ensure the individuals are assessed and that tailored care plans are put in place. Those care plans may include accessing support from crisis support organisations or local mental health services; or, where necessary, admission to hospital.

National Records of Scotland met with representatives from over 30 of Scotland’s Universities and Colleges, and with organisations such as Young Scot, FindAUniversity and NUS Scotland, to drive awareness across institutions of the importance of supporting and enabling students to complete their Census.

An information pack was sent to every manager of student accommodation, containing information on how students should be included within the census. For students living in privately rented accommodation, NRS included information on the census website to clarify roles and responsibilities for completing the census.

A multi-faceted promotional campaign was developed to reach as high a proportion of the adult population across Scotland as possible. This included targeted activity to reach groups of the population identified in research as likely to need more encouragement and support to complete the census, including students and young people.

Throughout May, six in person events were held at university campuses and college sites in order to directly engage with the student population and to provide help and support to complete the census. These events were targeted in areas of lower returns, including Glasgow and Dundee.

NRS, supported by Young Scot, created bespoke assets (posters, social media assets, podcasts etc.) shared on a variety of channels. Social media influencers were also used to target young people and students on relevant platforms.

In line with the Scotland wide approach, people living in houses of multiple occupation were offered a range of help and support to complete Scotland’s Census via the census website and Freephone helpline. Census Field Staff provided further in-person support to facilitate completion. Individual questionnaires were offered to anyone aged 16 or over who wished to provide responses in private.

The impact of school closures during the pandemic was carefully considered at local level by schools and community groups who are best placed to understand the needs of the immediate community.

The Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF) evaluation found that schools worked closely with community groups to mitigate the effects of school building closures for pupils. The Scottish Government has no plans to undertake additional research.

The easing of restrictions in recent months means that community groups are now in a position to re-establish their position and make use of school settings where appropriate. Therefore, all local and community facilities are encouraged to permit access to organisations and groups in line with the Strategic Framework and the Safer Workplaces guidance.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with SEPA, the independent regulator, concerning SEPA’s regulatory role in relation to industrial sites in Scotland, including the Grangemouth complex. Whilst we understand the concerns around flaring, it is an essential safety mechanism. Improvements driven by SEPA have reduced the overall frequency and duration of flaring at the Grangemouth complex, and the planned installation of totally enclosed ground flares will further reduce the noise and light disturbance experienced by communities.

Bus service provision in Scotland operates in an open de-regulated market, as established by the Transport Act 1985. Individual bus operators use their own commercial judgement to decide on service routes, fare structure and frequency. Additionally local transport authorities can provide subsidy for services that are not provided on a commercial basis.

Under the Transport Act 1985 local bus services must be registered with the Office of the Traffic Commissioner. The registration of services is devolved and subject to the Public Service Vehicles (Registration of Local Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2001. The regulatory regime is designed to ensure that bus service operators are of good repute and that services are introduced, varied or cancelled in an orderly fashion and operated safely and reliably as registered. As part of the registration process, operators are required to notify local transport authorities in advance of registering, cancelling or varying a service.

If the Traffic Commissioner considers that an operator is failing to run a service in line with their registration she has the power to take action against them. This could include issuing a fine, imposing conditions on their PSV license, or rejecting a future service application from the same operator.

There is nothing in Scottish Government guidance, which prevents the use of schools by community groups. Since March of this year the published guidance for schools has explicitly stated under the section on local implementation that “If undertaking a particular activity is not explicitly precluded through this guidance – i.e. if it is not listed as a routine measure – then schools and local authorities should treat it as permissible provided they take account of relevant risks.”

This was in line with advice from the Advisory Subgroup on Education and Children’s Issues, to ensure that only those measures that were necessary and proportionate were retained. This was also to ensure that there was alignment with equivalent measures across wider society where possible. The most recent version of the guidance for schools was updated on 31 May and can be accessed here: Supporting documents - Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on reducing the risks in schools - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)