Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is clear that hate crime and prejudice, including Islamophobia, will not be tolerated.

Our new Hate Crime Strategy will set out our priorities for tackling hate crime in Scotland and will support implementation of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.

Hate crime legislation sends a message to victims, perpetrators and wider society that hate crime is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. Once in force the Act will build on and strengthen existing protections, including through the creation of new stirring up of hatred offences that will apply to all listed characteristics, including religion.

The Ministerial led Hate Crime Strategic Partnership Group has been established to take this work forward and brings together a range of public and third sector partners. The Terms of Reference have been agreed and published on the Scottish Government’s website: The Hate Crime Strategic Partnership Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

We continue to engage with Muslim communities across Scotland as we develop the strategy which will consider how we best tackle Islamophobia in Scotland, including whether a definition of Islamophobia would be helpful.

Tackling hate crime remains a priority and we encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed a hate crime to report it to Police Scotland or through a third party reporting centre.

The Scottish Government is clear that any woman with concerns about Essure must be taken seriously and any complications arising from it must result in appropriate care being given.

With this in mind, the Chief Medical Officer wrote to GPs and secondary care clinicians on 30 June 2022 to raise awareness of the Essure device and its potential complications, and to stress the importance of a consistent approach and clear treatment pathway for any women experiencing complications as a result of this device. The letter has been published here .

Women who suspect the device may be related to symptoms they are experiencing, such as persistent pain, should in the first instance be encouraged to talk to their clinicians about what steps may be appropriate. It is expected that any woman presenting to general practice with symptoms or who wishes removal, should be referred to gynaecology specialists for investigation of symptoms, following local pathways.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07140 on 21 March 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The COVID-19 Ventilation Short-Life Working Group (SLWG) reported to the Scottish Government at the end of March 2022. Following due consideration, we published our response to the SLWG recommendations on 29 June 2022, as part of a wider update to all MSPs on our progress to deliver COVID-19 adaptation commitments in the COVID-19 Strategic Framework update. A copy of that letter can be found on the Scottish Government website here .

The SLWG made ten recommendations aimed at improving: awareness of the contribution ventilation has in reducing the risk of transmission; regulations; guidance; technical skills; and air quality in buildings. Work is in hand to take forward these recommendations. We are prioritising actions that can be taken quickly to improve ventilation ahead of this winter to improve our resilience against COVID-19 and other infections.

The following table details SDS’ budget for Employability Fund for each year of the programme since its inception in 2013-14:

There are currently no plans to undertake a public awareness campaign regarding migraine.

I held a positive meeting with the Migraine Trust in November 2021 to discuss current priorities regarding migraine care in Scotland and potential areas for future collaboration.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) has a speciality group for neurology which includes representation from key professional groups for each NHS Board. I understand that the group is undertaking work on clinical pathways for migraine in Scotland and is linking with both the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) and the Migraine Trust regarding this. As part of this work the CfSD are also collaborating with Health Boards to develop GP facts sheets on managing migraine.

I am delighted that we have recently awarded £78,535 to the Migraine Trust, in partnership with NHS Grampian and Pharmacy Medicines Directorate, towards an innovative project working with community, primary and secondary care pharmacists to help people with migraine manage their symptoms and treatments more effectively.

We will support the Migraine Trust and partners to develop plans of how they intend to widely share the project’s outcomes across health and social care.

Local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities and are entirely separate from the Scottish Government. Ultimately, it is for locally elected representatives to make local decisions on how best to deliver services to their local communities. It is also the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on Community Facilities, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

The Scottish Government has increased local government funding by over £1 billion in 2022-23, a real terms increase of 6.3 per cent, despite a 5.2 per cent real terms reduction in the overall Scottish Budget.

In 2022-23, City of Edinburgh Council will receive £915.4 million to fund local services, which equates to an extra £86.7 million to support vital day-to-day services or an additional 10.5 per cent compared to 2021-22.

The Scottish Government has spent £764,909,056 on Pupil Equity Funding since 2017-18 to 2022-23. This funding is allocated to all 32 local authorities, as well as Grant Maintained schools. The breakdown of funding by year is publicly available on the Scottish Government website - Pupil attainment: closing the gap - Schools - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The SPCB provides support to staff who suffer from recurrent illnesses, including migraine.  The SPCB recognises that most people with migraine can manage their condition and work effectively, with the right information and support in place.  Managers and MSPs, in their capacity as employers, are encouraged to create a positive workplace culture, including holding regular conversations with team members about wellbeing so that additional support needs can be identified.  

Members, their staff, and SPS staff also have access to a range of health and wellbeing related policies, advice and services including the Parliament’s Occupational Health Service, which can provide workplace assessments or referral to medical specialists.  The SPCB is also committed to providing a Safe place of work and fully complies with workplace health, safety and welfare requirements including ensuring the availability of water, good lighting, good ventilation and a reasonable working temperature. 

The SPCB also provides support to individuals including:

• Reasonable adjustments including the provision of assistive equipment;
• Localised adjustments to reduce brightness in individual work areas;
• Health and wellbeing training, including stress awareness and managing your physical working from home arrangements;
• Free eye tests;
• Adjustable DSE workstation equipment;
• stress risk assessments, as required;
• Quiet working space in the Holyrood building;
• A good mix of natural and electric lighting and an environment which is free of excessive noise and odours.
  

Staff can also access flexible working arrangements, including flexible working hours and time off for medical appointments. 

When compared to the Migraine Trust’s definition of a migraine-friendly employer the Parliament is well placed.  However, the SPCB continues to review the support it provides to staff.

As of close of business on 20 June 2022 a total of 410,721 cards had been issued under the Young Persons Scheme (YPS) through the National Entitlement Card scheme and Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile application.

The Improvement Service is responsible for the application process and issue of the National Entitlement Cards. They are being supported by Scottish Government to work with local authorities to identify and support improvements to both online and offline processes to maximise the uptake of scheme and increase accessibility for children and young people. I met with the Improvement Service in late April to make clear our expectations for delivery of the scheme and to ensure they continue to streamline the online process. I will shortly be writing to local authorities seeking assurance on their processes for handling offline applications and providing support if needed.

Transport Scotland also launched the Transport Scot Collect App on 28 February which allows existing Young Scot cardholders aged 16 and over to add the free travel product onto their existing card.