Chamber and committees

Due to the onset of the pandemic in Scotland all routine dental services ceased from 23 March 2020, with emergency and urgent dental care being provided by dedicated urgent dental care centres from NHS Boards.

The majority of dental services require the use of an aerosol which carries a higher risk of viral transmission. Dental services operated under specific infection, prevention and control measures for two years to April 2022.

An assessment of participation - defined as the proportion of registered patients who saw a dentist in the last 2 years - needs to be seen against the backdrop of pandemic restrictions to March 2022.

Since April 2022, with the relaxation of restrictions, NHS dentistry has averaged more than 300,000 courses of treatment per month, an increase of 40 per cent in NHS dental activity compared with 2021-22.

The latest report from Public Health Scotland on participation rates (as at 30 September 2022) shows rates increasing for the period March to September 2022 following the emergence from pandemic restrictions.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15621 on 21 March 2023. 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

Our national guidance ‘Included, engaged and involved part 1: promoting and managing school attendance’ encourages Education Authorities to consider the underlying reasons for absence, including those which arise from an additional support needs.

The guidance identifies that poor attendance can often be related to, or be an indication of, an additional support need and that schools should use their staged intervention processes to ensure that any barriers to learning are identified and appropriate support is provided.

The guidance establishes requirements regarding classifying and recording attendance and absence. It is for local authorities to record the reasons for absence for their pupils within the local authority management information system SEEMiS.

The range of powers include:

• Compulsory Purchase Orders - that enable local authorities and public bodies to compulsory purchase land or buildings.
• Provision within Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 for local authorities to issue a work notice requiring a home owner to bring a sub-standard home into a reasonable state of repair.
• Statutory nuisance provision within Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Public Health (Scotland) Act 2008 which can be used by local authorities and public bodies.
• The Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings)(Scotland) Regulations 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/45) – enables local authorities to vary the level of discount on certain homes that have been empty for more than 6 months and to remove the discount and charge a premium on certain homes that have been empty for 12 months or more.

When undertaking trunk road maintenance works, Transport Scotland and its operating companies plan operations to minimise disruption to the public and businesses. Closures are avoided where possible, with works’ timings and traffic management operations designed to suit. Consultation feedback from stakeholders is considered in these plans.

Transport Scotland‘s Operating Company, BEAR Scotland, is currently planning a programme of maintenance and construction works on the Bridge. This will see replacement of the concrete deck from Autumn 2024 for approximately 6 months utilising overnight closures. This will be followed by repainting of the structure commencing in 2025 with a duration of 2 years and with occasional overnight closures.

Any bridge closures or delay as a result of the works on the structure will be carefully planned during a rigorous consultation strategy. This will reduce the effect of the works on vital services, local community and key stakeholders but also allow the vital work to the structure to be undertaken safely.

Should the bridge close due to an unplanned or emergency situation, a strategic diversion via A82 Ballachulish Bridge roundabout and A82 Tyndrum has been agreed with local councils and Police Scotland to ensure continued safe access to the region.

That information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government does not hold estimated yearly costs of waste crime.

We have already implemented some measures, such as tightening waste exemptions, and are undertaking work to consider further measures similar to those mentioned in the UK Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.

In addition, where the necessary powers to tackle opportunities for waste crime are reserved, we are working with UK Government to ensure the interests of Scotland are fully considered. This includes in the development of a ban on exporting plastic waste to non-OECD countries.

The Scottish Government’s Serious & Organised Crime Taskforce (SOCTF) has identified environmental crime and in particular Serious Organised Criminal Gangs (SOCG) activity in waste crime as a priority area and supports the broad network of Scottish and UK regulators in working collaboratively to act against waste criminals.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is also a partner in the Joint Unit for Waste Crime set up by the UK Government in 2020, which aspires to reduce the impact of SOCG activity across the UK, on the environment and the economy, by targeting the criminal groups and activities posing the greatest risk, including those operating cross border.

We are working with other UK governments and regulators to implement a UK-wide mandatory digital waste tracking service. Implementation of this service will help SEPA to track regulatory compliance and tackle illegal waste exports and fly-tipping.

Alongside this, the Scottish Government is also currently developing a new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, which will help to tackle and minimise the instances of flytipping in Scotland. Our consultation proposals set out a range of proposed measures, including strengthening enforcement to deter flytipping behaviour.

SEPA and partners, such as local authorities and Police Scotland, regularly use social media to publicise how members of the public can report any suspicious activity in relation to environmental or waste crime. Targeted campaigns are used when there is a new type of waste crime activity or mode of operation, to encourage both reporting but also raising awareness to allow proactive prevention. For example, to landowners making them aware of potential flytipping on unsecured vacant land or warehouse.

SEPA has also recently targeted a specific area of Renfrewshire where it is tackling an illegal site, which has involved encouraging members of the public to report any information they may have in relation to the site and waste operations in and around the area. This has included social media, local press coverage and a local household leaflet drop.

Our consultation on a new National Litter & Flytipping Strategy included proposals to review and improve mechanisms for citizen reporting of flytipping in Scotland. The final strategy will be published in 2023.