Chamber and committees

I refer the Member to the answer to question S6W-26002 on 18 March 2024, which provides an update on implementation of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020. 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/questions-and-answers .

On child contact centres, the Scottish Government is preparing Scottish Statutory Instruments on the regulation of these services. We hope to be in a position to lay these SSIs before Parliament later this year.

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) undertakes the role of Scheme Manager of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme, on behalf of Scottish Ministers. Scheme members can raise any concerns or enquiries with the SPPA by using the Contact Us page at www.pensions.gov.scot/contact-us or by calling the Agency.

The recently published University of Strathclyde evaluation report showed that 3% of cancers diagnosed through the Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDS) were myeloma.

The Scottish Government doesn’t hold data on exact numbers, however a national RCDS data-set has been created with Public Health Scotland (PHS) and submission of this data from relevant Health Boards will commence in summer 2024.

This information is not collected or held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Whilst the Scottish Public Pensions Agency holds information about teachers who are currently contributing to the Scottish Teachers' Pension scheme, individual local authorities and other employers of teachers such as independent schools and further and higher education bodies will separately hold information on the overall percentage of their employees not enrolled in a pension scheme.

Costs associated with Police Scotland’s data management are a matter for the Chief Constable.

a) The information requested on how many paediatric pathologists are based in Scotland is not centrally available. Information on paediatric pathologists, employed by NHS Scotland, can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence.

b) The information requested on any paediatric pathology services that have been acquired from elsewhere in the UK, over the past 24 months is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government has no functions in relation to the changes introduced by the UK Government's reform of public service pensions.

The Scottish Government will publish the findings from the second phase of the Local Governance Review’s community engagement process, Democracy Matters, in Summer 2024. Alongside this we will provide an update on our wider work with COSLA to conclude the review including the development of place specific, single authority, governance models. We will also set out the next steps in our work to deliver reforms that can further empower communities to take a greater role in local decision-making.

I refer the Member to the answer to question S6W-26002 on 18 March 2024, which provides an update on implementation of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act). 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/questions-and-answers .

This answer refers to a submission to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee in relation to Petition PE1968 outlining our position on implementation of the 2020 Act and the commencement status of provisions.

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice & Home Affairs also provided the Criminal Justice Committee with an update on implementation of previously passed legislation, including the 2020 Act, in the context of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill: Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs .

The projected costs of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme are assessed and managed as part of the scheme actuarial valuation as directed by the UK Government. The latest quadrennial valuation of the scheme is based on data as at 31 March 2020 and was published on the SPPA website on 14 November 2023. It is available at the following address:

www.pensions.gov.scot/teachers/employers/pension-contribution-rates/valuations

The latest valuation led to an increase in the employer contribution rate from 23% to 26% for the implementation period 2024 to 2027. The rate will be reviewed again at the 2024 scheme valuation, ensuring the sustainability of the Scheme.