Chamber and committees

The Chief Constable has been clear that the Proportionate Response to Crime pilot has been about ensuring an appropriate approach to policing. It is not the case that certain specific crimes will no longer be investigated.

Both Police Scotland and the Scottish Government have been consistently clear that all incidents reported are assessed using the THRIVE model which covers Threat, Harm, Risk, Investigative opportunities, Vulnerability and Engagement. The circumstance of each incident is fully assessed before a decision is made to either file the report and issue a crime reference number or have the incident passed to local officers for further investigation.

An evaluation of the pilot was provided to the Scottish Police Authority’s Policing Performance Committee on 12 March 2024 by Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond. ACC Bond stated that the plan for the rollout would be to initially cover the North region before moving east then west, acknowledging that training and preparatory work would be required.

It is worth noting that the pilot’s evaluation shows that only 5% of crime reports were recorded and filed for no further enquiry. The evaluation states that this freed up 2,657 police officer hours which were therefore used to investigate crimes where there are lines of inquiry.

ACC Bond stated at the meeting on 12 March that she would be able to provide a further update to the committee with more information on the rollout of the pilot in May.

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) are the independent regulator of the social service workforce in Scotland. SSSC protects the public by registering the workforce, setting standards for their practice, conduct, training and education and by supporting their professional development. Groups of workers subject to registration with the SSSC are set by Scottish Ministers within the Regulation of Care Act (Scotland) 2001.

The role of ‘healthcare assistant’ does not have a standard definition and the term is used for different roles within the health and social care workforce. Due to the varying definition of this role, it is currently unclear which roles would and would not be appropriate for SSSC registration. While some healthcare assistants job roles may meet the requirement for SSSC registration, many will not. Accordingly, while there are no current plans to commence SSSC registration for all individuals named as healthcare assistants, many will already retain registration with SSSC due to the specific nature of their role (i.e. as a practitioner in a care at home service).

Independent dentists and dental bodies corporate make claims for items of treatment provided under NHS General Dental Services. As part of the claims process, patient charges, where appropriate, are also recorded. Practitioner Services of National Services Scotland reimburses claims on behalf of NHS Boards, and data on activity is summarised and published under quarterly official statistics by Public Health Scotland.

We’re determined to do all we can to reduce alcohol-related harm and are working closely with Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and the third sector to do so. Drug and alcohol services have seen a significant increase in funding as a result of the National Mission to ensure treatment services are in place to support people impacted by alcohol and drugs.

For example, we are exploring the evidence around Managed Alcohol Programmes and are delighted to be able to contribute to the running of the innovative model being piloted in Glasgow by Simon Community Scotland and its evaluation.

In addition, we are working with stakeholders to create a national service specification alongside guidance for alcohol treatment in Scotland, supported by a meaningful treatment target. This work will build on the forthcoming UK-wide Clinical Alcohol Treatment Guidelines, developed by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) are the independent regulator of the social service workforce in Scotland. SSSC protects the public by registering the workforce, setting standards for their practice, conduct, training and education and by supporting their professional development. Groups of workers subject to registration with the SSSC are set by Scottish Ministers within the Regulation of Care Act (Scotland) 2001.

The role of ‘healthcare assistant’ does not have a standard definition and the term is used for different roles within the health and social care workforce. Due to the varying definition of this role, it is currently unclear which roles would and would not be appropriate for SSSC registration. While some healthcare assistants job roles may meet the requirement for SSSC registration, many will not. As such, there are no current plans to consider registration with the SSSC for healthcare assistants employed by the NHS.

The Phase 1 pilot programmes have now been fully evaluated and a report produced on the strengths of each approach, as well as considerations for the future. The Phase 1 evaluation is available here: https://sportscotland.org.uk/about-us/our-publications/archive/school-swimming-in-scotland-phase-1-evaluation

Phase 2, which is already underway, will further develop each approach and test the implementation of the school swimming framework, and is expected to be completed by the end of the academic year 2023-24.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with sportscotland, Scottish Swimming, and various local and national partners to support Phase 2 of the school swimming pilot, and will continue to consider the best approach for a continued roll out of a National Framework for school swimming over the coming years.

The Scottish Recommended Allowance (SRA) is a standard national allowance for all eligible foster and kinship carers in Scotland to support them in caring for the children and young people they look after. Its implementation is an agreement between the Scottish Government and COSLA to ensure equity of payment by local authorities across Scotland.

The placements of children by local authorities with external agencies, such as independent fostering providers, is a contracted agreement between the local authority and agency and, therefore, discussions on the implementation of the SRA would be held in this context. However, responsibility for payment of the allowance to foster carers ultimately sits with the independent fostering providers, not the local authority.

The Scottish Government has committed to commencing a review, later this year, of the implementation of the SRA to assess what is working well and areas for improvement. As part of this review, the Scottish Government will consider how the SRA is being experienced by all foster carers, including those with independent fostering providers.

Public Health Scotland is currently in the process of investigating the reasons behind the apparent 40% reduction in the number of people accessing specialist alcohol treatment services.

Operational decisions on pay and staffing matters are the responsibility of individual colleges.

The Scottish Government expects every effort to be made, in consultation with trade unions, to protect jobs. The Scottish Government has been clear that compulsory redundancies should only be considered as a last resort, after all other options have been fully explored in collaboration with trade unions.

The contract between Biffa and Circularity Scotland Ltd was a contract between two private companies. The Scottish Government provided no security, guarantee or other assurance to Biffa in relation to its obligations under the contract that it entered into with Circularity Scotland.

The Scottish Government regularly confirmed our continuing commitment to DRS in Parliament, in public statements, and to those businesses and other stakeholders involved in the implementation of DRS. A letter was sent to Biffa in May 2022 confirming the government’s commitment to DRS.