Chamber and committees

Additional places were funded in academic years 2019-20 and 2020-21 to take into account the impact of changes to the SQA exams as a result of COVID-19. In the 2022-23 Scottish Budget it was announced a further £21m was allocated for the ongoing support of these additional places for the continuation of their studies.

The number of funded places for 2022-23 will be finalised when the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) publishes their final funding allocations in May 2022. With the exception of controlled subjects, the Scottish Government does not specify allocations of funded places for new entrants to university, as this decision is made by universities as autonomous institutions.

The Scottish Government, in November 2021, issued a joint protocol for the examination of dogs suspected of livestock worrying and seized by Police Scotland under the 2021 Act. That offers guidance to veterinarians who may be asked to examine such dogs.

The Scottish Government considers that education is the key to ending livestock worrying incidents and the associated unnecessary suffering for all involved. While not solely focussed on livestock worrying, the Scottish Government undertook an awareness raising digital campaign, in partnership with the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in March 2021 to promote responsible dog ownership. The campaign was re-run in September and December 2021, to further emphasise the importance of training pet dogs correctly; and reminding dog owners of their legal responsibilities to keep dogs under proper control in order to prevent and reduce the risks of incidents occurring.

The Scottish Government supported the introduction of the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill, which gained Royal Assent on 5 May 2021, and accords with advice in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code on responsible behaviour for people walking dogs. These messages are promoted widely on social media by NatureScot as part of on-going communication campaigns promoting responsible behaviour in various outdoor settings.

The Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC) has also been supporting the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021. In January 2022 they launched a national Livestock Attack and Worrying campaign with the slogan ‘Your Dog – Your Responsibility’ designed to educate and raise awareness about the new legislation amongst dog owners, whether new or experienced. This attracted significant media attention from TV, radio, written and social media forms with the campaign lasting 5 months until end of May 2022.

Numerous local Partnerships Against Rural Crime have supported the national campaign and kept focus on the new legislation by holding local launches. SPARC is promoting a second national launch to highlight the issue once more in the Autumn and will further promote the legislation at the agricultural events and shows it attend this year.

The Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011 (SSI 210 (15) Staffing) sets out a requirement for care service providers to ensure that at all times suitably qualified and competent persons are working in the care service in such numbers as are appropriate for the health, welfare and safety of service users:

‘A provider must, having regard to the size and nature of the care services, the statement of aims and objectives and the number and needs of service users…ensure that at all times suitably qualified and competent persons are working in the care service in such numbers as are appropriate for the health, welfare and safety of service users.’

Where these requirements are not met, action can be taken by the Care Inspectorate as the regulator of care services in Scotland, including formal enforcement action if necessary.

The Care Inspectorate inspects services to ensure that people experience high-quality care, and that care services are making a positive impact on people’s lives, based on their needs, rights and choices. The Care Inspectorate’s quality framework for care homes for adults and older people includes a Quality Indicator 3.3: Staffing arrangements are right, and staff work well together . This includes the extent to which the skill mix, numbers and deployment of staff meet the needs of people and the service has an effective process for assessing how many staff hours are needed.

The Care Inspectorate retains the discretion to impose conditions about staffing, or any other matter, on any individual care service where that is necessary to ensure people experience high quality care.

Safeguarding our democracy is of upmost importance to the Scottish Government. This includes being an open, accessible and transparent government. Public officials, including Ministers, MSPs and councillors, are subject to Code of Conducts which provide a clear set of principles and standards for their behaviour, including how to avoid undue interference from external actors. We believe the public should have trust in those they elect.

The Scottish Government remains fully committed to the inclusion of glass containers in our ambitious Deposit Return Scheme in view of the significant environmental and economic benefits that that will bring.

Transport Scotland look to improve accessibility as part of wider rail enhancement and decarbonisation programme; which is why the 2 new stations on the new Levenmouth Railway, the new Inverness Airport station and the new Hairmyres Station on the East Kilbride line will all have accessibility at the heart of their design. Throughout 2019-2024 this Government will also provide funding for step-free access at Aviemore, Pitlochry, Nairn and Kingussie rail stations.

Rail accessibility is reserved to the UK Government and, while we work closely with the Department for Transport to agree priorities, the final decision rests with the UK Government. We continue to push for full devolution of rail powers to enable us to better deliver for Scotland’s rail users.

The DfT Access for All and Mid-Tier Programmes will deliver step-free access through the rail control period 2019 -2024 at selected Scottish stations can be found in the attached links:. Access for All: 73 stations set to benefit from additional funding - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Rail stations across Great Britain receive £20 million funding boost for accessibility improvements - GOV.UK ( www.gov.uk ) Work has already commenced on site at Croy and Johnstone with the new accessible footbridges and lifts anticipated for completion later this year.

The Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 (STPR2) was recently published and this will inform transport investment in Scotland for the next 20 years (2022-2042) and recommendation 19, Infrastructure to Provide Access for all at Railway Stations, recommends a review of station accessibility across Scotland to identify barriers and improve access . Additional details can be obtained within the Draft Technical Report - January 2022 - STPR2 | Transport Scotland .

The Scottish Government has established a Short Life Working Group (SLWG), co-chaired by Glasgow Disability Alliance, to develop a refresh of the Action Plan, to be published in Autumn 2022 as part of an overarching Fair Work action plan. Membership of the working group includes: disabled people’s organisations (Inclusion Scotland, Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living), national disability organisations (e.g. ENABLE Works, Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities), as well as wider stakeholders with an interest and expertise in disabled people’s employment (e.g. STUC, the Institute of Directors, Public Health Scotland, Skills Development Scotland) and internal Scottish Government policy teams.

Disabled People’s Organisations (DPO’s) are key to representing the voice of lived experience on the working group itself – they have been clear in their view that the Scottish Government should not repeat previous engagement as to what the barriers to employment are for disabled people. Rather, we have agreed that the working group will develop initial proposals for action to address barriers and discrimination, with engagement with disabled people themselves to then be led by the DPOs, with support from Scottish Government and wider partners. This will enable us to sense check proposals and ensure they align with disabled people’s priorities in order to tackle the disability employment gap. In addition, engagement will be undertaken with wider stakeholders, as part of a communications and engagement strategy for the overarching Fair Work action plan.

There are no current plans to deploy Operator of Last Resort (OLR) arrangements for Caledonian Sleeper services. Consequently, the Scottish Government has not undertaken an assessment of the costs associated with OLR at this time.

Transport Scotland on behalf of Scottish Ministers has contingency arrangements in place for OLR which could be mobilised in the event a franchise agreement is terminated or otherwise comes to an end and no further franchise agreement has been entered into, in line with the Scottish Ministers’ duty under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993.

The decline in capercaillie numbers is of real concern, NatureScot recently published a Review of Capercaillie Conservation and Management - Report to the Scientific Advisory Committee | NatureScot

The report found, inter alia, that it is likely that “ reductions in the numbers of predators (foxes, pine martens, crows) would rapidly improve the breeding success of Capercaillie” . However the evidence is unclear as to whether reductions of fox populations alone would benefit capercaillie without management of other predator species due to the interactions between predator species.

NatureScot are working closely with the Cairngorms Capercaillie Project to support capercaillie conservation in Scotland, and have recently published an outline of the measures, beyond those which are already being undertaken, that are being considered to save capercaillie. These include:

• Carefully designed and monitored diversionary feeding of predators, currently being investigated, being expanded to provide alternative food during the breeding season.
• Additional predator control to remove crows, foxes and including pine martens. In the case of pine marten this would be non-lethal, through trap and release as part of reintroduction to other parts of the UK.
• Seasonal visitor management to create larger refuges from human disturbance in collaboration with communities.
• Extend deer fence marking and removal.

The Scottish Government is supportive of the ambition within the Green Taxonomy and is carefully considering the legislation to ensure it is in line with SG policy, EU alignment and to ensure that any SI's would not negatively impact Scottish economic activity now or in the foreseeable future.