Chamber and committees

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) Act 2004 (as amended) requires education authorities to identify, provide for and to review the additional support needs of their pupils. We support local authorities through the provision of statutory guidance to inform policy and practice, including guidance to the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.

Education Scotland works in partnership with the Scottish Government, ELC, schools and local authorities to improve the outcomes and educational experiences for all learners, including those who require additional support through a range of activities. These include:

• Support and challenge from Education Scotland Inclusion Wellbeing and Equality Officers through the national and regional focus.
• Information, guidance, professional learning and reflective opportunities which include a focus on additional support needs and inclusion.
• The HM Inspection model of education which provides support and challenge to promote improvement for all learners through the fulfilment of statutory duties, inclusion and equality.

In addition, we published our joint response to the independently chaired review of implementation of additional support for learning in October 2020. Angela Morgan’s report sets a clear direction in how we can continue to build on progress in this area. The joint action plan sets out the measures we will take to implement her recommendations.

We published an updated action and progress report on 1 November 202. The action plan and governance arrangements for this work are available from: Additional support for learning action plan: progress report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

An updated action plan will be published in Spring 2022.

Non-domestic properties are charged for water and sewerage services by reference to a meter unless it is inappropriate or impractical to install one. Where a meter cannot be installed, a non-domestic property’s charges will be assessed using its rateable value. Applicable charges to Licensed Providers are detailed in Scottish Water’s wholesale scheme of charges. Licensed providers are then required to charge non-domestic properties for the services which are available. As retail competition exists, Licensed Providers will seek to offer variable tariffs to attract customers; non-domestic customers will therefore have the option to switch provider if a cheaper service can be found elsewhere. Customers can also request that their licensed provider assesses whether a meter can be installed at the property if it is not already available.

As the retail market is working as intended, there are no plans to offer compensation to businesses for payment of water and sewerage charges.

Since its beginning, the aim of the Scottish Government’s COVID-19 Vaccination Programme has been to reduce the number of severe COVID-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths. From its outset it has been guided by the expert advice provided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). We have no plans to provide booster vaccines beyond those which have already been announced. The provision of any further booster doses will therefore continue to be based on any future advice the JCVI should wish to provide.

We cannot provide advice on the rules for other countries. Before travelling you should check the up to date entry requirements for the destination country.

As ever, we encourage all those who are eligible to take up the existing offer of vaccination, if they have not yet done so.

Information on the routes of referral for metastatic breast cancer patients is not held centrally.

The Scottish Cancer Registry does not hold the kind of tracking information required to be able to report on secondary breast cancer. Therefore, Public Health Scotland cannot answer this question.

Anyone who is not able to use the app, including children, can obtain a paper vaccination certificate from the NHS Inform website or our COVID Status Helpline on 0808 196 8565 . We are currently developing a way to issue paper certificates for proof of recovery, which is evidence of a positive PCR test; and an age-appropriate way to provide digital access to Covid Status for children. In the meantime people who cannot use the app can show proof of their recovery status using the email or text messages that notifies them of a positive PCR test.

Information on the number of brain tumour specialist nurses is not held centrally.

As part of the National Cancer Plan, we are providing up to £2.5 million to NHS boards to support 12 pilot programmes across Scotland to deliver a single point of contact for cancer patients. These points of contact will support patients throughout their journey to discuss questions or anxieties related to their clinical care from the point of diagnosis.

Information on the routes of referral for metastatic breast cancer patients is not held centrally.

As a national service, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service can deploy its resources in a flexible way to ensure that fire and rescue cover is maintained. Managing resources in the most effective way is an operational matter for SFRS.

In Scotland, Modern and Graduate Apprentices are employees and it is therefore employers who set apprentices pay, as with their other employees within the parameters of the National Minimum Wage (NMW).

The NMW, including the NMW for Apprentices, is a reserved matter for the UK Government. As such, the rates of NMW are set by the UK Government and the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Apprenticeship Pay Survey , most recently published on 10 January 2020 by the UK Government Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), measures the pay rates of apprentices and may be the closest available measure.

Scotland’s results are based on 2,301 interviews with Scottish apprentices, the majority of interviews were conducted with apprentices at Levels 2 and 3, along with a smaller number of interviews with apprentices at Level 4+. The table below sets out a comparison of 2016 and 2018 survey data for Scotland:

Table 1: Median basic hourly pay for apprentices in Scotland by level, 2016 and 2018