Chamber and committees

Any assessment of the number of employees required to carry out future trading standards work is a matter for councils and their national body COSLA to undertake. Trading Standards Officers are employed by Scotland’s local authorities, who are independent corporate bodies, responsible for the management and sustainability of their workforce. Scottish Ministers engage routinely with COSLA which provides an opportunity for areas of concern for local government to be raised should our partners in local government believe this issue requires further discussion in future.

Trading Standards Officers are employed by Scotland’s local authorities. Local authorities are independent corporate bodies, responsible for the management of their workforce. The outcome and response to the findings of the SCOTSS survey is therefore a matter for councils and their national body, COSLA. However, in recognition of the sustainability challenges facing the service, we understand that SCOTSS and COSLA continue to engage on developing a workforce strategy for the future.

I last met with Water Safety Scotland representatives on 11 August 2021 during a meeting that I chaired with a range of key stakeholders on water safety. My officials are regularly in discussion with Water Safety Scotland representatives and their partners as part of our Building Safer Communities work.

The Scottish Government takes the issue of water safety very seriously. We work closely with Water Safety Scotland (WSS) and other partners, including local councils, police and SFRS to implement and support initiatives that can help raise awareness of the hazards around water and reduce deaths from accidental drowning.

The Scottish Government also provides annual grant funding to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to deliver its annual home and water safety programme, which includes providing a secretariat to Water Safety Scotland.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented and continues to present unprecedented challenges for businesses across Scotland. Uncertainty in the labour market has led to many employers delaying and pausing recruitment decisions, which is impacting on apprenticeship starts.

Prior to the pandemic, we consistently exceeded annual Apprenticeship targets and were on track to meet our target of 30,000 Modern and Graduate Apprenticeships starts by 2020-21.

The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with Skills Development Scotland to maximise apprentice uptake. As set out in our manifesto, we will build back up to 30,000 starts and assess demand to see how much further we can go, supporting the long-term future of work-based learning and our economy.

Official statistics published by Skills Development Scotland on 10 August 2021 show a positive increase in Modern Apprenticeship (MA) starts compared to the same time last year. There were 3,402 Modern Apprenticeship starts from 01 April to end of June this year – 3.7 times the number of MA starts at the same time last year. MA starts this quarter are still 21.5% lower than pre-pandemic levels in Q1 2019-20, reflecting continuing challenges from COVID-19 as many employers make difficult business decisions.

I am grateful to my colleague, Mr Cameron MSP, for raising this matter relating to the £500 thank you payment for social care staff. The bonus payment recognises the particular debt we all owe to health and care staff, who have been – and continue to be – on the very front line of this crisis, helping to save lives and to protect us all.

Policy colleagues worked extensively with sector representatives in establishing eligibility criteria and guidance for social care provider staff. These representative organisations included Scottish Care and the Coalition for Care and Support Providers (CCPS) in Scotland; trade unions including Unison, Unite and GMB; and colleagues in CoSLA representing local authorities. The former Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, Jeane Freeman, previously wrote to CCPS on 29 March 2021 regarding the eligibility of third sector staff who are not registered with the Care Inspectorate.

In this letter, she confirmed the Scottish Government's position that the £500 payment relates to staff directly covered by NHS payment and remuneration arrangements or staff in organisations delivering adult social care or children’s residential care registered with the Care Inspectorate. In Scotland certain care services by law must register with the Care Inspectorate, and it is only these services that are eligible. Unfortunately, if an organisation is not already registered to provide these services their staff will not be eligible for the £500 payment. For other staff, it would be for their employers to determine their remuneration and any additions to existing pay which may be appropriate.

Following the final report from the independent Fireworks Review Group recommending a fundamental shift in how fireworks are accessed and used in Scotland, the Scottish Government intends to implement the recommendations from the Group as a matter of urgency to ensure positive change is in place for communities going forward.

This includes a recommendation that mandatory conditions are introduced before the general public are able to purchase fireworks. Mandatory conditions may include, for example, the successful completion of an online safety test and payment of a fee, to ensure that fireworks are used safely and appropriately.

The Scottish Government recently sought views through a public consultation which included a proposal that mandatory conditions of sale could be implemented through a fireworks licensing system. The consultation closed on 15 August and received over 1700 responses from members of the public and stakeholder organisations. The responses are being independently analysed and the results will inform next steps and development of legislation relating to fireworks and pyrotechnics.

The Scottish Government remains committed to reforming crofting law and we will set out how we intend to do that in due course. A consultation was held in the last Parliament on what changes were required to the current legislative framework and the outcome of that consultation will form the starting point for this work.

The Crofting Consultation 2017 received 122 responses, and provided the Scottish Government with detailed and varied feedback on the options for a new crofting Bill, current legislative issues and how they might be addressed and other aspects of crofting. The consultation analysis and responses are available at: Crofting Consultation 2017 - Scottish Government - Citizen Space .

This Government has a strong track record in encouraging and supporting more and new people into crofting. In 2019-20 there were over 830 new entrants into crofting - 44% were women, and 32% were under 40 years of age. We have now appointed the islands-based Crofting Development Officers who will work with crofting communities and strengthen links between the Commission and the communities it serves, building constructive local relations and a greater understanding of the Commission’s role within the crofting community.

The Commission has also expanded its Residency and Land Use Team, to enable it to increase its work in addressing absenteeism and bringing crofts back into productive use. We will monitor this activity closely and consider what more might need to be done in this regard during the lifetime of this Parliament.

A decision on the timing of a Bill will be taken by Cabinet in the context of setting the content of future legislative programmes in the normal way.

The Scottish COVID-19 Mental Health Tracker study provides data on the prevalence of mild to moderate mental health problems. Wave 4 of the Tracker Study is due to be published in the coming weeks.

Alongside other sources, we use the Tracker Study to monitor the mental health and wellbeing of the Scottish population. This provides insight into the potential impact of COVID-19 pandemic, and accompanying restrictions, on the mental health of the Scottish population, and has allowed us to tailor our mental health policy response as needs continue to evolve.