Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government expects all local authorities to comply with the school food and drink Regulations which are based on up to date scientific evidence and dietary advice about what energy and nutrients children and young people need in order to grow and develop healthily. The Regulations provide detailed specifications that must be met as food and drink is offered in schools and the accompanying guidance ‘Healthy Eating in Schools’ provides practical advice about how to meet the Regulations. The Regulations and guidance include specifications for and advice on meat provision in schools.

As long as the Regulations are being met, it is for local authorities to decide what meals to include on menus and as such the Scottish Government do not routinely monitor school menus. We have not been contacted by parents from Dumfries and Galloway about this matter. If parents do raise concerns about school menus we advise them to provide feedback to their local authority who can take this into account as they develop future menus.

The Scottish Government does not analyse statistics on waiting times for NHS dental examinations within General Dental Services (GDS) as this service is delivered across around 1100 dental practices, each with local differences in patterns of prescribing and service delivery.

Infection control requirements have meant that practices are still working at considerably reduced capacity, necessitating the triage of patients according to clinical need to some extent, including the availability to dental check-ups for individuals with historically poor oral health.

As of 13 May 2021, 36,064 devices and 32,332 data packages have been provided. All Connecting Scotland customers have access to training and support. Interim results from our follow-up survey indicate that around half of Connecting Scotland customers found this support helpful in improving their digital skills.

Public health measures have been implemented at borders to minimise the risk of importation of the virus from foreign travel. Recently, this has included alignment on the traffic light system for international travel which came into effect on 17 May 2021. This applies to all arrivals with a few limited sectoral exemptions where necessary to ensure essential or emergency work can be resumed in Scotland. People returning from overseas charity work are currently not exempt from the restrictions and should refer to the guidance provided. All decisions regarding exemptions are kept under review by the Scottish Government and assessed in the light of the latest scientific evidence.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): international travel and managed isolation (quarantine) - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Active Nation Commissioner, Lee Craigie, was appointed to her role in December 2018 for a 3 year term. There are currently no plans to put the role on a statutory footing.

Transport Scotland published the draft Phase 1 recommendations and an update on the second Strategic Transport Projects Review on 3 February 2021. This included National and Regional Case for Change Reports which contained a list of transport options that are being considered further in Phase 2. We invited stakeholders and the public to feedback with a closing date of
‎ 31 March 2021.

As a result of our engagement we received a total of 461 responses, of which 333 are on the Phase 1 Recommendations report and 128 on the Case for Change reports. Given the substantial amount of feedback we have received we are now carefully considering how this will inform Phase 2 of the review.

We will share these key points with the Regional Transport Working Groups in the first instance, and use them to inform the ongoing appraisal, prior to publishing later in the Summer.

Connecting Scotland is delivered in partnership with the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO). SCVO set up and manage the application, assessment, contracting and distribution of devices. Local authorities assess applications from public and third sector services and organisations, who identify eligible customers and provide frontline Digital Champion support to end users.

A total of £26.6 million has been allocated to Phase 3, with the potential to provide 23,000 devices and data packages. Every Connecting Scotland customer is allocated a Digital Champion and has access to one on one training and support if they want it. So far a total of 2,700 Digital Champions have been trained through the programme. Interim results from our follow-up survey indicate that around half of Connecting Scotland customers found this support helpful in improving their digital skills.

The majority of terrestrial Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) in Scotland are co-designated with and underpinned by Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Where the release of game birds on an SSSI is potentially damaging, it is listed by NatureScot as an operation requiring consent.

In considering any application for such consent, NatureScot must fulfil the requirements of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations with regard to the assessment of the implications of plans or projects for European sites.

NatureScot has advised that to date, two applications for consent to release game birds on an SPA or SAC have been received. The assessments concluded that there would be no adverse effect on the sites’ integrity.

There are offences of intentional or reckless damage to SSSIs, SPAs and SACs. Scottish Ministers can also make Nature Conservation Orders to prohibit the carrying out of operations on or near these sites for the purposes of conserving any natural feature for which such land is designated, or is otherwise considered by the Scottish Ministers to be of special interest.

The Scottish Government launched its Suicide Prevention Action Plan: Every Life Matters in 2018. Our National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group (NSPLG) is driving forward implementation and reports annually on progress, both on the Action Plan and on the supplementary recommendations and actions agreed since the Action Plan was published. Its most recent annual report was issued in September 2020. A supplementary two-year review of progress made under the Action Plan was published earlier this year.

Many of the key deliverables of the Action Plan have been achieved to date, including the launch of Scotland’s social movement: ‘United to Prevent Suicide’; production of learning resources to support suicide prevention; pilot services to support those bereaved by suicide; and guidance to encourage, inform, and support local suicide prevention approaches.

The Scottish Government continues to work with the NSPLG and partners to prioritise work on the Action Plan and on the key activities on suicide prevention set out in our October 2020 Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan.

The Scottish Government has already paid £32.7 million to more than 21,800 taxi drivers through the Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund. We committed to paying those taxi drivers who previously received a grant, a further grant of £1,500, taking support to a total of £3,000 and the Finance Secretary announced on Wednesday we have allocated a further £62 million for taxi drivers and operators, bringing the total support for the taxi sector during the pandemic to more than £90 million. Local authorities will begin to process the second driver payment during week beginning 7 June.

For taxi operators, local authorities will contact all eligible vehicle licence holders this month to brief them on their potential entitlement and will aim to make payments promptly within a maximum four week period. Amounts payable will be based on the number of vehicle licences each owner/operator holds with operators receiving grants between £4,000 and £15,000.