Chamber and committees

The £1.8bn Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme is now complete, and delivered 117 new or refurbished schools across the country. Our current school building scheme - the £2bn Learning Estate Investment Programme - aims to build on the success of the Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme.

Officials are preparing options for Phase 3 of the Learning Estate Investment Programme which will be considered by Ministers. We hope to make an announcement on the timescale for Phase 3 later this year.

Officials are preparing options for Phase 3 of the Learning Estate Investment Programme which will be considered by Ministers. We hope to make an announcement on the timescale for Phase 3 later this year.

As part of the project selection process for the Learning Estate Investment Programme, local authorities put forward their priority school projects for consideration as part of the programme.

As agreed with COSLA leaders, the main premise of the programme is to address those schools that are in poor or bad condition, on a like for like basis. New schools in relation to growth can form part of the programme, if put forward as priorities by local authorities.

All schools within the Learning Estate Investment Programme are funded upfront by local authorities through their own capital plans. Scottish Government support is in the form of revenue funding, through the outcomes-based funding model.

All staff employed to work on the programme are paid in accordance with nationally set terms and conditions and are working to agreed job roles.

A substantive Band 3 vaccinator is paid £20,700 rising to £22,594 (per annum). A Band 5 immunisations nurse is paid £25,100 to £31,649, in line with Agenda for Change rates. Substantive staff from other areas of the health service working overtime and redeployed staff are paid according to their terms and conditions of service. Bank staff who do not also hold contracts of employment with the host health board are paid at the grade and pay band as specified in their bank contract, relating to the role profile pursuant to which they have been deployed.

The Scottish Government has set sessional rates of £230 and £231 for independent contractors (GPs, dentists, optometrists and pharmacists) taking part in the COVID-19 vaccination programme. These rates reflect both the market conditions for hiring these professionals, and the roles being filled in the programme.

The above arrangements have supported the temporary deployment of staff during the initial phases of the vaccination programme, while work is taken forward to build a sustainable vaccination workforce.

Our commitment to becoming a net-zero society by 2045 is unwavering. In 2019, the whole-life carbon impact of Scotland’s household waste reached its lowest level since official recording began.

To further accelerate progress, Scottish Ministers are fully committed to ending the practice of sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill by 2025. This is in line with recommendations previously made by the Committee on Climate Change.

We still need capacity to dispose of residual waste, which cannot be reused or recycled, while we make the transition to a circular economy in Scotland. However, we have committed to review the role that incineration plays in Scotland’s waste hierarchy.

In Scotland, it is illegal to incinerate materials that have been separately collected and are capable of being recycled, and waste incineration is strictly regulated in line with EU standards under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations.

The Scottish Government will consider the nature of any duty on UK Government Ministers that may arise as a result of the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill and recommendations of the Scottish Animal Welfare Committee before making any plans in this area.

The Scottish Government has committed to developing a £5 million ‘Islands Bond’ offering 100 bonds of up to £50,000 to young people and families to stay in or to move to islands currently threatened by depopulation. In line with the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 and the introduction of Island Community Impact Assessments, we know the importance of consulting with Island Communities and speaking to the people who are likely to be affected by any new policy, strategy or service before they are implemented. The Islands Bond is still in development and at this stage we do not have exact dates for when the consultation around this will be carried out. However, an Islands Community Impact Assessment will be completed in respect of this new policy and as part of that process, consultation will be undertaken with island communities, local authorities and key stakeholders.

The Scottish Government follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Guidance in the planning of vaccine delivery. This evidence-based guidance advises that the single greatest risk of mortality from COVID-19 is increasing age, and that the risk increases exponentially with age.

The Scottish Government greatly values the work of Scotland’s police officers and staff in keeping communities safe throughout this pandemic. They have been at the frontline of this public health response, and we are so grateful for the work they have undertaken.

Decisions to prioritise one population group over another are not taken lightly, nor are they straightforward. That is why our prioritisation decisions are guided by the independent expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

We are adhering to the priority list devised by the JCVI which has been designed to target those at greatest risk from COVID-19 and is estimated to address over 90 per cent of preventable mortality from the virus in Scotland. This is the priority rollout all nations of the UK are working towards and it is important that we adhere to these lists in order to avoid more lives being lost.

The Scottish Government has given a commitment to establishing a dignified, compassionate miscarriage service tailored to the needs of women. The aim is to support the development of individualised care plans after a woman’s first miscarriage and ensure maternity departments have dedicated facilities for women who are experiencing unexpected pregnancy complications.

We also welcome the findings of the Lancet series on miscarriage published on‎ 26 April 2021 and are considering the findings and recommendations made. Next steps are being discussed with stakeholders.