Seòmar agus comataidhean

Sections 23(7) and 24(4) of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 place a duty on the Scottish Ministers to lay six-monthly reports before Parliament setting out why the duties to (a) implement the scheme for funding for alternative dispute resolution and (b) establish a pilot of mandatory meetings on alternatives to court are not yet fulfilled, and stating when implementation is expected.

To date the Scottish Ministers have laid four such reports before Parliament and these have been published on the Scottish Government website. The latest report is available here:

Children (Scotland) Act 2020 - section 23(1) and section 24(1): fourth report on the Scottish Ministers' duties - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Scottish Academy Trainee Doctors' Group, to discuss areas of mutual interest.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Scottish Committee of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, to discuss areas of mutual interest.

I am pleased to confirm that from Academic Year 2023-24 all students who meet the following criteria will be eligible for home fees status and student financial support in Further Education and Higher Education:

• Ordinarily resident in the UK for three years prior to the relevant date;
• Ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date; and
• Granted a form of leave to enter or remain in the UK, where that leave has not expired.

As the British National (Overseas) visa would be considered a form of leave to enter or remain in the UK, a student holding this visa would be eligible for support in the event that they satisfy the remaining criteria.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The UK-wide radiotherapy dataset, Cancerstats, is hosted by NHS England. Clinicians who have access to the data have the opportunity to participate in associated training.

A total of £52,000 of financial support was awarded to seven local authorities through a grant funding agreement with the Improvement Service. This was one-off support to assist with the operational implementation of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme. The breakdown by local authority is as follows;

• Aberdeenshire Council £6,500
• East Renfrewshire Council £6,000
• Glasgow City Council £10,000
• North Ayrshire Council £6,500
• North Lanarkshire Council £10,000
• South Lanarkshire Council £6,500
• West Dunbartonshire Council £6,500

In the 2022-23 financial year, it was highlighted that the Farming with Nature programme expected an underspend.

Separately, given the significant levels of inflation we saw throughout the financial year, it was evident that public sector pay budgets were insufficient to cover the pay settlements eventually agreed.

The Scottish Government therefore agreed with NatureScot that the underspend from the Farming with Nature programme could be used to support the agreed pay settlement.

These are therefore 2 separate matters. The key elements of the planned 2022-23 activity on Farming with Nature have been carried forward to 2023-24 and will be funded from the budget allocation for this financial year.

The Scottish Government-led Lyme Disease Awareness Raising Group has met regularly since being set up following a Ministerial round table event held in June 2021.

The meetings are informal and provide members with the opportunity to share information and to collaborate on ideas of how best to raise awareness of Lyme disease. The Group have met 4 times, most recently on 16 March 2023.

The group co-designed the Scottish Government led Lyme Disease awareness raising campaign which ran in July 2022, and were most recently involved in the 2023 campaign which has seen posters and information cards in all community pharmacies across Scotland throughout May. The group were also involved in the proposal to run a follow up campaign, which will see posters in GP practices, libraries and leisure centres in the summer.

The Scottish Government remain committed to delivery of quality health and care facilities on Barra. However, the Scottish Government's ability to fund capital projects has been affected by a reduction in the amount of capital grant from the UK Government over the next two years, and unprecedented levels of inflation as a result of Covid, Brexit, uncertainty in the supply chain and the war in Ukraine.

The Outline Business Case for the provision of new health facilities at the Barra Health and Social Care Hub has been submitted, however detailed design work of the proposals has been unable to start due to the budgetary pressures across the capital investment programme.

Scottish Government officials will engage with NHS Western Isles and the Scottish Futures Trust to consider the timing of the construction and will work closely with partners to identify alternative options.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many nitrogen dioxide (NO2) or fine particulate air monitors are installed at schools in each local authority area.

The Scottish Government has allocated significant funding of £13.8 million to local authorities in relation to improving ventilation in schools.

In January, it was confirmed by local authorities that all circa 50,000 learning, teaching and play spaces across Scotland have been equipped with a CO2 monitor.