Seòmar agus comataidhean

Good morning, everyone. How could the Scottish Government support sportscotland in embedding a culture of anti-racism and EDI in Scottish sport?

Thank you very much. I have no further questions.

Good morning. What impact has Brexit had on your work on risk management and oversight functions?

What benefits have emerged from collaboration between the FSS and the Food Standards Agency, as set out in the 2020 memorandum of understanding? How well is that collaboration working compared with the working arrangements that existed prior to the UK’s exit from the European Union?

Yes—until we get that information back.

I would like us to keep the petition open. I think that, in doing so, we should write to the Minister for Drugs Policy to highlight the issues that are raised in the petition and the related evidence; welcome the work of the MAT implementation group to date; highlight the on-going concerns about resource and capacity issues in the health sector; ask for an update on the situation in NHS Grampian by the end of February with regard to whether a controlled drug licence for police custody settings has been obtained and the timescale for completing the implementation of MAT standards in police custody settings; and seek reassurance on issues of capacity and monitoring of implementation across Scotland to ensure that MAT standards are being met.

The committee could write to the Scottish Government to set out the committee’s recommendations on the basis of the evidence that has been gathered so far. That might include recommending that the Scottish Government undertakes work to explore the benefits and disadvantages of altering the 50MW threshold for consideration of renewable energy developments;, undertaking research into how support could be provided for communities that wish to participate in public inquiries into planning decisions, including onshore wind farm developments; exploring the scope for planning authorities to determine more applications for onshore wind farm development; and exploring opportunities to ensure that the demonstration of local support is a key material consideration for planning authorities when determining applications for onshore wind farm developments.

Considering the response that we have had from the cabinet secretary and the Scottish Government, I would like to close the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders, on the basis that there is no mandatory curriculum in Scotland. Also, the Scottish Government has indicated that the learn to swim framework is being delivered in 27 out of 32 local authority areas, with progress being made within two further local authority areas towards delivering the framework during 2023 and that Water Safety Scotland and Education Scotland have launched an educational resource for schools to provide a consistent level of learning across Scotland’s educational institutions.

I wonder whether we should keep the petition open and write to Education Scotland to follow up on the committee’s previous request for information on how it monitors the implementation of teaching guidance. I would also like to see as soon as possible what comes back from the consultation on RSHP.

Yes, it is, convener, particularly because of those discrepancies across local authorities. The committee could write to the relevant stakeholders, including Citizens Advice Scotland, Dementia Scotland and Alzheimer Scotland to seek their views on the actions that the petition calls for; the impact of the legislative requirement in relation to eligibility for a qualifying state benefit; the variation in the approaches taken to assessment by local authorities across Scotland; and the level and variation across Scotland of referrals for post-diagnostic support for people who have been newly diagnosed with dementia.