Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government introduced the Succession (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament on 17 June 2015. It provided, in the main, for changes to technical areas of the law. It was passed on 28 January 2016 and Royal Assent was granted on 3 March 2016. Changes made to caution requirements for executors dative commenced on 4 March 2016 and the remainder will be commenced towards the end of 2016

In particular, the Succession (Scotland) Act 2016

Closes a number of jurisdictional gaps so that where Scots law is the applicable law, the Scottish courts will have jurisdiction

Reforms how wills may be rectified by the courts

Reforms how survivorship should operate

Clarifies the effect of divorce, dissolution or annulment on a will.

The Scottish Government recognises that food and drink is an important part of the visitor experience in Scotland, and is working in partnership with the food and drink industry leadership organisation, Scotland Food and Drink, to help increase the value of the food and drink sector and to build Scotland’s reputation as a land of food and drink. The Scotland Food and Drink partnership are now developing the 2017-30 food and drink industry strategy to continue to support the growth and reputation of the sector.

In 2015, as part of the Year of Food and Drink led by VisitScotland, there were a number of initiatives that set out to inspire the people of Scotland and visitors to celebrate Scotland’s outstanding natural larder; these included food and drink event funding and the establishment of four food trails. We are continuing to promote the ‘Taste Our Best’ accreditation award, delivered through our partnership with VisitScotland, which is currently held by over 1,000 businesses, and helps customers to identify restaurants, pubs, bars and cafes that serve quality locally sourced food and drink.

The Scottish Government welcomes the 'Jewish Objects for Education in Scotland' boxes initiative which supports learning and teaching about Judaism and understanding of religious and cultural diversity in Scotland.

This initiative was developed by the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (SCoJeC) with support from Education Scotland. The initiative provides the opportunity for all local authorities to request a free box of authentic Jewish artefacts for use in schools. The resource is accompanied by the offer of career-long professional learning for staff to support the use of the boxes.

Education Scotland will be working with SCoJeC to evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative, and intends to develop similar initiatives based on this model with other religious and belief groups in Scotland.

While the Scottish Government provides the policies, frameworks and resources for high quality healthcare in Scotland, it is for each NHS board to decide best how to utilise funding, facilities and staff while taking account of national and local priorities to meet local health needs, including those for people recovering from a brain injury.

What I can confirm is that Scotland’s health boards have received more than £500 million in additional funding in 2016-17 to support the provision of frontline healthcare services. There is a national Scottish Acquired Brain Injury Network (SABIN) that seeks to improve outcomes for all acquired brain injury patients. SABIN in Scotland is a national managed clinical network and they have undertaken a comprehensive communication and engagement programme with patients, carers and key stakeholders and their aim is to improve access and quality of care for people with acquired brain injury across Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00480 16 June 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The Scottish Government is currently engaging with stakeholders to inform the form and content of the proposed consultation on nicotine vapour products. No date or time period for the consultation has yet been fixed.

The Scottish Government is committed to measures to encourage responsible dog ownership to help keep our communities safe. That is why we supported, along with all other parties, the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 which includes measures to highlight the responsibilities of dog owners to ensure they keep their dogs under control to avoid dog attacks taking place.

This legislation is increasingly being used with the latest 2015-16 figures showing that 290 dog control notices were issued to irresponsible dog owners who allowed their dogs to be out of control. This is the highest year-on-year figure for the issuing of dog control notices since the legislation came into force in 2011.

While the Scottish Government keeps legislation under review, we have no current plans to amend either the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 or the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

The Scottish Government is committed to measures to encourage responsible dog ownership to help keep our communities safe. That is why we supported, along with all other parties, the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 which includes measures to highlight the responsibilities of dog owners to ensure they keep their dogs under control to avoid dog attacks taking place.

This legislation, which does not apply in England, is increasingly being used with the latest 2015-16 figures showing that 290 dog control notices were issued to irresponsible dog owners who allowed their dogs to be out of control. This is the highest year-on-year figure for the issuing of dog control notices since the legislation came into force in 2011.

There is a national code of conduct for local government employees in Scotland. The national code requires that employees should be as open as possible in all the decisions and actions that they take, should give reasons for their decisions, and should not restrict information unless this is clearly required by council policy or by the law. The national code also includes a statement that mutual respect between councillors and employees is essential to good local government. Each local authority has published a code of conduct for its employees in line with the national code setting out expected standards of behaviour, and it is up to each local authority to enforce that code. Scottish Ministers have no general powers that would enable them to intervene in matters between an employer and employee.

Local authority officers are required to be as open as possible in all the decisions and actions that they take and not to restrict information, except where required by council policy or the law, as set out in the national code of conduct for local government employees in Scotland. Enforcement of the expected standards of behaviour of council employees is a matter for each local authority as an employer and the Scottish Government has no plans to change the current framework.