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Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the Education Scotland Improving Gender Balance and Equalities team developed new methods for achieving strong engagement with practitioners, as well as adapting to the new and unprecedented needs of schools, settings and local authorities.

In addition to engaging directly with practitioners and education settings, the team developed a national professional learning offer that could be accessed remotely by practitioners.

The national professional learning offer includes a mixture of remote delivery, online courses, podcasts and YouTube videos. As part of this approach, six podcasts were created and released from August 2021 – November 2021. The podcasts have 6,069 views.

Education Scotland has four officers with responsibility for improving gender balance and equality. Building on the success of the IGBE team, a new equalities team has recently been established to continue the IGBE activity as part of a workstream to challenge equalities more broadly. The salary costs for these four staff members in financial year 2023/24, including an anticipated pay award of up to 3%, is £284,000.

(a) These four officers comprise:

• a Senior Education Officer for Equality;
• two Education Officers for Equality; and
• an Education Officer for Improving Gender Balance and Equality.

(b) These officers continue to lead a wide range of work to change perceptions, promote gender balance and challenge unconscious assumptions about gender roles and learner pathways, including in STEM subjects. They have developed an extensive range of resources which are hosted on Education Scotland’s National Improvement Hub. Up to March 2022, Education Scotland’s Improving Gender Balance and Equality Officers engaged with more than 1150 distinct establishments, and reached over 9400 practitioners.

Education Scotland and Scottish Government recognise that much work that remains to be done in this area which is why we’ve invested in a new team of permanent officers with relevant expertise. Through the work of the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning, which I have agreed to Chair, we will continue to consider how best to effect systemic change which will remove barriers and promote gender balance and equality.

Visits to schools by the Health and Safety Executive or any other organisation, are a matter for individual schools within each education authority area. The member may wish to contact the Health and Safety Executive direct in order to request this information. Contact details are available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/maps/scotland.htm

There were 34 Fixed Penalty Notices issued for infringements detected at sea by Marine Scotland officers from our Marine Protection Vessels in the last 12 months. Of these 3 were not paid within the required time and were reported to the Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Office (COPFS). No other prosecutions were reported directly to the COPFS.

Forestry and Land Scotland employ two members of staff in the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Team. One person is employed on a full-time basis and the other is employed on a 0.6 FTE basis (22.2 hours per week). Both members of staff are employed as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Managers and the total value of their combined salaries is £76,309.60 per annum.

Forestry and Land Scotland also provide Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion support to the SG Agency Scottish Forestry.

In FY 21-22 Forestry and Land Scotland employed thirty-eight apprentices, three foundation apprentices and seven mid-year students.

Of those completing their apprenticeships/placements, sixteen apprentices and four students have gone on to secure roles within Forestry and Land Scotland.

Eighteen apprentices are still completing their apprenticeship and are still employed as apprentices.

Four apprentices, three foundation apprentices and three mid-year students have sought employment or further education elsewhere.

The number of seasonal rangers employed by Forestry and Land Scotland are as follows:

This is a matter for SEPA. The information requested is not held centrally. SEPA have provided the following information.

Calls to Pollution Hotline in each year since 2019

We are continuing to progress the implementation of the recommendations of the Women in Agriculture Taskforce. As part of this we continue to deliver solutions that deliver positive change for women living and working in Scottish agriculture through the Women in Agriculture Development Programme.

This financial year (2023-24) we are providing £500,000 to support further activity and opportunities for women in agriculture. We also remain committed to increasing our funding to £600,000 per year over the course of this Parliament.

This is an operational matter for NatureScot. I have asked their Chief Executive to write with the relevant information.