Chamber and committees

The concept of a Suckler Beef Climate Scheme (SBCS) was one output of the Farmer Led Group initiative, which was followed by the establishment of the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board (ARIOB).

The ARIOB is supporting the Scottish Government to develop new proposals for sustainable farm support by considering the Climate Change Plan Update and the Farmer-led Groups recommendations, including the recommendations from the Suckler Beef Climate Scheme: Final Report.

In February we published the route map for agriculture reform. The route map provides more detail on how we will deliver the transition process and the steps we will take to get there. Alongside our route map we published a potential list of measures, intended to show farmers and crofters what conditions are being considered for implantation in future support. In this draft list of measures we have identified cattle nutrition, cattle health and genetics as areas of interest for future support conditions, these measures build on the recommendations made in the Suckler Beef Climate Scheme: Final Report which recognised health, nutrition and improved breeding as areas with significant emissions reduction potential.

Decisions on the future support framework and any specific measures will be determined as part of the wider agricultural reform process. Work is ongoing and we remain committed to a co-design approach. This includes continued work with the (ARIOB) and engagement with wider industry.

We are aware that flash glucose sensors, Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM), and other diabetes technologies can significantly benefit people living with diabetes. Our Diabetes Improvement Plan, published in 2021, contains a key commitment to further increase access to existing and emerging diabetes technologies. A link to the Plan can be found at link: Diabetes Care in Scotland (www.gov.scot) .

Our national policy is to increase access to these life changing diabetes technologies to everyone who would benefit, and we expect NHS Boards to provide technology to all clinically suitable children and adults.

Between 2016 and 2021, the Scottish Government invested £15 million to support the increased provision of insulin pumps for adults and CGM for all ages.

Further funding of £14.6 million was then allocated to NHS Boards in January 2022 to support increased access to diabetes therapies, including the emerging closed loop system technology.

We work closely with the Diabetes Managed Clinical Networks (MCNs) within each board and ensure that all resource support is targeted to support the needs of local populations.

Safeguarding the Eskdalemuir Seismic Array is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence and any decision to amend the seismic noise budget for the array is a decision for the UK Government.

The Scottish Government acknowledges the seismic noise budget for the Eskdalemuir consultation zone has been consumed and that currently the Ministry of Defence will object to all developments within the consultation zone, both Section 36 applications and local planning applications, in order to protect the operation of the array.

Transport Scotland has recently been made aware of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s internal discussions relating to the possibility of using the A75 160 Annan Road Bridge for foot traffic.

Dumfries and Galloway Council has yet to decide whether to make an approach to Transport Scotland as they are conscious of difficulties relating to the provision of pedestrian access to and from the structure and the protection of foot traffic crossing the structure.

Food Standards Scotland has a dedicated Food and Feed Incident Team comprising a Head of Incidents, an Incident Manager and three incident officers. The team is also assisted by a Support Team comprising a Support Manager and Support Officer. These two individuals assist in the investigation of food- feed incidents, however, much of their time is spent on other divisional priorities.

When identifying the spend on food- feed investigations, consideration has been given to staffing costs along with other associated costs linked with carrying out the investigations. The spend is assuming the full time cost of all members of staff, including the support team.

The following table presents the annual spend on incidents for the last 3 years and the percentage of the overall Food Standards Scotland budget this reflects.

The Scottish Government regularly engages with the Scottish Ambulance Service and is kept informed of performance against a range of operational processes, including subject access requests (SARs).

The Scottish Ambulance Service deals with a number of SARs every month with the majority of these requests processed within timescales.

The Scottish Ambulance Service is committed to ensuring continued improvement in responding to such requests.

In the last three financial years, Food Standards Scotland has coordinated the response to eighteen food/feed safety incidents which have been investigated by Dumfries and Galloway Local Authority. Three of these incidents have related to the detection of Listeria Monocytogenes.

The Scottish Government is aware of the points raised by the Church of Scotland (hereinafter ‘CoS’) and has been in regular and ongoing contact with CoS on these matters.

Officials met with representatives including the Church of Scotland in August last year, and I subsequently met with them in September. I did this to hear directly from CoS and others about their concerns and proposed solutions. Letters were sent to the Church of Scotland on 1 November 2022, 2 December 2022 and 17 January 2023 and, most recently, I wrote to CoS on 16 February.

The RCI was introduced on 1 April 2022, with unanimous cross-party support. Key stakeholders, including religious bodies, were involved in developing these regulations. Officials have thoroughly reviewed all of the options available to address the issues raised by the Church of Scotland, which arise primarily due to the large amount of property they own.

The Scottish Government introduced legislation to the Scottish Parliament on 23 January 2023 with the intention (subject to Parliamentary approval) of extending the transitional period by 12 months before offence provisions take effect. This decision was taken in response to the concerns raised by the Church of Scotland and others, fully understanding the current challenges in which all organisations including the charitable, third sector and faith and belief community are operating, owing to Brexit, Covid, and inflationary pressures. Should the Parliament approve the draft proposals, those in scope will have a further 12 months to comply with the requirements, in addition to the initial 12 month transitional period.

Stakeholders are encouraged to engage with the process as early as possible, and give themselves plenty of time to register. The Scottish Government and Registers of Scotland are working together to continue raising awareness and help support stakeholders through the process. This will include a programme of additional awareness raising and reviewing the existing guidance.

The Scottish Government has offered the Church of Scotland the option of another meeting with Registers of Scotland and Scottish Government officials should they wish, to discuss how they can be supported to achieve compliance.

FSS use the following to define an incident.

“any event where, based on the information available, there are concerns about actual or suspected threats to the safety, quality or integrity of food and/or feed or fraud that could require intervention to protect consumers’ interests”.

Only notifications meeting this criteria are recorded as such.

All incidents reported to FSS are classified using the FSS Incident Classification Matrix. The matrix is used to help assign a level to the incident to determine the appropriate response.

The coordination of food/feed incidents will continue until the identified risks have been appropriately mitigated.

Whilst FSS maintain the coordination role providing guidance, assistance and advice, Local Authorities as the competent authorities will routinely carry out the investigations. Local Authorities will report incidents to FSS dependant on the food law code of practice which stipulates which incidents need to be reported to FSS.