Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government is not aware of existing scenarios where veterans would be financially disadvantaged as a result of military compensation payments reducing or removing reserved benefit entitlements.

As such, there has not been any examination of whether the Scottish Parliament's existing powers could be used for top-ups or discretionary payments. In scenarios where veterans were being disadvantaged as a result of compensation payments it would be appropriate for this to be remedied at source by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Defence.

The Scottish Government does not believe there is a need to establish a mechanism for members of the public to make representations on applications submitted under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021. Whilst no formal mechanism exists, members of the public can at any time raise concerns with a local authority about persons engaged in or seeking to engage in any statutory licensable activity covered by the aforementioned legislation and local authorities can, if they consider such action to be warranted, investigate or take into consideration any representations made. The 2021 Regulations place a duty on the local authority to consider as part of the application process whether any applicant for a licence is a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

North Ayrshire Council has an estimated unitary charge payment of £4 million in 2021-22 for the ongoing Largs Campus contract that formed part of the NPD/hub Programme. The council also has an estimated unitary charge payment of £13 million in 2021-22 for the ongoing North Ayrshire Schools PFI contract.

The Scottish Government does not agree that Scotland’s performance in relation to training pharmacists is declining. In fact, since 2020-21 there has been an increase in the overall numbers of students studying pharmacy.

There are approximately 240 students each year who graduate from the two Schools of Pharmacy in Scotland. In 2018 to support the pipeline of new pharmacists we extended the number of NHS pre-registration pharmacists places we funded nationally from 170 to 200. In 2019 we committed to increasing pharmacy pre-registration places again in the Integrated Health and Social Care Workforce Plan. Therefore, by 2024/25 there will be a further 120 pharmacist trainees over 5 years staying in Scotland to complete their pre-registration training.

The Scottish Government continues to work with NHS National Education for Scotland (NES) and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in developing a joint programme to encourage more students, and not just school leavers, to consider careers in pharmacy, including ensuring the output reaches deprived and remote and rural communities.

In addition, both Schools of Pharmacy work towards the widening access targets set by the Commission on Widening Access for universities to drive forward the delivery of equal access in Scotland.

There are also wider initiatives such as The Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP). The partnership develops access programmes for adults returning to education, and targets adults who reside in the most disadvantaged areas of Scotland and particularly those who have no, few or out of date qualifications. This can help support people with few suitable qualifications to progress to degree level Pharmacy studies.

Preparation of detailed timetables is an operational matter for ScotRail, which is responsible for developing operational timetables to meet the overall strategic requirements of the Scottish Government. Ministers, advised by Transport Scotland, will need to be assured that the overall strategic requirements have been met.

The First Minister announced funding to support small and medium-sized businesses to make improvements to their ventilation, would be made available. The Business Ventilation Fund opened for applications on 23 November 2022.

Businesses are currently providing information as part of this application process in advance of any funding being issued.

The Scottish Government is aware, as explained in the Report, the mental wellbeing and quality of working life of social workers have been adversely affected by the COVID pandemic. In order to ensure that Scotland has a skilled and confident social services workforce, we are heavily investing in its development, working in association with key sector partners.

The wellbeing and resilience of Scotland's social workers have been at the centre of our actions, as we support the recovery of the workforce from the negative effects of the pandemic.

We have developed a national package of wellbeing support to address the wide range of needs of the workforce to complement and enhance the support offered by Boards and HSCPs at a local level.

We have taken the following specific actions to encourage a supportive culture within the social work profession:

• £80,000 has been provided to Scottish Association of Social Workers to develop the Professional Support Service.
• The service will provide peer support, allowing social workers to talk through issues and develop their career by getting advice and support from their own coach.
• The development of a coaching culture within social work will help to support the development of a stronger professional identity.
• Wellbeing and workforce resilience issues will be given a particular focus as we support the workforce’s recovery from the pandemic.
• A signposting service will allow social workers and social work students to identify appropriate learning, development and career pathway resources developed by the SSSC, NHS Education for Scotland and Iriss. This service will provide and promote career development opportunities through the provision of training opportunities.

Recyclate contracts are typically much shorter than residual waste management arrangements, normally 1 to 3 years. Modelling by Zero Waste Scotland projects that for 29 out of the 32 Scottish local authorities, cost savings from residual waste reductions as a result of the Deposit Return Scheme will be greater than any lost recyclate-related income. Zero Waste Scotland is working with the three remaining local authorities to see how their collection and processing systems can be reshaped following introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme to realise efficiencies and to help mitigate any potential losses. Local authorities are also expected to benefit from a reduction in the impact of litter, for instance through reduced demand for street cleansing.

We are taking key steps to support local authorities in the introduction of our Deposit Return Scheme, to help meet our ambitious waste reduction, recycling and climate change targets. This includes making our first investments from the £70m Recycling Improvement Fund to support local authorities in improving recycling infrastructure, and working with local government partners to review the Household Recycling Charter’s Code of Practice, to help make it easier for householders to recycle the right things. The review will ensure that the Code of Practice continues to enshrine best practice and prepares local authorities for the implementation of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).

The wellbeing and resilience of Scotland’s social workers have been at the centre of our actions to support the workforce’ recovery from the negative effects of pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, we have emphasised to Boards, Health and Social Care Partners and Local Authorities the on-going need to promote both the physical and the psychological wellbeing of everyone working in health and social care.

We have developed a national package of wellbeing support to address the wide range of needs of the workforce to complement and enhance the support offered by Boards and HSCPs at a local level, as follows:

• This year we have made £12 million available to support the wellbeing of the workforce. This includes £8 million from the NHS Recovery Plan to provide ongoing wellbeing support for the workforce alongside an additional £4 million to provide further support to address winter pressures
• We have developed a national package of wellbeing support to address the wide range of needs of the workforce to complement and enhance the support offered by Boards and HSCPs at a local level.
• This package includes a range of self-care and wellbeing resources offered via the National Wellbeing Hub and 24/7 Helpline, additional funding to Boards for further psychological support, coaching for wellbeing and the Workforce Specialist Service.
• We have partnered with bereavement specialists, Cruse Scotland, to offer a series of pilot workshops for people working in Adult Social Care and Social work to manage their wellbeing.
• Now more than ever, it is critical that staff look after their wellbeing and take the rest breaks and leave to which they are entitled, as well as being given time to access national and local wellbeing resources at work.

The Scottish Government is committed to our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) being operational as soon as practicably possible. We are working hard with Circularity Scotland Ltd and wider industry to agree a final timescale and clear milestones for delivery, and will announce this schedule to Parliament in due course.