Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government is actively working with local authorities, Education Scotland and other partners to understand and support the needs of Ukrainian children and ensure they can access appropriate education. This work is being co-ordinated through a joint Scottish Government and COSLA working group. In addition, Councillor Buchanan and I have recently written to all local authorities on this issue to ensure a joined-up approach and consistency of understanding.

Local authorities are responsible for the delivery of education and are best placed to consider the educational needs of children arriving into Scotland from Ukraine. These needs are potentially complex and dependent on the age and stage of the child, including any additional support needs such as learning English as an additional language (EAL). I have asked Education Scotland to contact all local authorities to discuss current plans, and to understand where ongoing support can best be provided.

The Scottish Government is pressing the UK Government for more clarity on the method and timing of education tariff payments to local authorities for those arriving from Ukraine. This tariff, which is to be available for 2022-23, pro rata to the time the child or young person is receiving education, can help meet specific needs that arise in relation to accessing education, including having English as an Additional Language. This is in addition to the funding the Scottish Government provides to local authorities for additional support for learning as part of their block grant.

The Scottish Government has issued guidance to Health Boards setting out our expectation that Ukrainian refugees in Scotland will have access to all primary health care services along with vaccinations including those for COVID-19.

While pharmacy closures can occur, this on the whole represents a small proportion of the network and is often limited to a small proportion of the required model hours. The Scottish Government continue to work with all Health Boards and community pharmacies representatives who are responsible for the provision of local pharmaceutical care services to ensure that any challenges faced by community pharmacies in providing the safe and effective dispensing of treatments are discussed with the local Health Board to minimise impact and risk to patients. Health boards can take a range of actions in response to any breach of terms by a pharmacy contractor.

The Scottish Government has issued guidance to Health Boards setting out our expectation that Health Boards will ensure Ukrainian refugees have access to local dental treatment and GP practices.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10233 on‎ 29 August 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Delivering on our 2021 Programme for Government commitment, the Scottish Government consulted on proposals for legal services regulation reform. An independent consultation analysis report was published in July 2022.

The report highlighted that all respondents, regardless of affiliation, shared as a common aspiration, the need for any future model to be transparent, open to public scrutiny and efficient to ensure that justice remains accessible to all.

The Scottish Government will respond to the consultation analysis report later this year. We continue to engage with stakeholders to collaboratively consider reform of the regulation of legal services, to provide for a modern regulatory framework for Scotland that will best promote competition, innovation and the public and consumer interest in an efficient and independent legal sector.

We know that alcohol misuse and obesity are the two main risk factors (together with blood borne viruses) that cause liver disease.

Research by the British Liver Trust shows that alcohol-related liver disease accounts for 60% of all liver disease. The latest alcohol-specific deaths statistics published by National Records of Scotland in August 2022 show that in 2021 alcoholic liver disease caused 795 deaths which is an increase of 36 compared to the previous year.

Living with obesity or being overweight is also linked with an increased risk of developing a non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease (NAFLD). According to the 2019 Scottish Health Survey , two-thirds of adults in Scotland were living with obesity or being overweight. Obesity prevalence in Scotland has remained relatively stable since 2008.

The Scottish Government has not carried out a specific assessment of the impact of either alcohol misuse or obesity on liver disease mortality rates in the West of Scotland.

However, we are determined to address Scotland’s problematic relationship with alcohol and unhealthy diet. We are in the process of reviewing the Minimum Unit Price and Alcohol Brief Interventions policies with an intention to consult on a range of potential alcohol marketing restrictions as we continue to implement the 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan .

Any form of human trafficking is completely unacceptable.

Action Area 2 of the Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy is led by Police Scotland’s National Human Trafficking Unit and membership includes a range of law enforcement partners, including the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. The group is focused on the identification of human trafficking and exploitation perpetrators with the intention of disrupting their criminal activity. Key areas of focus include the development of local, national and international intelligence sharing and utilising all available powers at the disposal of prosecuting authorities to bring offenders to justice.

This includes the National Human Trafficking Unit within Police Scotland enhancing its investigative capability and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service maintaining its internal structure of local lead human trafficking prosecutors as well as reviewing and updating training for prosecutors and case preparers.

Decisions in relation to prosecution are taken independent of Government by the Lord Advocate and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, in line with the published Prosecution Code. The guilt of accused persons is determined by a Sheriff or Jury having heard and considered all of the evidence in each case. Sentencing in any given case is a matter for the independent court.

The Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament, gives police and prosecutors greater powers to detect and bring to justice those responsible for trafficking as well as strengthening protections for survivors.

Scotland’s first Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy was published in 2017, focusing on the identification of and support for victims; disruption of perpetrators and addressing the underlying conditions which foster human trafficking and exploitation.

Working in partnership, significant action has taken place and continues to be delivered across each of these strands and this is set out in more detail in the published annual progress reports, with the most recent published in January 2022 - Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy – Fourth Annual Progress Report (www.gov.scot) .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10282 on‎ 26 August 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers