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Scottish Ministers are still considering the wealth of information provided through the recent National Care Service (NCS) public consultation.

In that consultation we sought views on a remit for the NCS to develop and manage a National Commissioning and Procurement Structure of Standards and Processes for ethical commissioning and procuring of social care services and supports. We will develop the approach to national and local level ethical commissioning and procurement with partners, stakeholders and those who deliver and receive care.

Scottish Government officials last met with COSLA on 4 March 2022 to discuss the introduction of a national recommended allowance for foster and kinship carers. They are next due to meet following the Easter holiday period.

Including glass in our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will bring significant environmental and economic benefits. The inclusion of glass will save over 1.2 megatonnes CO 2 equivalent over 25 years. DRS will also reduce the amount of harmful glass litter in our environment.

Our DRS is designed to stand alone and our business case did not include any assumptions about the level of ambition of schemes in other UK nations. We will, of course, work with the other UK administrations to ensure that our schemes are interoperable, without jeopardising the ambition of our own scheme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07563 on 22 April 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.

The Scottish Government remains fully committed to the inclusion of glass containers in our ambitious Deposit Return Scheme in view of the significant environmental and economic benefits that that will bring.

The Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011 (SSI 210 (15) Staffing) sets out a requirement for care service providers to ensure that at all times suitably qualified and competent persons are working in the care service in such numbers as are appropriate for the health, welfare and safety of service users:

‘A provider must, having regard to the size and nature of the care services, the statement of aims and objectives and the number and needs of service users…ensure that at all times suitably qualified and competent persons are working in the care service in such numbers as are appropriate for the health, welfare and safety of service users.’

Where these requirements are not met, action can be taken by the Care Inspectorate as the regulator of care services in Scotland, including formal enforcement action if necessary.

The Care Inspectorate inspects services to ensure that people experience high-quality care, and that care services are making a positive impact on people’s lives, based on their needs, rights and choices. The Care Inspectorate’s quality framework for care homes for adults and older people includes a Quality Indicator 3.3: Staffing arrangements are right, and staff work well together . This includes the extent to which the skill mix, numbers and deployment of staff meet the needs of people and the service has an effective process for assessing how many staff hours are needed.

The Care Inspectorate retains the discretion to impose conditions about staffing, or any other matter, on any individual care service where that is necessary to ensure people experience high quality care.

We are committed to continuing to work with COSLA and Local Authorities to meet Scotland’s ambitious waste reduction and recycling targets, to promote a circular economy and tackle the climate change crisis.

In May we will publish a consultation on a route map outlining how we will deliver our 2025 waste and recycling targets in a way that maximises carbon saving potential to 2025 and beyond. As part of the development of the route map, we have looked at high performing recycling systems across the world, including Wales. COSLA and local authority representatives have been involved in pre-consultation development of the route map. We have dedicated, regular forums with Local Authorities and COSLA to progress our shared waste and circular economy objectives.

We also continue to work closely with all four UK administrations to deliver packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) reforms, which will tackle excess packaging, and help fund improved local recycling collections of packaging waste from households.

The recruitment and deployment of teachers is a matter for individual local authorities, and they are responsible for using the resources available to them to provide a complement of staff, including Lead Teachers, which meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils based on local needs and priorities.

At the time of the Summary Statistics for Schools In Scotland 2021 publication, there were no Lead Teachers employed in schools. This data was collected in September 2021 and therefore will not reflect the current position.

Since the start of the pandemic the Scottish Government has provided local authorities with £240 million of additional investment, over two financial years (2020-21 and 2021-22), specifically for the recruitment of more education staff, and a further £145.5 million of permanent funding has been allocated from April 2022.

The recruitment and deployment of teachers is a matter for individual local authorities, and they are responsible for using available resources to provide a complement of staff, including Lead Teachers, which meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils based on local needs and priorities.

The Memorandum of Understanding for additional investment in the Aberdeen City Region allows for up to £10 million of funding to help extend digital infrastructure across the region. To date £5 million of this funding has been spent.

£2 million was invested in the City Network Extension project which connected 57 council sites to full fibre with build completing in 2021. This investment successfully stimulated around £40 million of commercial investment across the region by CityFibre and Vodafone who are utilising this infrastructure to help extend the reach of full fibre broadband across the region. In January 2022 CityFibre announced a further £19 million of investment in Aberdeen.

£3 million was invested in the Full Fibre Infrastructure project which will connect 192 public sector and NHS sites across Aberdeenshire. To date, 190 sites have been connected with one site expected to be completed in the coming months, and the final site – an additional site made possible by cost savings – to be connected once construction is completed in summer 2023.

We continue to work closely with the Aberdeen City Region Deal team as they develop options for the remaining funding.