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We believe that the Scottish Parliament should have full tax powers so that fiscal decisions that affect the people of Scotland can be made by the people who live here.

Local recruitment is the responsibility of the Health Board however, the Scottish Government actively supports health boards across Scotland to plan locally for service need and for service delivery.

Following our £40 million investment from 2014-2018 to recruit an additional 500 Health Visitors, Health Visitor numbers have remained largely stable. Workforce numbers are published quarterly by NHS Education Scotland (NES) in the National NHS Workforce Statistics.

We continue to work closely with Health Boards to monitor the delivery of the Universal Health Visiting Pathway and to best ensure young families get the support they need.

The Scottish Government has not provided funding for the Edinburgh Hospital Broadcasting Service.

As the Scottish Government has not provided any funding directly to Fife Alcohol Support Service from 2019, no objectives have been set.

However, since 2021, the Corra Foundation has administered the National Drugs Mission Funds to over 300 third sector and grassroots organisations on behalf of the Scottish Government. Fife Alcohol Support Service is a recipient of these funds and details of the projects are available at: Grant holder data - Corra Foundation

The range of sexual offences that fall under the proposed jurisdiction of the Sexual Offences Court is set out at Schedule 3 of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill. Schedule 3 includes the offence of rape of a child under common law and under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009.

The Central Scotland Regional Equality Council (CSREC) is based in Falkirk and is focussed on promoting equality and diversity and fostering good relations amongst ethnic minorities and other communities in Central Scotland. The CSREC was awarded funding in 2020 under the Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) for their ‘One Planet Communities’ project (CCF-6544).

The objectives were as follows:

• Providing Carbon Conversations to 150 people in their community to increase their awareness and understanding of Climate Change and enable them to make informed choices in their buying habits and change to more sustainable consumer behaviour.
• 800 members of the community will develop more sustainable consumer behaviour and save 67.33 tCO2e by participating in 20 monthly pop-up swap shops over the duration of the Project.
• 420 people will save 5.65 tCO2e by diverting clothing and textiles from landfill by learning how to sew and upcycle them into new items.
• 80 people will upcycle 1680 kg of furniture into new pieces and save 3.4 tCO2e.
• 600 people will use the One Planet Communities online hub to learn about sustainable consumption, the effects of textiles and waste on the environment, upcycling skills and where to go for more information and workshops locally in the Forth Valley.
• 1440 people will divert 4.32 tonnes of waste from landfill, and save 15.81 tCO2e via a Community Fridge.

The Scottish Government has invested over £34 million since 2018 and this has supported the recruitment and retention of an additional 216.16 whole time equivalent school nurses.

This investment has meant that all Health Boards in Scotland have been able to recruit additional school nurses. Workforce numbers are published quarterly by NHS Education Scotland (NES) in the National NHS Workforce Statistics.

We continue to work with Health Boards to monitor school nursing recruitment and retention and the implementation of the transformed role.

The most recent bulletin on Criminal Proceedings in Scotland covers cases that concluded in court up to the end of March 2022. There are no convictions under Section 56 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 up to this point.

The range of sexual offences that fall under the proposed jurisdiction of the Sexual Offences Court is set out at Schedule 3 of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill. This list includes offences such as rape, sexual assault as well as disclosure or threatened disclosure of an intimate photograph or film.

Provided at least one of those offences is included on the indictment, the decision on whether to indict a case to the Sexual Offences Court is for independent prosecutors acting with the delegated authority of the Lord Advocate.

The Court will transform how sexual offence cases are managed within our court system, delivering meaningful and lasting improvements to the experience of victims in these cases.

The Scottish Government regularly makes evidence-based representations to the UK Government on reserved tax issues. Alcohol sales are already subject to VAT, whilst any profits made by retailers selling alcohol will be already be subject to Corporation Tax. The Scottish Government, as set out in December’s budget announcement, is exploring the reintroduction of a Public Healthy levy using devolved powers.