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The two main pieces of legislation in relation to dog control are the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”) and the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”). The 1991 Act provides for criminal law measures for dog owners and persons in charge of dogs, where a dog is ‘dangerously out of control’. The 2010 Act provides for a civil regime in respect of dog owners who allow their dogs to be ‘out of control’.

The law is clear that dog owners are responsible for the actions of their dog. For example, if an owner does not control their dog they can be given a Dog Control Notice (DCN) by a local authority dog warden. If a more serious incident occurs, consideration can be given to prosecution for having a dog that is dangerously out of control under the 1991 Act.

Further detailed information on the 2010 Act can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/updated-guidance-control-dogs-scotland-act-2010/

A Scottish Government led Short Life Working Group was established in 2022 to review the 1991 Act. The working group has undertaken its review with a wide range of views offered. The Scottish Government will use this review to help determine what may be appropriate as next steps.

In addition, legislative action has been taken to encourage greater responsibility from dog owners around livestock.

The Scottish Government supported the introduction of the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill, which gained Royal Assent on 5 May 2021 and came into force on 5 November 2021, as being in accordance with the advice on responsible behaviour for people walking dogs contained in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

Under this law owners of dogs that attack or worry livestock can be fined up to £40,000 or face a prison sentence of up to 12 months.

The TSE (Scotland) Regulations 2010 and the Retained (EC) 999/2001 Regulations place a number of requirements on Food Business Operators (FBOs), mainly related to animal identification and animal-by-products, particularly the removal of Specified Risk Material (SRM) before official post-mortem inspection and its adequate identification, segregation and disposal. However, when FSS officials identify SRM at post-mortem inspection, the FBO will be given an opportunity to rectify the meat and remove the SRM before it is reinspected, to prevent it being placed into the food chain. These lapses are classed as non-compliances and enforcement action is recorded in all cases.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) is the Competent Authority for all Scottish slaughterhouses. Local Authorities do not have any TSE controls remit in these establishments which is why non-compliances are not reported by local authority area.

FSS is able to report on non-compliances since August 2020 during which time we have recorded a total of 6,246 non-compliances across all FSS approved Scottish Meat Establishments, 87 of which refer to breaches of the TSE (Scotland) Regulations 2010 or the equivalent Retained (EC) 999/2001 Regulations.

FSS is unable to extract non-compliances between 2010 and 2020, partially due to retention policies in place (for enforcement data older than 6 years) and partially linked to the way in which we record information prior to 2020 (which was a basic word document). Since 2020 we have changed our system to enable us to have more precise information.

Further to the information provided in S6W-21589 on 5 October 2023, the Scottish Government continues to regularly assess the management information provided by health boards to Public Health Scotland that provides information on dog bites.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with justice agencies and local authorities, and other key stakeholders, to keep communities and people safe from irresponsible dog owners and out of control dogs. A series of Scottish Government engagement events is underway with key enforcement interests in different parts of Scotland to assess how best legislation can be used to help address dog control issues.

A Scottish Government led Short Life Working Group has undertaken a review of the Dangerous Dog Act 1991, with a wide range of views offered. The Scottish Government will use this review to help determine what may be appropriate as next steps. Education is a is key factor in prevention of livestock worrying incidents. Messaging is promoted widely on social media by NatureScot and The Scottish Outdoor Access Code also sets out how to exercise access rights responsibly when walking dogs: https://www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot/practical-guide-all/dog-walking

To assist with addressing the issue of dog attacks on animals the Scottish Government supported the introduction of the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill, which gained Royal Assent on 5 May 2021 and came into force on 5 November 2021, as being in accordance with the advice on responsible behaviour for people walking dogs contained in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

Under this law owners of dogs that attack or worry livestock can be fined up to £40,000 or face a prison sentence of up to 12 months.

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

From April 2021 to the end of September 2023, the Heat in Buildings Programme has spent £340m, with an additional estimated spend of £163m over the remainder of this financial year.

• The programme forecasts are showing an increased demand that supports a continuing increase in capital support across the range of schemes offered by the HiBs programme. Final outturn will be based on actual demand for schemes and final budget allocations for 24-25 and beyond.
• We are continuing to make long term commitments to funding – for example, we have recently re-procured the Warmer Homes Scotland successor scheme at a contract value of £700 million over the next 5 years.

Scotland’s AI Strategy was published in March 2021. Taking account of recent and fast-paced technological developments and a growing international focus on the opportunities and threats which AI can offer, it is essential that Scotland has in place a strategy which keeps us on the forefront of those developments.

In a Scottish Parliament debate on 1 June 2023, I announced that I would ask the Scottish AI Alliance Leadership Group to undertake an independent review setting out what Scotland needs to do to optimise the benefits of AI. The review will set out recommendations on how we can maximise the potential of AI whilst minimising its risk and ensuring benefit for all.

The final review report and recommendations are expected to be available in early 2024, and will be shared publicly when available. The review is not a formal update of the strategy, more a refocus and refresh given the speed of development.

I have commissioned an external research exercise to consider how best to progress the commitment to reduce class contact time by 90 minutes per week. Any reduction in class contact time will, additionally, require the agreement of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers.

The research exercise will inform decisions on education workforce planning for future years, bringing together a range of factors, including current teacher numbers and pupil teacher ratios. The research is due to report by the end of December.

The statutory responsibility for delivering and commissioning services at a local level lies with local authorities, NHS boards and integrated health and social care partnerships. Publicly funded places in care homes are covered by the National Care Home Contract, which is negotiated annually between COSLA and Scottish Care. The information requested on the number of NHS funded beds that are currently empty is not held by the Scottish Government.

Local authorities are responsible for the development and delivery of flood protection schemes. The 2015-2021 Flood Risk Management Strategies included 42 formal flood protection schemes. Local authorities were expected to start work on development of these schemes by 2021.

Flood protection schemes can have significant impacts on individuals, communities and the environment, and so require careful and detailed planning and consultation, it was recognised that construction work may not be completed within the 2015-2021 timeframe.

15 of the flood schemes have now been completed.

Schemes (a) under construction are as follows:

The figure of 10-15% reflects data taken from the 2022 Care Home Census. The latest census will be published in due course and may reflect different data.

Reasons behind this figure include: the fact that registered beds do not necessarily equate to available beds for a wide range of reasons; a UK-wide staff shortage in the social care sector which has an impact on bed availability; different care home providers using different business models which can affect the number of people that can be admitted at any one time.

Nature Scot are in regular communication with project partners Palladium, Lombard Odier and Hampden & Co who all remain actively involved in and committed to the pilot.