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The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a Net Zero, Wellbeing economy and a highly skilled workforce is critical to this ambition. Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation is clear that we must adapt our education and skills system to become more responsive and agile so that it can deliver on our key priorities.

Published in 2020, the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) also provides a framework for green skills planning and investment across priority sectors directly affected in the transition to net zero: Energy, Construction, Transport, Manufacturing and Agriculture and land-use.

The Scottish Government Independent Commission to review land-based learning published their report (January 2023) with 22 recommendations on how to attract and improve the learning pathways to equip more people with the skills and knowledge needed to work in Scotland’s land-based and aquaculture sectors, including emerging green occupations that are crucial to our climate and nature targets. The Scottish Government is committed to considering the report and will produce a response in 2023.

This will support the development of a Just Transition Plan for Agriculture and Land Use.

Once a Community Payback Order (CPO) has been imposed, its management – including with regard to compliance and attendance – is a matter for the courts and local authority justice social work services. The Scottish Government therefore does not collect or collate this information.

Managing compliance effectively is critical to achievement of the purposes of a CPO. If an individual does not attend any part of their CPO, this will be investigated by justice social work services. If the reason for absence is not acceptable, this will result in the commencement of a formal warning process, which can result in the case being returned to court under breach procedures, where the court will consider the breach.

Seventy-nine per cent of orders which ended during 2021-22 did not involve any breach applications for the duration of the order. It is up to the independent courts to decide the most appropriate outcome where a CPO has been breached, based on all of the circumstances of the case, and ultimately this may include the imposition of a custodial sentence.

The following table details the support given from the enterprise agencies between 2017 and 2022 to the 5 mountain centres and Snow Factor (currently closed). Please note the drawn down figure can be lower than the overall allocation available from the enterprise agency. This does not include the £7 million in Covid-19 support provided by the Scottish Government.

Following detailed partnership working between the Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership, Police Scotland and the Crown Office (COPFS), facilitated by the Scottish Government, details of a new service specification have been developed and shared with COPFS.

The specification, which seeks to meet the parameters set out in the Lord Advocate’s statement from November 2021, will now be considered by COPFS.

If appropriate, it will then be referred to the Lord Advocate for consideration of any related statement of prosecution policy

We have worked carefully with partners to help them develop a sustainable approach which will allow for any such facility to operate to maximum effect.

Parliament will be notified when further updates become available.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS is using learning from the pandemic to reshape its delivery model for purposeful activity as part of our 5-year Corporate Plan which is due to be published in Summer 2023.

Although purposeful activity hours have increased since the pandemic, focus will now shift to qualitative improvements rather than quantitative improvements. SPS recognise the importance of an individual's rehabilitation and reintegration and will structure pathways to support progress towards release.

I welcome the innovative approach that Glasgow City Council have chosen to take on school meal debt.

Councils have the power to make discretionary offers of free school meals to families, where they are experiencing financial hardship due to exceptional circumstances, who do not meet the regular eligibility criteria.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with COSLA on a range of issues, which has included school meal debt.

The Scottish Government wants to see empty homes officers working across all local authorities. I can confirm that the following local authorities do not have an empty homes officer post:

• Clackmannanshire
• East Dunbartonshire
• East Lothian
• East Renfrewshire
• Midlothian
• Shetland
• West Lothian

We do not routinely collect information about empty homes officer vacancies.

A key component of Scotland’s Population Strategy is to create conditions for Scotland’s population profile to be spatially distributed in as balanced a way as possible, to support communities, economies and public services to thrive.

Attainment in literacy in Scotland’s schools remains strong. The 2021/22 Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels (ACEL) data demonstrates that approaches to COVID recovery in education are working.

Data on ACEL showed a record increase for 2021-22 in the proportion of primary school pupils achieving the expected levels of literacy. Comparing 2021/22 levels with 2020/21, primary literacy attainment was up 4 percentage points to 71%. In terms of the poverty related attainment gap, 2021-22 ACEL data also showed a record decrease in the gap between primary literacy levels, which are now more similar to pre-pandemic levels. 2022 exam results show a Higher English pass rate of 81.3% which represents an increase of 7.9 percentage points compared to 2019 when exams were last held. English is the most common subject at National 5 and Higher. In addition, the Policy Prospectus launched in April by the First Minister, includes a commitment to re-joining the Trends in International Mathematics and Science and Progress in International Reading Literacy studies. Participation in international surveys enables countries to share important information about their educational policies and practices and how these foster educational progress.