Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Ambassador and I met on the sidelines of the Bled Strategic Forum in August last year during which she gave an outline of the Embassy’s work in Slovenia and provided me with an update on the political situation in the country.

The subject of Scottish independence was not an agenda item in discussions. However, Scottish ministers will always be polite enough during international meetings to answer any questions put to them about the Scottish Government's stated policies, including a legal, constitutionally sound referendum, as set out in our Programme for Government.

On 8 December 2022, the BMA Scottish Junior Doctor Committee (SJDC) officially announced their intention to ballot for industrial action. Since this date, the Scottish Government has exchanged correspondence with the BMA on the following dates:

• 12 and 15 December 2022

• 26 January 2023

• 9, 21 and 24 February 2023

• 16 and 17 March 2023

• 5 April 2023

Prior to the BMA SJDC officially confirming their intention to ballot for industrial action, the Scottish Government corresponded with the BMA SJDC on the subject of Junior Doctors pay on:

• 7 October 2022

• 11 and 30 November 2022

• 1 and 7 December 2022

I met with BMA on 11 April 2023 to discuss their concerns around pay and then again on 20 April when we entered into negotiations with Junior Doctors to secure a pay award for 2023-24.

The first report of the independent review of incineration conducted a capacity analysis. It recommended that the Scottish Government ensure no further planning permission (i.e. beyond that already in place) is granted to incineration infrastructure within the scope of the Review, unless balanced by an equal or greater closure of capacity, subject to certain limited exceptions. Our response to the Review set out our intentions to set out in National Planning Policy that the Scottish Government does not support the development of further municipal waste incineration capacity in Scotland, with very limited exceptions. Following the adoption and publication of National Planning Framework 4 on 13 February 2023 that action is now complete.

To support future planning decisions, we accepted the review’s separate recommendation to develop an indicative capacity cap. However, it is important that any indicative cap is as robust as possible and developing such a cap will be a significant piece of work.

Where relevant consents and permissions have already been granted, the review noted that it is ‘unlikely that all facilities in the pipeline will be built, especially those that have not yet secured full financial backing’. The Review did suggest some principles, based on stakeholder feedback, that might be applied to determine which of the pipeline facilities would be best to build and which might be deprioritised, in light of the potential overcapacity predicted. These included:

• Proper appreciation of resource and waste management as a complex and interdependent system.
• Application of the proximity principle (that waste should generally be managed as near as possible to its place of production) at a sub-national level.
• Consideration of access to low-carbon transport, especially where longer distances are involved.
• Opportunities for synergy with other activities. For incineration, this should prioritise access to heat offtake and, in due course, carbon dioxide offtake options.
• Local environmental and social impacts.
• Wider environmental impacts, such as the carbon and other benefits from recycling to avoid virgin raw material production.

We would encourage those involved in the development of these facilities to take into account capacity and the principles set out by the independent review of incineration.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15873 on 24 March 2023. 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 .

There are more than 1,200 social care providers across Scotland, with local authorities responsible for providing or commissioning services. Local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships will wish to ensure that, in providing a range of services, their workforce planning arrangements take full account of the need to have safe and sustainable numbers of staff.

To increase awareness of the careers available in the sector, the latest iteration of our Adult Social Care Recruitment Campaign launched on 25 January. It has an increased media presence to reach a broader audience than previous campaigns.

We have also been working with DWP to hold social care job fairs throughout Scotland, with the next phase of events expected to be delivered in the coming weeks.

We have provided funding to NHS Education for Scotland to lead the delivery of a programme of work to support social care providers to increase workforce capacity through international recruitment. The aim of the programme is to support social care providers to navigate the UK immigration system more easily, and to alleviate some of the administrative burden of the international recruitment process. Expressions of interest will be welcomed from all providers in Scotland, regardless of size or location of their organisation, who feel they could support an international worker to integrate into their community through working in the social care sector. This programme is due to launch in the coming weeks.

In addition we have re-established the Campaign Advisory Group to work on a longer term recruitment strategy to increase capacity across the social care sector.

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans was invited to address the 2023 Scottish Police Federation Biennial Conference in person on 29 March 2023. While the Cabinet Secretary was not able to attend in person, he provided a pre-recorded address to the conference, which was attended by two Scottish Government officials.

NatureScot have already taken a number of actions to make the process for obtaining a licence for a conservation translocation of a beaver within existing range attractive and achievable for landowners.

NatureScot has produced guidance on beaver translocation for applicants, consultees and interested parties which sets out the expectations for engagement with those most likely to be affected. The extent of stakeholder engagement should be proportionate to the proposals.

There are existing environmental appraisals for beaver translocations in the Tay, Forth, Knapdale and Loch Lomond catchments. Proposals that are within range and genuinely low risk are not expected to demonstrate the same level of engagement as proposals in new catchments where there may be new risks and benefits to consider.

A translocation licence application should contain project details as set out in the Scottish Code for Conservation Translocations. This includes an assessment of release site suitability, a summary of what stakeholder engagement has been carried out and evidence of landowner permission. NatureScot staff can advise land managers with an interest in receiving beavers within range, and are working with public bodies to identify suitable opportunities on public land.

The application process should not be a barrier for those seeking to release beavers within range. Further information can be found in the following link: https://www.nature.scot/doc/beavers-scotland-conservation-translocation-guidance-applicants-consultees-and-interested-parties

Following the publication of the Scotland’s Beaver Strategy NatureScot will be discussing with the Scottish Beaver Advisory Group what further action might be required to achieve this goal.

Local police deployment is a matter for the Chief Constable and, while the Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally, Police Scotland has informed us that there are currently 118 full time equivalent police officers attributable to Local Authority Service Level Agreements on a full or part funded basis.

We remain committed to delivering a pilot of universal free school meals in secondary schools to inform our consideration of further expansion, and continue to work with closely with key delivery partners on our free school meal expansion programme.

The Ambassador and I had a constructive meeting in December last year during which we discussed green hydrogen and education.

The subject of Scottish independence was not an agenda item in discussions. However, Scottish ministers will always be polite enough during international meetings to answer any questions put to them about the Scottish Government's stated policies, including a legal, constitutionally sound referendum, as set out in our Programme for Government.