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The Scottish Government has set up a Commission to undertake a review of learning in Scotland’s land-based and aquaculture sectors, to provide opportunities and qualifications through early years, school, college, university and work-based learning - including apprenticeships - for more people, and specifically more women and young people, to work with and on the land, particularly in green skills.

This review will provide recommendations on how to attract more people into these sectors. The Commission will provide independent, evidence-based advice and recommendations to Scottish Ministers by December 2022.

In addition, the Scottish Government’s Skills Action Plan for Rural Scotland (2019-21) sets out our strategic approach to support the skills needs of the rural economy by addressing skills shortages, talent retention and attraction, and demographic challenges through enhanced work-based learning pathways and by increasing access to education and skills provision in rural areas.

The Scottish Government also provides funding support to Lantra Scotland. Lantra is the Sector Skills Council for Scotland’s land-based, aquaculture and environmental conservation sectors, aiming to ensure that these sectors can meet their skills needs and have the right people and promotion of learning opportunities for new entrants. Lantra promote the land-based sector as a rewarding career choice, and help to ensure that learning and training provision address industry requirements and skills gaps.

Lantra’s "#NoTwoDaysTheSame in Land-based and Aquaculture" provides the opportunity for school students to find out about the wide range of careers available in the land-based and aquaculture sectors and how young people can get there. It is delivered in partnership with Developing Young Workforce Live.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06217 on 16 February 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

As Covid-19 case numbers fall, the Scottish Government is fully focused on supporting the remobilisation of orthopaedic services impacted by the challenges of the pandemic. We understand how difficult it is for those waiting for treatment. Orthopaedic services are recommencing, with NHS Boards undertaking clinically-prioritised urgent cases at present.

The National Treatment Centre Programme, which represents an investment of over £400 million in a network of new, elective and diagnostic treatment centres, will add extra capacity for hip and knee replacements across Scotland and support the recovery and resilience of orthopaedic services in the future.

The consultation report and response to last year’s consultation on changes to energy standards and associated topics will be published in March 2022. This will report on the standards for new buildings to be implemented later this year.

The information requested on what the total cost is for each NHS board of staff who are on long-term sick leave is not centrally available.

NHS Education for Scotland publish annual data on bank and agency spend for Medical & Dental and Nursing & Midwifery staff. It should be noted that there are a variety of reasons Boards may choose to deploy bank and agency staff and this does not directly represent spending associated with sickness absence.

The data can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

The information requested on how many staff there are in each NHS Board who are on long-term sick leave is not centrally available.

Sickness absence rates by NHS Board can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at:

NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

This information is not held centrally.

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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05574 on 20 January 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

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government agrees with the Assembly on the importance of rapidly decarbonising public sector buildings. We are committed to developing and agreeing, through consultation, a series of phased targets for the decarbonisation of public sector buildings. Targets will start in 2024, with the most difficult buildings like hospitals being decarbonised by 2038 and for all publicly owned buildings to meet net zero emission heating requirements by 2038. This is seven years earlier than the backstop of 2045 for the rest of Scotland’s building stock.

Action is being taken by the Scottish Government to support Scotland’s public sector to meet these targets:

• The Scottish Green Public Sector Estate Decarbonisation Scheme will distribute £200 million of capital funding during this parliamentary session to aid the decarbonisation of Scotland’s public sector estate.
• NHS Scotland’s £10 billion programme of investment in new hospitals and healthcare facilities is guided by a commitment that all new buildings and major refurbishments will produce net zero emissions and use renewable heat.
• The £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme, managed by the Scottish Futures Trust, aims to benefit around 50,000 pupils across Scotland by the end of the next Parliament by delivering digitally enabled, low-carbon schools and campuses.