Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 requires employers to provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure their employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work. This includes for staff who are employed within schools and other educational establishments.

Whilst the 1981 Regulations do not require employers to provide first aid for anyone other than their own employees, it is strongly recommended that, in the case of schools, they should also consider the needs of non-employees such as pupils and other visitors when making provisions for first aid.

Under the provisions of the 1981 Regulations, the minimum level of first aid coverage for schools is to have an appointed person or designated first aider to take charge of first aid arrangements. In addition, they should have a suitable first aid container stocked in accordance with at least the minimum requirements set out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This information is available on the HSE website through the following link: First aid at work - your questions answered.

Local authorities have the statutory responsibility for delivering education so the Scottish Government does not hold information about the numbers of teachers or school staff that have completed first aid training.

The Mobile Homes Act 1983 controls the consumer rights of mobile home owners in relation to their pitch. The terms of the Written Statement, set out under the Mobile Homes Act 1983, include a number of provisions to ensure the transparency of fees and charges.

There is a requirement for site owners to provide documentary evidence in support and explanation of pitch fees, charges for gas, electricity, water or sewerage and other charges, costs or expenses. There is also a process set out for annual review of pitch fees which requires the site owner to issue a written notice setting out the proposed increase in pitch fees 28 days in advance of the review date. The notice must set out the services which are included in the pitch fee. The Written Statement also sets out what should be taken in to account in determining a new pitch fee, for example any sums expended on improvements since the last review date, and sets a presumption that the pitch fee does not increase or decrease by more than the rate of the retail prices index, unless this would be unreasonable.

There are at present five ongoing Scottish statutory public inquiries, and a number of UK statutory inquires which could seek evidence from ministers in Scotland. The Edinburgh Trams Inquiry reported in September 2023 following hearings in 2017-2018 and the Penrose Inquiry reported in 2015, albeit from the records available we do not believe that external legal advice was taken in connection with those inquiries which falls within the scope of this question. The amount spent by the Scottish Government on external legal advice, including representation for current and former ministers, in relation to public inquiries is as follows:

The following table shows the overall speeding numbers grouped by financial year reported. Charges have been identified using the Scottish Government classification of level 2 of speeding. The format in which locus information is recorded and in particular whether the locus for each case is a trunk road or otherwise would require a manual check of each case. This information is not readily available.

While financial challenges have caused this programme to remain paused since 2022, we remain committed to delivering increased mental health and wellbeing workforce capacity in general practice, when budgets permit.

The latest data, as provided on our address checker at www.scotlandsuperfast.com, shows that a total of 7,924 connections are expected to be delivered through the R100 North contract in 2025. This information is broken down by Local Authority in the following table.

Please note that these figures are subject to change, as connection plans can change, based on a number of factors such as adverse weather or issues with securing access to land or property, etc.

The Scottish Government does not maintain a central record of whistleblowing in each public service organisation.

The Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery (PNM) student financial support review is currently ongoing. The review aims to ensure that all PNM students are adequately supported to complete their studies, this includes students from remote and rural locations. A key aspect of the work associated with the review is to hear directly from PNM students about their experiences and opinions on financial support during their studies.

Given the significant challenges facing public finances at that time, utilising reserves that had been built up over time from underspend of previous allocations to reinvest in support of multidisciplinary team implementation was a prudent use of public funds. At the same time, the Scottish Government increased the recurring funding available for these teams through the Primary Care Improvement Fund (PCIF) to £170 million in 2022-23 to support Integration Authorities to continue to work with local partners to increase and enhance capacity in primary care services. We are now investing over £190 million annually in the implementation of primary care multidisciplinary teams through the PCIF as well as additional funding for annual pay uplifts.

This report adds to understanding about what can happen early in the process of natural colonisation, when trees established in this way grow relatively slowly. The efficacy of tree planting for carbon capture must also consider their contribution to removing CO₂ from the atmosphere and then storing carbon in the longer term.