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The Scottish Government is continuing to work in partnership with governments and football associations across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland following confirmation of the successful EURO 2028 bid on 10 October.

Funding contributions of all partners are commercially sensitive as the next phases of planning take place. The Scottish Government will undertake to notify the Scottish Parliament on developments in due course.

The bid was carefully considered by all partners and the event is predicted to generate cumulative socio-economic benefits of up to £2.6 billion across the UK and Ireland.

Teachers employed in Scottish schools are required to be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) by law. They are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the GTCS Professional Standards which include having knowledge and understanding of the ways in which natural, social, cultural, political and economic systems function and of how they are interconnected to professional practice. Teachers must also take account of the Code of Professionalism and Conduct which sets out key principles and values for all teachers to uphold standards of personal and professional conduct, honesty and integrity.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22482 on‎ 24 November 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

The Scottish Government have agreed the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) budget for 23/24 and SDS have completed contract awards to support up to 25,500 new Modern Apprentice (MA) starts in 23/24. This may include MAs in traditional craft occupations subject to the demand.

Local authorities have had the power to charge an empty homes council tax premium of up to 100% since 1 April 2013. The Scottish Government’s statistics show that at September 2022 42,865 homes had been empty for more than 6 months. Of these 27,692 had been empty for over 12 months and of those 20,279 had a council tax discount below 10% or a council tax premium applied.

A further breakdown by local authority for homes empty for more than 12 months is available on the Scottish Government website from 2014 onwards: https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-empty-properties-and-second-homes/ .

The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 prohibits pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs, and gives local authorities the relevant powers to enforce these new provisions. To support these provisions, a suite of regulations is required to bring the new legislation into force.

The first of these regulations regarding the Exemption Order Procedures that local authorities must follow, was laid in Parliament in December 2022. The second set of regulations which will help define how a local authority can issue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) to someone found to be in contravention of the new national prohibitions are currently laying in Parliament and are due to come into force on 11 December 2023, if approved.

As such no PCNs for the new parking prohibitions have as yet been issued as the regulatory procedures have not been in place.

The Scottish Government’s ambition is for Scotland to be as well connected as peer nations and regions, and we are committed to working with Scotland’s airports to help them grow international connectivity, while not returning to previous levels of emissions. Our engagement with Scotland’s airports is, however, commercially sensitive and I am unable to share specific details.

Transport Scotland, in partnership with VisitScotland and Scottish Development International, works to help Scotland’s airports secure new routes that are essential for inbound tourism, business connectivity and the economy as a whole. In October, representatives from this cross government partnership attended the route development forum Routes World 2023, meeting with a number of airlines to discuss future opportunities to develop Scotland’s connectivity and also supporting the Scottish airports in attendance.

I welcome recent announcements that JetBlue will start their first ever service to Scotland next summer, with a route to New York JFK, and also that WestJet will restart flights to both Toronto and Halifax. These announcements demonstrate confidence in the Scottish market.

Under the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, it is an offence to sell aerosol paint to anyone under the age of 16. We believe that the current legislation protects young people and helps to prevent graffiti, while ensuring those wishing to buy spray paint for legitimate purposes can do so. The Scottish Government therefore has no plans to change the legislation at this time.

The Scottish Government has committed over £1.9 billion to the City Region Deals programme and its associated investments. Information on the individual projects funded through the growth deals are outlined in their associated deal agreements.

The information requested is not held centrally.

NHS National Services Scotland has commissioned NHS Lothian to develop a National Learning Disability Child and Adolescent Mental Health Inpatient Unit. This Unit is currently in the planning stages. As part of the development of this service, we have established a National Learning Disability Consultation Service for mental health teams responsible for the care of young people with intellectual disability, which aims to support local CAMHS teams to manage young people’s care safely in the community.

In the small number of instances where a young person with a learning disability and mental health condition requires admission to a mental health inpatient unit, they would be admitted to an adolescent inpatient unit in England, via the cross-border transfer process.