Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government chair and provide secretariat support to the Eskdalemuir Working Group (EWG). This group was originally formed in 2012 and commissioned seismic study work that was co-funded by the Scottish Government, UK Government and Ministry of Defence to a total sum of £257,744.11 (exclusive of VAT). The Scottish Government’s share of this work was £50,137.00 (exclusive of VAT).

Following re-formation of the group in 2018, the Scottish and UK Governments and Ministry of Defence have been working constructively together through the Eskdalemuir Working Group. Scottish Government has commissioned a series of technical studies over the course of 2020 to 2022, on behalf of the working group, in order to provide updated wind turbine data that can be used in the noise budget allocation calculation.

This work was conducted over a series of five phases, with the total sum of work to date coming to £462,851.60 (exclusive of VAT). Of this amount, Scottish Government have paid £171,184.94 (exclusive of VAT). The results of these studies are publicly available and are hosted on the Scottish Renewables website.

The Eskdalemuir Working Group has recently gone through a second re-formation, with membership being refined to ensure resource pressures are minimised and constructive discussion on this issue can take place.

The Scottish Government remains committed to finding an enduring solution that ensures safeguarding of the Eskdalemuir Seismic Array and maximisation of onshore wind deployment in the surrounding area and therefore allocates appropriate resource to the Eskdalemuir Working Group to ensure effective engagement can continue.

Social Security Scotland is committed to building a trauma-informed workforce. All client facing staff undertake a 6 week “Routeway” training course featuring specific sessions on Trauma Informed Practice and on Mental Health and Supporting Vulnerable People.

Social Security Scotland has been designed with the people who use it to ensure that processes are clear and inclusive and that it delivers support to people with dignity, fairness and respect. 94% of people who took part in the latest annual client survey said they were treated with kindness.

Social Security Scotland have signed the Scottish Government’s Leadership Pledge of Support for trauma-informed practice and are fully committed to building an awareness and understanding of the impact of trauma into their work. This includes understanding when trauma might create barriers for people.

Staff welfare, including consideration of caring responsibilities, is a matter for SFRS as the employer.

One of the key priorities in the Fire and Rescue Framework 2022 is that SFRS continues to promote a culture that values inclusion, promotes fairness, equality and respect for all. This is reflected in the current SFRS Strategic Plan and in the HR policies SFRS has in place to support staff with caring responsibilities.

In January, it was confirmed by local authorities that all circa 50,000 learning, teaching and play spaces were equipped with a CO2 monitor.

The Scottish Government has allocated significant funding of £13.8 million to local authorities in relation to improving ventilation in schools.

Ministers have very much appreciated opportunities to visit the GWCT Scottish Game Fair in previous years.

I am currently considering attendance at the GWCT Scottish Game Fair alongside other Parliamentary commitments and will respond to outstanding invitations in due course.

The Scottish Government is currently preparing the first national Good Food Nation Plan, as required by the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022.

The national Good Food Nation Plan will set out the main outcomes in relation to food-related issues that we wish to see achieved in Scotland; the indicators or other measures by which progress towards the outcomes can be assessed; and the policies we will pursue in order to secure those outcomes. The Plan must be prepared with regard to the scope for food-related issues to affect outcomes in relation to, among other things, health and physical and mental wellbeing, and the environment. It must also have regard to the principle that high quality, nutritious and culturally appropriate food has the ability to improve the health and physical and mental wellbeing of people, and to the role of a sustainable food system and supply chain in contributing to mitigation of climate change, halting and reversing of loss of biodiversity and improvement in animal welfare.

The national Good Food Nation Plan offers us an opportunity to take a fresh approach to food policy in Scotland, and to consider all aspects of the food system.

The Scottish Government have been working with Scottish Swimming, Education Scotland, sport scotland and Scottish Water to develop interventions and approaches to provide opportunities for children to become confident, safer and competent swimmers.

sport scotland’s investment into Scottish Swimming includes support to enable delivery of 4 school swimming pilot projects for evaluation and to develop a School Swimming Framework that can be used by partners.

The Delivery Model Pilots will take place across 2022-23 to support schools to understand and consider different approaches and models of delivery to help educate and provide opportunities for children across Scotland to experience the water in a fun, safe and inclusive approach. This reflects the many different scenarios faced by schools when deciding how best to support young people to access school swimming.

Active Schools has a key role to play in complementing PE in schools by developing opportunities for physical activity and sport. Specific activities, such as swimming, provided through Active Schools is at the discretion of each local authority/Active Schools team.

In addition Active Schools plays a role in supporting local swimming clubs to link to schools, making pupils aware of the opportunities that exist to participate in swimming in the club setting, and we would encourage local authorities to provide Active Schools activity free of charge to ensure activity is accessible to all.

Information on proceedings is provided in the following tables. Table 1 shows all charges reported to COPFS under Section 1(3) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Table 2 shows only people prosecuted where the main charge was under Section 1(3) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

Table 1

Charges reported to COPFS under: Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 S1(3)&1(7) - Possess a dog otherwise than in accordance with Act, 2013-14 to 2022-23.

The Scottish Government's position on this is set out in the improvement plan which was produced in response to the recommendations set out in Environmental Standards Scotland's improvement report following its investigation into air quality. The improvement plan was laid in the Scottish Parliament on 27 March 2023 and can be viewed at: Environmental Standards Scotland air quality investigation - Scottish Government improvement plan - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The deployment of firefighters and the welfare of its staff is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS)

As an emergency service, SFRS has a statutory duty to ensure that fire and rescue cover is always maintained across all communities in Scotland. This sometimes means that firefighters are called upon to work from a different fire station to ensure a full crew is available to safely allow a fire appliance to attend emergency incidents.

SFRS has a Detached Duty Policy to ensure that staff welfare, including consideration of caring responsibilities, is taken into account in reaching decisions on the deployment of staff.