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The Scottish Public Health Workforce Development Group last met on 11 January 2023 and meets approximately every two months.

The Group members are representatives from the Scottish Directors of Public Health, NHS Education for Scotland, the Registrar Public Health Group, the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland, Voluntary Health Scotland, Public Health Scotland, the Committee of the Faculty of Public Health in Scotland, Scottish Government (Health Workforce/Health Improvement/Health Protection), the Scottish Health Promotion Managers Group, COSLA and the Scottish Community Development Centre.

It is the intention of the Scottish Government to deliver this capability through the Digital Front Door, further details of which can be found in the answer to question S6W-13979 on 30 January 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 does not hold this information.

In November the Scottish Government began a data reconciliation project with the aim of gathering detailed case-level updates on the progress and outcomes of property checks by Local Authorities for the Expressions of Interest from volunteer hosts. This data was collected ahead of the launch of the Scottish Government’s Offers of Accommodation scheme and is intended to provide a baseline data set for the property matching app being developed. The returns will be analysed and published in the monthly Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland statistics series, as part of our commitment to data transparency.

We do not hold this information in the Transport Scotland injury road accidents database. At the moment, the only information we collect is accidents involving an animal in the carriageway and we cannot determine from the database, what type of animal. The only other information that we are aware of in relation to traffic accidents involving deer, is available in an Nature Scot study publication here: NatureScot Commissioned Report 950 - Deer-vehicle collisions in Scotland - data collection and collation to end 2015 | NatureScot

There have been five flights out of Prestwick since 2013:

This is an operational matter for the Scottish Enterprise, who administer the GlobalScot network. I have asked their Chief Executive to respond.

The review to establish priority actions for the public health workforce is underway within the Scottish Public Health Workforce Development Group but has yet to report.

The Social Care Staff Support Fund is available for social care staff who are absent from work due to having covid-19, or self-isolating in line with public health guidance, to support and encourage infection prevention and control in social care settings.

Scottish Ministers strongly encourage employers to access the Fund on behalf of any staff member who meets all of the eligibility criteria.

The guidance on the Fund includes routes of recourse for any social care worker who has not received support from the Fund that they believe they are entitled to.

Local Authority and Health and Social Care Partnerships will have their own internal and governance processes in place and must adhere to their duties in relation to accounting for public funds. This includes ensuring that payments for additional costs are made in line with the Social Care Staff Support Fund Guidance.

Unlawful deduction of wages is completely unacceptable and any employees in this situation should seek advice.

Employment law is reserved to the UK Government, and HMRC are the enforcement body for non-payment of wages. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), provides information and advice on workplace rights and entitlements. Anyone can get free and impartial advice from calling the ACAS helpline number on 0300 123 1100. Alternatively there is help online at: https://www.acas.org.uk/

Scottish Ministers cannot intervene in disputes between employers and their staff, however I would be grateful if there is any information on this matter that you could share with my office.

Commercial sexual exploitation is recognised as a form of gendered violence within Equally Safe: Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls.

The law in Scotland prohibits many activities associated with prostitution, including: trading in the prostitution of others and running a brothel, procuring for the purposes of prostitution as well as publicly soliciting or loitering for the purpose of purchasing sex. No one can lawfully be forced into sexual activity without their consent. Trading in the prostitution of others and procuring for the purposes of prostitution are still offences whether or not they are committed online. The Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 gives police and prosecutors greater powers to detect and bring to justice those responsible for trafficking as well as strengthening protections for survivors.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to develop a model for Scotland which effectively tackles and challenges men’s demand for prostitution. This is being taken forward through the development of a Framework to challenge men’s demand for prostitution and support those with experience of it.

Principles to underpin the Framework were published in December 2022. It is expected that the principles will inform relevant policy and practice across government and the wider public sector. The principles reinforce that there is no place for the commercial sexual exploitation of any individual in Scotland.