Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland statistics publication for 2021-22 will be published on 24 August 2022.

The answer to question S6O-01292 does not directly reference any data on heat pumps. However, the answer to the supplementary question does:

"the experience that we have and the comparable data that we have from countries that already have a long history of using heat pumps and heat networks show that they will be effective in Scotland"

The research being referenced here was commissioned by the Scottish Government through ClimateXChange and was published under the title “Heat pump use in Scotland - an evidence review” in October 2021. The paper can be found here:

https://www.climatexchange.org.uk/research/projects/heat-pump-use-in-scotland-an-evidence-review/

I recognise the potential impact of industrial action by the RMT and ASLEF unions on the culture sector at a time when it has been seeking to recover from the Covid19 pandemic.

Officials are continuing to monitor the situation closely, including through engagement with organisations representing hospitality, cultural and events stakeholders.

There is positive progress being made on pay negotiations with ASLEF in Scotland, and I am hopeful that additional services will be added in the near future.

The following table shows the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) teachers with STEM subjects listed as their main subject as reported during the 2021 census of teachers in publicly funded schools in Scotland.

The figures exclude head teachers and deputy head teachers.

We expect all Councils to take appropriate action in response to any complaint from an employee through their policies and practices.

Councils are independent corporate bodies responsible for the management of their employees and the Scottish Government has no power to investigate reports or allegations of this nature.

A total of 15,976 (31.5%) 2020-21 school leavers were in employment 9 months after the end of the school year. This included (a) 9,010 recorded as being in full-time employment (17.8% of all school leavers) and (b) 2,564 recorded as being in part-time employment (5.1% of all school leavers). A further 381 were confirmed as being in employment but the nature of that employment (i.e. whether part-time or full-time etc.) was not known. The remainder recorded as being in employment were engaged in a Modern Apprenticeship, or were self-employed.

The dataset used to produce Summary Statistics for Follow-Up Leaver Destinations does not hold information on the number of school leavers on (c) zero-hours contracts, or on the sector in which school leavers are employed.

Information on the number of complaints regarding the use of restraint in schools and care settings is not collected at a national level by the Scottish Government. Under existing guidance, any use of physical intervention in schools, including restraint, must be recorded and monitored by local authorities. The Care Inspectorate also gathers information on all incidents of restraint in care settings and reviews selected cases to ensure best practice is followed. This is in addition to the inspection roles of carried out by the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland.

The Scottish Government encourages all concerns or disagreements in relation to service provision to be resolved at as local a level as possible, where that is appropriate. Complaints can also be submitted in line with the service’s complaints handling procedure, with referrals made to the local authority, public services ombudsman and the Care Inspectorate, where appropriate. Where there are concerns about the professional conduct of a teacher registered with the GTCS, these can be referred to the GTCS for further examination. All children and young people, and their families, should be informed of all the routes available to them to make a complaint.

In all settings, police or social work should be informed without delay if there are concerns that a child or young person has suffered harm as a result of restraint. A child protection referral can run in parallel to local complaints handling and disciplinary procedures. Child protection procedures will be initiated when police, social work or health determine that a child may have been significantly harmed or may be at risk of significant harm.

The Scottish Government firmly opposes the inappropriate use of zero hours contracts and other non-standard types of employment that offer workers minimal job or financial security. Although zero hours contracts fall under employment law, which is reserved to the UK Government, we are committed to avoiding inappropriate use of zero hours contracts throughout Scotland.

We are taking action to tackle insecure work through Fair Work First, the Scottish Government’s policy for driving high quality, fair work. In May 2022, we published updated Statutory Guidance setting out how public bodies can address Fair Work First requirements in relevant public procurements, including no inappropriate use of zero hours contracts and payment of the real Living Wage.

Fair Work First guidance - for those who are involved in the award and delivery of public sector contracts - makes clear the benefits of secure contracts to both workers and employers. Employers using zero hours contracts should be able to credibly explain their exceptional circumstance which leads to them using such contracts. Employers should also be able to explain the steps they are taking to review their business model to eliminate the inappropriate use of zero hours contracts.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Scottish Government has provided £240m funding to local authorities to support the recruitment of additional teachers and support staff.

We have committed further permanent funding of £145.5m to support education staffing. This will ensure sustained employment of additional teachers, while meeting local needs and benefitting Scotland’s children and young people.

We will also fund 3,500 additional teachers and 500 support staff over this Parliamentary term – over and above the 1,400 teachers recruited during the pandemic.

We continue to work closely with COSLA regarding the employment of teachers to maximise the number of jobs available, including permanent posts.

As Minister for Drugs Policy I am continuing to push UK Government Ministers to take action to regulate the availability and sale of pill presses.

We know that the use of illicit, or 'street', benzodiazepines is a significant factor in the level of drug-related deaths seen in Scotland, these are tablets which are largely produced in Scotland by organised crime groups with access to pill press machines. I have been calling on the UK Government for well over a year now to take action to regulate the sale of these machines. Most recently this was raised with UK Minister for Policing, Kit Malthouse, at a meeting on 19 May. At that meeting Mr Malthouse agreed that there was a need to act around this and added that UK Government colleagues were currently looking for an appropriate piece of legislation that they could use to introduce some form of restriction relating to the use of such equipment for the production of illegal substances. He was not able to provide any timescale for this work.

I have also met with Police Scotland colleagues to discuss this issue and they are clear in their support for regulation to be introduced, emphasising the evidence that the vast majority of these tablets are being mass produced in Scotland by these machines. I have also recently discussed this with colleagues from the National Crime Agency who agree that there is a need for action to be taken on this issue and they are working with UK Government colleagues to take this forward.