Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government will publish a breakdown of the 11.2 million committed to local government to increase the capacity of local resettlement teams, support refurbishment of properties and support integration work, once payments to all local authorities are finalised.

From data provided by Police Scotland, the Scottish Government can confirm that as a proportion of the workforce in 2021-22 the rate of voluntary resignation among officers in Scotland was less than half that in England and Wales.

The following tables show that, as a proportion of the workforce, rates of voluntary resignations among police officers have been consistently lower in Scotland over the last five years compared to England and Wales

This information is not recorded by COPFS.

Cases that are discontinued are marked with an appropriate No Further Action reason.

None of the No Further Action Marking categories used within COPFS allow us to identify any cases which were discontinued due to witness citations not being served on time.

For your information, figures for the total cases marked No Further Action for the last 5 years are published on the Crown Office website ( Case processing statistics 2017 to 2022 ).

In addition, the following table provides cases marked for No Further Action since 1 April 2013 broken down by the appropriate category as used by COPFS: -

There were no prosecutions under section 40(1) of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (where main crime) since 1 January 2014.

Please note: The latest available data is for 2020-21. Information for 2021-22 will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2021-22 Statistical Bulletin. This is due to be published in 2023.

I met with the Chair and Vice Chairs of SPT on 23 November 2022, during a visit to see progress on the Subway Modernisation programme. We discussed that programme, in addition to our mutual interest and shared desire to support the continued recovery of public transport patronage in the West of Scotland. We have agreed to meet again to continue the dialogue and collaboratively working.

Following the high level assessment of unmet need raised in the Independent Review of Adult Social Care, the Scottish Government considered unmet need in its consultation for the National Care Service.

Unmet need in adult social care is continually monitored as Scottish Government analysts are considering options for increasing our understanding of the nature and level of unmet need in adult social care. We will continue to engage with external partners and those with lived experience of unmet need in social care services as we develop the National Care Service.

Decisions to prioritise one population group over another for vaccination are not taken lightly, nor are they straightforward. That is why our prioritisation decisions have been, and will continue to be, guided by the independent expert advice provided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and senior Clinicians.

As with previous campaigns, vaccinations will be offered first to frontline health and social care workers and those most vulnerable to the effects of the virus. Information on the Winter Vaccines programme including eligible groups can he found here .

Full information on the considerations made by the JCVI with regards to which groups have been offered a COVID-19 booster vaccine can be found here .

Short Breaks

The Financial Memorandum estimate for the cost of personalised short breaks for adult carers under the Carers Act, as amended by the National Care Service Bill, is based on the following assumptions:

1) The number of adult carers accessing personalised breaks is based on a future steady state in which 34% of all adult carers will have an adult carer support plan (ACSP). This assumption is carried over from the Carers Act Financial Memorandum.

2) The proportion of carers that have an ACSP will vary depending on the intensity of caring.

3) The proportion of carers with an ACSP that access short breaks will also vary depending on the intensity of caring.

Assumptions were also required for how the proportions in 2) and 3) vary across the carer intensity bands.

Table 1 shows the assumed profile for the proportion of carers with an ACSP across the intensity groupings; and table 2 shows the assumed profile for those with an ACSP that will access personalised breaks support under the Carers Act.

Scottish Government officials have met with European Commission officials regarding sharing knowledge and expertise on the operational elements of the Erasmus+ programme’s mobility and exchange, pertaining to the development of a Scottish Education Exchange Programme.

The impact and efficacy of the FPMC scheme is monitored through supervision of the projects awarded funding. This is done in several key ways:

Firstly all beneficiaries are required to submit progress reports with each claim for payment which set out the progress made against achieving the stated objectives of the project. Scottish Ministers have the legal right to take action, up to an including revocation of the grant award if progress is found not to be satisfactory.

Secondly, we operate an inspection regime, which ensures all claims for payment are run through an automated inspection selection process which ensures 5% receive a physical inspection each year. We also have the right to require that an ad hoc inspection be carried out should concerns arise over any project achieving its’ objectives.

Thirdly, all projects awarded funding are subject to an annual monitoring process which seeks to confirm whether or not the project’s objectives in terms of employment, increased turnover and sales have been achieved.