Seòmar agus comataidhean

In May 2021 we implemented the most generous pay rise anywhere in the UK (and the largest since devolution) for NHS Agenda for Change Staff.

For the year 2021-22, a starting salary for new Nurses in Scotland was £26,104 compared to £25,655 for Nurses in England and Wales – a difference of £449 per year.

The decline in capercaillie numbers is of real concern, NatureScot recently published a Review of Capercaillie Conservation and Management - Report to the Scientific Advisory Committee | NatureScot

The report found, inter alia, that it is likely that “ reductions in the numbers of predators (foxes, pine martens, crows) would rapidly improve the breeding success of Capercaillie” . However the evidence is unclear as to whether reductions of fox populations alone would benefit capercaillie without management of other predator species due to the interactions between predator species.

NatureScot are working closely with the Cairngorms Capercaillie Project to support capercaillie conservation in Scotland, and have recently published an outline of the measures, beyond those which are already being undertaken, that are being considered to save capercaillie. These include:

• Carefully designed and monitored diversionary feeding of predators, currently being investigated, being expanded to provide alternative food during the breeding season.
• Additional predator control to remove crows, foxes and including pine martens. In the case of pine marten this would be non-lethal, through trap and release as part of reintroduction to other parts of the UK.
• Seasonal visitor management to create larger refuges from human disturbance in collaboration with communities.
• Extend deer fence marking and removal.

The Scottish Government, in November 2021, issued a joint protocol for the examination of dogs suspected of livestock worrying and seized by Police Scotland under the 2021 Act. That offers guidance to veterinarians who may be asked to examine such dogs.

The Scottish Government considers that education is the key to ending livestock worrying incidents and the associated unnecessary suffering for all involved. While not solely focussed on livestock worrying, the Scottish Government undertook an awareness raising digital campaign, in partnership with the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in March 2021 to promote responsible dog ownership. The campaign was re-run in September and December 2021, to further emphasise the importance of training pet dogs correctly; and reminding dog owners of their legal responsibilities to keep dogs under proper control in order to prevent and reduce the risks of incidents occurring.

The Scottish Government supported the introduction of the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill, which gained Royal Assent on 5 May 2021, and accords with advice in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code on responsible behaviour for people walking dogs. These messages are promoted widely on social media by NatureScot as part of on-going communication campaigns promoting responsible behaviour in various outdoor settings.

The Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC) has also been supporting the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021. In January 2022 they launched a national Livestock Attack and Worrying campaign with the slogan ‘Your Dog – Your Responsibility’ designed to educate and raise awareness about the new legislation amongst dog owners, whether new or experienced. This attracted significant media attention from TV, radio, written and social media forms with the campaign lasting 5 months until end of May 2022.

Numerous local Partnerships Against Rural Crime have supported the national campaign and kept focus on the new legislation by holding local launches. SPARC is promoting a second national launch to highlight the issue once more in the Autumn and will further promote the legislation at the agricultural events and shows it attend this year.

Once again, I want to thank our health and care staff for their magnificent work to date. The last few months have been enormously difficult and our health and care services are continuing to deal with a challenging combination of issues.

We are now seeing a steady reduction in new Covid cases. However, I am aware that the system remains under significant pressure. We must continue with a measured and consistent approach to the recovery and renewal of the vital service that we all rely upon. This will require balancing the capacity of the NHS and the wellbeing of our workforce to respond to increasing demands of emergency and urgent care, whilst reducing the backlog of planned care.

As we move through the next phase of the Strategic Framework, we will continue to support our NHS Boards to deliver against commitments in the NHS Recovery Plan and associated Delivery Plans to enable our NHS to plan and prepare the future delivery of health and social care services to our communities. We are confident that we have continued to build on lessons learned and that NHS Boards will be able to respond appropriately to any further challenges which lie ahead.

With that in mind, I have decided that the NHS will no longer remain on an emergency footing after 30 April 2022.

There are temporary terms and conditions provisions that were enacted to support the NHS through this time, including to support those who came back to work on a temporary basis to aid with pandemic response. We will now take the opportunity to review these, and will work through the established structures to set a timetable to return to normal arrangements. In the meantime, these temporary measures remain in operation.

The Scottish Government has established a Short Life Working Group (SLWG), co-chaired by Glasgow Disability Alliance, to develop a refresh of the Action Plan, to be published in Autumn 2022 as part of an overarching Fair Work action plan. Membership of the working group includes: disabled people’s organisations (Inclusion Scotland, Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living), national disability organisations (e.g. ENABLE Works, Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities), as well as wider stakeholders with an interest and expertise in disabled people’s employment (e.g. STUC, the Institute of Directors, Public Health Scotland, Skills Development Scotland) and internal Scottish Government policy teams.

Disabled People’s Organisations (DPO’s) are key to representing the voice of lived experience on the working group itself – they have been clear in their view that the Scottish Government should not repeat previous engagement as to what the barriers to employment are for disabled people. Rather, we have agreed that the working group will develop initial proposals for action to address barriers and discrimination, with engagement with disabled people themselves to then be led by the DPOs, with support from Scottish Government and wider partners. This will enable us to sense check proposals and ensure they align with disabled people’s priorities in order to tackle the disability employment gap. In addition, engagement will be undertaken with wider stakeholders, as part of a communications and engagement strategy for the overarching Fair Work action plan.

The Scottish Government is supportive of the ambition within the Green Taxonomy and is carefully considering the legislation to ensure it is in line with SG policy, EU alignment and to ensure that any SI's would not negatively impact Scottish economic activity now or in the foreseeable future.

Using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to monitor and fine moving traffic would require local authorities to have the powers to enforce moving traffic violation. Local authorities currently do not have the powers for such enforcement. This would require a change to primary legislation and to date there has been no significant call for these powers from local authorities in Scotland.

In Scotland, moving traffic violations remain a matter for the Police.

Transport Scotland look to improve accessibility as part of wider rail enhancement and decarbonisation programme; which is why the 2 new stations on the new Levenmouth Railway, the new Inverness Airport station and the new Hairmyres Station on the East Kilbride line will all have accessibility at the heart of their design. Throughout 2019-2024 this Government will also provide funding for step-free access at Aviemore, Pitlochry, Nairn and Kingussie rail stations.

Rail accessibility is reserved to the UK Government and, while we work closely with the Department for Transport to agree priorities, the final decision rests with the UK Government. We continue to push for full devolution of rail powers to enable us to better deliver for Scotland’s rail users.

The DfT Access for All and Mid-Tier Programmes will deliver step-free access through the rail control period 2019 -2024 at selected Scottish stations can be found in the attached links:. Access for All: 73 stations set to benefit from additional funding - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Rail stations across Great Britain receive £20 million funding boost for accessibility improvements - GOV.UK ( www.gov.uk ) Work has already commenced on site at Croy and Johnstone with the new accessible footbridges and lifts anticipated for completion later this year.

The Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 (STPR2) was recently published and this will inform transport investment in Scotland for the next 20 years (2022-2042) and recommendation 19, Infrastructure to Provide Access for all at Railway Stations, recommends a review of station accessibility across Scotland to identify barriers and improve access . Additional details can be obtained within the Draft Technical Report - January 2022 - STPR2 | Transport Scotland .

In setting our Public Sector Equality Duty Equality Outcomes for the 2021-2025 reporting period, we committed to improving and embedding inclusive communication within Government and across the wider public sector. We are working in partnership with public bodies, equality advocacy groups and people with lived experience to create national standards and best practice examples of inclusive communication, including the production of information in a BSL format.

In addition, we are improving how BSL users can access information. In response to the British Sign Language National Plan 2017 – 2023 , a Guide and Tool has been developed that lets BSL users know of upcoming research events, currently used by the Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate. The guide has been provided as an example to other researchers in the public sector. More details on this action can be found in the British Sign Language Progress Report 2021 .

As part of the British Sign Language National Plan 2017 – 2023 , we have a commitment to work with partners to deliver and evaluate two training programmes aimed at supporting BSL/English interpreters to work within the Justice sector, with a view to informing a longer-term approach. Queen Margaret University now offers an elective module for BSL interpreting in Justice settings; more details can be found in the Scottish Government’s British Sign Language: Progress Report 2021 . The BSL Justice Advisory Group met again for the first time after the pandemic in October 2021, and another meeting was held in March 2022, where plans to develop workstreams was discussed. This includes looking at improvement in provision of BSL and English interpreters in courts and police stations, and potential solutions to current issues reported by case studies.