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The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 ("the Act") requires Scottish Ministers, local authorities, and health boards to publish Good Food Nation Plans. Local authorities will be encouraged to share their views on the national Plan during the forthcoming consultation. Following the consultation process, the proposed national Plan will be laid before the Scottish Parliament. Local authority and health board Plans will be published after the national Plan, as they must have regard to the content of the national Plan in the preparation of their own Plans. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of engaging with local authorities during the development and delivery of the Good Food Nation Plans. Officials have regular meetings with COSLA to provide progress updates on the national Plan and to discuss the duties on local government arising from the Act. The Scottish Government will continue to engage with local authorities and COSLA throughout the Good Food Nation work.

NHSScotland supports and encourages an environment where those working in our health service feel confident to raise any concerns they may have, in the knowledge that these will be treated seriously, and where appropriate, fully investigated. This includes concerns about staffing levels and any compromise to patient safety. Boards are expected to investigate concerns in line with the NHSScotland Whistleblowing Policy.

The Independent National Whistleblowing Officer (INWO) was set up to provide a mechanism for external review where there are concerns of how a Health Board, primary care or independent provider has handled a Whistleblowing case.

Additionally, the Scottish Government seek assurance of the whistleblowing support in place for staff, as well as the process in Boards through regular contact with Board Executives, the Board Whistleblowing Champions, and via the annual Staff Governance Monitoring exercise.

All NHSScotland Health Boards report directly to the Independent National Whistleblowing Officer (INWO) on the recommendations from investigation reports. The Scottish Government do not become involved in INWO investigations, instead we will seek assurance through regular contact with Board officials and through the annual Staff Governance Monitoring exercise that actions are taken in line with the report.

In recognition of long waiting times for dental surgery which have been exacerbated due to the pandemic, the Scottish Government published the NHS Recovery Plan in August 2021. The £1 billion backed plan will support an increase in outpatient and inpatient activity to reduce waiting times through the implementation of sustainable improvements and new models of care.

Key actions of the plan include creating a network of National Treatment Centres (NTC’s) which will provide and create capacity nationally. This additional capacity will free up space for other specialties locally to address waiting times.

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) regularly engage with universities on a wide range of issues, such as budgets and priorities for the future, including Net Zero.

Published in November 2022, SFC’s ‘Net Zero and Sustainability Framework for Action’ establishes a clear, long-term plan to support Scotland’s colleges and universities through the transition to Net Zero, reflecting improved corporate accountability and collective responsibility across the Further and Higher Education sector.

The plan sets out a clear timeline of actions which aim to embed net zero and sustainability across all aspects of the sector which you can find more information about here: Net Zero response (sfc.ac.uk)

The Scottish Government is clear in its expectation of producers to drive mortality to the lowest possible levels. Our Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture articulates our expectation of improvements to fish health and welfare, and we will continue to work with regulators, producers, innovation centres and fish vets to better understand the reasons for mortality and to encourage adaptation to challenges. Increases in sea water production mortality should be considered in the context of the trend seen since 2002, which indicates stable average mortality levels with peaks and troughs in different years.

The Scottish Government has provided £145.5 million in this year’s budget on the condition that local authorities:

• Maintain teacher numbers at 2022 census levels, as published in the Summary School Statistics in December 2022.
• Maintain pupil support staff numbers at 2022 census levels, as published on 21 March 2023 based on the data collected from local authorities in September 2022.

£100 million of this funding is distributed to local authorities as part of the 2023-24 General Revenue Grant. The remaining £45.5 million will also be distributed to local authorities following confirmation that these conditions have been met.

In assessing whether these conditions have been met, we will consider any mitigating circumstances individual councils may wish to put forward.

The Bee Health Team’s bee heath inspectors have been conducting a programme of apiary visits across Scotland during this year’s beekeeping season, inspecting colonies for signs of notifiable pests and diseases as well as monitoring for incursion of exotic pests. Our diagnostics and science team at SASA continues to provide a free diagnostic service to beekeepers in Scotland to identify and confirm the presence of bee diseases and pests. The Scottish Government also provides funding for a Bee Health Advisor post at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) who provides education and practical advice to beekeepers on honey bee health and good management with the aim of improving bee health in Scotland.

The Bee Health Improvement Partnership (BHIP) has developed a 10 year Honey Bee Health Strategy which aims to achieve a healthy and sustainable population of honey bees in Scotland, supported by an Implementation Plan detailing specific actions to deliver the Strategy’s outcomes. The Plan is updated and published after each quarterly BHIP meeting. Links to both the Strategy and the Implementation Plan are below:

Strategy: The Honey Bee Health Strategy 2022 - 2032 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Implementation Plan: Scotland’s Honey Bee Health Strategy: implementation plan - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Scottish beekeepers and members of the public can contact the Bee Health Team direct by emailing Bees_mailbox@gov.scot to discuss any issues, seek advice, and request items to be raised at the BHIP meetings.

The Scottish Government does not have a formal definition for a “cluster” of farmers. The term has been used in relation to the Farming with Nature programme NatureScot delivers in partnership with the Scottish Government, specifically the Piloting an Outcomes Based Approach in Scotland (POBAS) project. The term ‘cluster’ has been used where there are a number of farms and crofts in a region participating or involved with the project. Further information on the project’s Phase 1 and Phases 2 and 3 is available on NatureScot’s website.

An expansion to S6W-21642 requesting % of payments made within 5 working days, which are not inclusive of electronic procurement card. As noted in the response to S6W-21642, top level figures on payments made within 5 days is only held from 2014 onwards.