In the last three financial years, Food Standards Scotland has coordinated the response to eighteen food/feed safety incidents which have been investigated by Dumfries and Galloway Local Authority. Three of these incidents have related to the detection of Listeria Monocytogenes.

I have received three ministerial notes since April 2022 in relation to an ongoing incident of listeria in the food chain. These were dated 1 April 2022, 11 August 2022 and 16 December 2022. Reference is made to a specific strain of listeria which is highly unusual, highly distinguishable and highly pathogenic, particularly for vulnerable groups in comparison to other strains in the notes dated 16 December 2022. To date sixteen human cases have tested positive and there have been three cases across the UK where Listeria infection is linked to the cause of death and all are linked to a particular strain confirmed by whole genome sequencing.

The Incidents branch sits within the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit in Food Standards Scotland under the direction of the divisional head. The head of Incidents has a team of six incidents officers, each with varying levels of experience. There are no formal requirements for additional skills above those essential for SG employees and most of the training is provided once within the unit. All officers are trained in ‘decision making’ along with other role specific training.

These officers gather the information provided by experts within Food Standards Scotland with regards to scientific risk assessment and risk management options to advise, guide and assist the local authorities who are the competent authority on the ground.

FSS use the following to define an incident.

“any event where, based on the information available, there are concerns about actual or suspected threats to the safety, quality or integrity of food and/or feed or fraud that could require intervention to protect consumers’ interests”.

Only notifications meeting this criteria are recorded as such.

All incidents reported to FSS are classified using the FSS Incident Classification Matrix. The matrix is used to help assign a level to the incident to determine the appropriate response.

The coordination of food/feed incidents will continue until the identified risks have been appropriately mitigated.

Whilst FSS maintain the coordination role providing guidance, assistance and advice, Local Authorities as the competent authorities will routinely carry out the investigations. Local Authorities will report incidents to FSS dependant on the food law code of practice which stipulates which incidents need to be reported to FSS.

The Scottish Government is aware of the points raised by the Church of Scotland (hereinafter ‘CoS’) and has been in regular and ongoing contact with CoS on these matters.

Officials met with representatives including the Church of Scotland in August last year, and I subsequently met with them in September. I did this to hear directly from CoS and others about their concerns and proposed solutions. Letters were sent to the Church of Scotland on 1 November 2022, 2 December 2022 and 17 January 2023 and, most recently, I wrote to CoS on 16 February.

The RCI was introduced on 1 April 2022, with unanimous cross-party support. Key stakeholders, including religious bodies, were involved in developing these regulations. Officials have thoroughly reviewed all of the options available to address the issues raised by the Church of Scotland, which arise primarily due to the large amount of property they own.

The Scottish Government introduced legislation to the Scottish Parliament on 23 January 2023 with the intention (subject to Parliamentary approval) of extending the transitional period by 12 months before offence provisions take effect. This decision was taken in response to the concerns raised by the Church of Scotland and others, fully understanding the current challenges in which all organisations including the charitable, third sector and faith and belief community are operating, owing to Brexit, Covid, and inflationary pressures. Should the Parliament approve the draft proposals, those in scope will have a further 12 months to comply with the requirements, in addition to the initial 12 month transitional period.

Stakeholders are encouraged to engage with the process as early as possible, and give themselves plenty of time to register. The Scottish Government and Registers of Scotland are working together to continue raising awareness and help support stakeholders through the process. This will include a programme of additional awareness raising and reviewing the existing guidance.

The Scottish Government has offered the Church of Scotland the option of another meeting with Registers of Scotland and Scottish Government officials should they wish, to discuss how they can be supported to achieve compliance.

Under the Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) (Scotland) Act 1981 a spouse can ask the court for an exclusion order to remove the other spouse from the matrimonial home. Civil partners have a corresponding right under the Civil Partnership Act 2004. A cohabitant can also seek an exclusion order where the court has granted them occupancy rights.

The court can make an exclusion order if it appears to the court that the making of the order is necessary for the protection of the applicant or any child of the family from any conduct or threatened or reasonably apprehended conduct which is or would be injurious to the physical or mental health of the applicant or child.

These orders are temporary. For example, an order will end if the family home is sold or the couple divorce.

There are other civil remedies available to those at risk of domestic abuse. These include an interdict which can prohibit or restrain specified behaviour. By virtue of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2011 a breach of a domestic abuse interdict with a power of arrest attached is a criminal offence. Another potential civil remedy is a non-harassment order under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, breach of which is again a criminal offence.

The Scottish Law Commission are considering carrying out a review of civil remedies in relation to domestic abuse in phase 2 of its work on aspects of family law .

The member is welcome to write to me raising specific points about exclusion orders or other civil protection measures.

SEPA’s grant in aid funding from Scottish Government has increased over the last five-year period from £34,936,000 to £41,406,000. SEPA determine the amount of resources allocated to meeting their statutory obligations through their Annual Operating Plan in each year in agreement with the Scottish Government.

SEPA Grant in Aid Funding:

£34,963,000 in 2018-19

£34,425,000 in 2019-20

£37,098,000 in 2020-21

£44,449,000 in 2021/22

£41,406,000 in 2022/23 [figures subject to year end audit]

SEPA operate under statutory frameworks to recover the costs associated with their role as the environmental regulator. The annual income recovered across all charging schemes and other incomes as notified to the Scottish Government was as follows:

Charging scheme & other income:

£47,282,000 in 2018-19

£47,807,000 in 2019-20

£44,901,000 in 2020-21

£46,010,000 in 2022-23 [figures subject to year end audit]

Decisions relating to the operational delivery of the qualifications, including appeals, are a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

While alternative approaches were adopted in 2020, 2021 and 2022, these were temporary, emergency measures in response to the pandemic and the specific circumstances in each of those years.

SQA arrived at the appeals approach for 2023 based on an extensive evaluation of the 2022 arrangements and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including parents and learners.

Alternative evidence will be considered if a learner is unable to attend their exam, for example through illness or bereavement or whose performance in the examination may have been affected by personal circumstances, through the Exam Exceptional Circumstances Consideration Service.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has confirmed that the approach for Ukrainian students sitting exams in Scotland is consistent with the approach that is taken for all candidates for whom English is an additional language. Any candidates undertaking SQA external assessments who have English as an additional language may be allowed the use of a bilingual dictionary and have a standard extra time allowance of 10 mins for each hour of any assessment, subject to teacher assessment of the candidate’s needs. The use of the dictionary, and any additional time requested for using the dictionary, should reflect the candidate’s way of working in teaching and learning.

This approach is consistent with that taken by awarding bodies across the rest of the UK.

More widely, Education Scotland has provided resources to help schools and teachers support Ukrainian children’s mental health and wellbeing and to meet their learning needs.

Permitted development rights already allow solar panels to be retro-fitted on domestic properties without a planning application, subject to relevant criteria being met. Permitted development rights grant planning permission for specified types of development through legislation. In doing so, they help provide certainty and save the time and expense associated with applying for planning permission.

The permitted development rights for domestic solar panels do not, however, apply to domestic properties located within a conservation area, meaning a planning application is required. This allows the planning authority to consider the potential negative impacts of solar panel installations on the visual amenity and character of the conservation area. Under the new fees regulations introduced by the Scottish Government in 2021, such applications qualify for a 25% reduction of the normal application fee.

The Scottish Government is currently considering potential for extending the permitted development rights for renewable energy installations, including domestic solar panels, in the light of the current climate and cost crises. We will be publishing a consultation on our proposals shortly.