Chamber and committees

You mentioned the workforce planning exercise in your reply about the workforce to Colin Beattie. That revealed that the commissioner’s office would not be able to meet the statutory functions or to address the recommendations that were made in your 2022-21 audit report. Emergency proposals for additional funding were submitted to the SPCB in May 2022 and funding was granted in October 2022, which is quite a long time for something that is described as an emergency proposal. Do you have a view on that?

Good morning. In paragraph 15, the section 22 report states that the auditor has reported

“that issues remain where the SPCB and the Commissioner’s Office need ‘to work together to address some of the specific governance issues identified’”.

Could you tell us more about those issues?

Will we continue to be updated on the issue?

I am pleased to bring this debate to a close on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives.

We have heard a lot today about Scotland’s growing ties with the Arctic and although I recognise the importance of strengthening our relationship with Arctic countries, we must remember that we are debating a reserved matter.

As we have heard in the contributions today, there are areas where we can strengthen our links with the Arctic. It is encouraging that Arctic Frontiers will hold a one-day conference in Aberdeen on 17 March. That will be a great opportunity to bring together speakers from the worlds of policy, science and business, so that they can share their expertise and identify new opportunities for Scottish and UK-Arctic collaboration.

The just energy transition is one of the areas where we should seek to strengthen our ties and share scientific knowledge and expertise on marine pollution and biodiversity monitoring, through organisations such as Marine Scotland science and the Arctic connections fund.

The UK Government already does a lot of work to support our connections with the Arctic. It recently published its Arctic policy framework, which outlines the UK’s commitment to the Arctic Council as a state observer and to protecting the Arctic’s climate, people and environment; increasing engagement on issues that affect indigenous communities; promoting and protecting biodiversity in the Arctic; and addressing environmental threats in the region. The framework also emphasises the Arctic region’s importance for our security.

Being part of the UK allows us to use our defence resources to protect our interests in the high north. We are all aware that the region is strategically important, not only to the United Kingdom and its allies but to aggressive countries such as Russia.

I believe that the Scottish Government should focus on the issues that matter the most to the people of Scotland. We must prioritise our economy, infrastructure and public services, and collaboration with our Arctic neighbours, to help us achieve that, is welcome.

I will highlight some of the points that have been raised today across the chamber. Donald Cameron spoke about his belief that it is important to engage with Arctic nations, continue to enhance our relationship with them and share best practice in tackling the climate change crisis, which was also mentioned by quite a few other members. Jamie Halcro Johnston spoke of Orkney’s Norse heritage, the long-standing ties between Orkney and its Arctic partners, as well as others around the world, and depopulation.

Angus Robertson told us about the pool of expertise that we have in Scotland, what we can do for the Arctic and how our help is warmly received. Sarah Boyack spoke about the importance of focusing on the climate change crisis, working with our Arctic neighbours, and the impact of the invasion of Ukraine.

Liam McArthur gave us a history lesson on Orkney and spoke about its ties with the Arctic. Richard Leonard spoke of his concern about military activity, as well as threats from Russia, which has said that the Arctic is Russian. He also spoke about the threats to the indigenous population and the need for climate change co-operation. Gillian Martin talked about ancient relations being reinvigorated and the need to help rural women on the way to net zero.

Audrey Nicoll told us about the pictures that she had received of the northern lights, which I think that we have all seen this week, whether on Facebook or other social media. The northern lights are one of the benefits of being up in the Arctic, but she emphasised that the Arctic is much more than that. Douglas Lumsden spoke of his association with Norway and how we can learn from Arctic states in areas such as broadband, ferry fleets and fishing.

There were also contributions from Paul McLennan, Mark Ruskell, Fiona Hyslop, Kenny Gibson and Foysol Choudhury.

However, people are waiting too long for treatment at Crosshouse hospital, accident and emergency at Ayr is threatened with reduced services, the high streets in Ayr, Girvan and Cumnock need more support, and drivers need improvements to the A77. I would much rather that we gave more debating time to matters that affect people in Scotland today and issues that are devolved to this Parliament.

We need to work with our fellow UK nations, as well as our Arctic neighbours, to create a brighter future for all Scots.

The core conservation costs for properties in care in 2021-22 were £7.7 million. That represents a 14 per cent reduction from 2017-18. The decline in the provision has been a consistent trend over the past five years. Given the impact of closed heritage sites on tourism and the local economy, can the minister tell me what discussions he has had with HES to ensure that funding for conservation and maintenance is maintained, if not increased, so that no more sites close and those that are closed reopen as quickly as possible?

I am thinking specifically about the £156 million for the teachers’ pay offer. It was broken down into £30 million for this financial year and £123 million for the 2023-24 financial year, and it is coming from the education and skills budget. However, at the Education, Children and Young People Committee, Shirley-Anne Somerville stated that she was still working through the details of where exactly the money is coming from. Would that not be set in stone before the announcement was made? Obviously, that has huge implications for education and skills.

That would be excellent.

Who in the Scottish Government agrees with ministers any funding that is announced? If a Scottish Government minister announces money for a specific project, how does that come about? Who agrees that the amount is available?

Finally, what plans do you have to be more proactive in publishing comprehensive Covid-19 spending information? Will that make clear links between budgets, funding announcements and actual spending?

What plans does the Scottish Government have to increase transparency in relation to the Scotland reserve?

Will that money be used to support the 2022-23 budget plans?