Chamber and committees

I am pleased to advise Parliament that the Scottish Government is continuing to deliver on its commitment to give people the information they need to make an informed choice about their future, and is today publishing A stronger economy through independence.

The third paper in the Building a New Scotland series sets out proposals for the economy of an independent Scotland and how new powers, combined with existing strengths, would give Scotland the opportunity to build a better future for everyone who lives here.

The paper describes this Government’s proposals for how an independent Scotland would improve access to flexible working and strengthen workplace rights, would use its extraordinary energy resources to build an economy based on low-cost, renewable energy and would invest in infrastructure through the Building a New Scotland Fund. It also includes information on currency, borders and fiscal sustainability.

Building a New Scotland: A stronger economy through independence is available to view on the Scottish Government website from today at www.gov.scot/newscotland .

The Scottish Government is aware of Home Office plans to issue amended immigration rules to prohibit all forms of activity within UK territorial waters or onshore by crew employed using transit visas. Following representations from the Scottish Government and others – including a letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture to the Home Secretary on 20 September - the introduction of these new rules has been postponed to spring 2023, rather than 1 November as originally planned.

Whilst that delay is welcome, the Scottish Government is clear that changes to the transit visa rules must accompanied in parallel by changes to Skilled Worker Visa provision to ensure that the latter is genuinely proportionate and accessible to all parts of the fleet, since the alternative may be an exacerbation of current labour shortages and vessel tie-ups. We are similarly clear that the Home Office must ensure that meaningful consultation and robust impact assessments are undertaken before any changes to immigration rules affecting the Scottish fishing industry are made.

In addition to continuing to submit evidence on Scotland’s unique economic and demographic needs to the Migration Advisory Committee, the Scottish Government has offered to meet the Home Office and the other Devolved Governments to identify and implement alternative arrangements that promote proportionate border security whilst also protecting the rights of non-UK workers and the ability of industry to access the labour it needs. To date that offer has not been accepted.

The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 places a Sustainable Procurement Duty on public bodies to consider how procurement processes can improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of their area, and facilitate the involvement of SMEs, third sector bodies and supported businesses. This might, for example, mean designing a tender in such a way as to ensure that there are no unnecessary barriers to local firms bidding.

The World Trade Organisation Agreement on Government Procurement, and other international agreements, require bidders from other countries party to those agreements to be afforded equal treatment in covered procurement exercises. It would not therefore be possible to oblige public bodies to procure from Scottish manufacturers and suppliers.

With regard to the safe collection and disposal of dead wild birds suspected of having been infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), current government disease control guidance is for carcases to be left in situ, unless the local authority deem it necessary to remove them, e.g. for environmental health concerns. The Scottish Government, following consultation with Public Health Scotland, has issued guidance to all local authorities in Scotland on the safe collection and disposal of dead wild birds suspected of having been infected with HPAI H5N1, including information on Animal-By-Products Regulations and public health, should local authorities wish to remove them.

As yet, there is no scientific evidence that the removal of carcases significantly reduces the risk of onward spread of the current strain of HPAI H5N1 amongst wild birds. However, this matter continues to be under review, including currently being the topic of a veterinary risk assessment carried out by the Centre of Expertise on Animal Disease Outbreaks (EPIC), commissioned by the Scottish Government.

As set out in our recent Waste Route Map consultation, Zero Waste Scotland is currently delivering a programme of household kerbside waste composition analysis, in partnership with local authorities. This is expected to be completed in 2023.

It is not possible to publish updated food waste data, or data on any other individual waste material, before the full analysis is complete.

As set out in the response to S6W-08912, the Final Determination explained that the Commission would expect that its charge caps would allow Scottish Water’s annual revenue in the final year of the current regulatory control period to be no less than £1,392m (as set out in page 10 of the Final Determination). This level of revenue was based on assuming an average charge cap of 1.5% a year above inflation over the regulatory control period 2021-27.

The Final Determination set a maximum amount of charges of CPI + 2% on average for each year of the regulatory control period. As set out in the Final Determination, the difference between the CPI + 2% and the CPI + 1.5% each year on average was to cover any additional costs that Scottish Water incurs in selecting an investment option that has a higher net present value than the lowest financial cost option, after allowing for externalities such as carbon, natural and social capital. This is the allowance of £132m set out in pages 9 and 15 of the Final Determination. This money would only be used where such projects had been thoroughly appraised. The minimum revenue expectation did not take account of this allowance.

The Scottish Government and its operational partners have robust contingency plans in place, such as the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy to prevent and control outbreaks of avian influenza spreading, and have a strong track record of controlling and eliminating outbreaks of the disease.

On 17 October 2022, and in response to an increase in risk to poultry of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) linked with an escalating number of HPAI cases amongst poultry and other captive birds; the return of migratory species to their wintering grounds in the UK; and the ‘over-summering’ of the virus amongst many resident species of wild birds, the Scottish Government, along with Defra, the Welsh Government, and DAERA (Northern Ireland), acted swiftly to declare an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) across the whole of the UK. The AIPZ legally requires keepers to apply strict biosecurity measures in order to limit the spread of and eradicate the disease.

The rigorous scientific risk assessment process upon which the introduction of disease control measures, such as the AIPZ, is based includes analysis of wild bird migratory routes, dead wild bird findings, and outbreaks and strains of virus being identified across Europe, the US, and the rest of the world. The Scottish Government independently reviews these assessments in order to determine the most effective and impactful policy responses for Scotland.

When outbreaks of HPAI have been confirmed, such as that on Isle of Lewis on 12 October 2022, a 3 km Protection Zone and 10 km Surveillance Zone are declared around the infected premises. Within these zones, movement restrictions are applied on poultry, other captive birds, carcases, eggs, and a range of poultry products and associated equipment, all aimed at halting the spread of the disease. An epidemiological investigation is carried out to identify the source of the virus and any potential onward transmission routes.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the other UK administrations and its operational partners to put out communications to keepers ensuring they are aware of the risk of disease, and to promote compliance with the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone biosecurity measures.

Keepers of more than 50 poultry or other captive birds are legally required to register their flock on the GB Poultry Register. Keepers of less than 50 birds can register voluntarily and are routinely encouraged to do so. Registered keepers receive updated SMS messages providing advice and important information on avian influenza from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government accepted the Grouse Moor Management Group’s recommendation that muirburn should be subject to tighter regulation and only be undertaken under licence.

In considering our response to the Grouse Moor Management Group report, we took into account a wide range of reports and evidence, including:

• Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Scottish Government commissioned research on the socio-economic impacts of grouse moor management.
• The recommendations of the Independent Deer Working Group.
• The Climate Change Committee report published in January 2020.

We also consulted with other Scottish Government agencies and non-departmental public bodies such as NatureScot, SEPA, and Scottish Forestry, as well as considering the evidence and views put forward by a wide range of stakeholders.

We recognise the benefits muirburn can have for certain types of land management, and although some aspects of muirburn, are already controlled, e.g. close seasons, our assessment is that increased monitoring and regulation of muirburn will reduce the negative impacts muirburn can have on biodiversity and carbon management.

In the first year of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults, 2021 to 2022, we funded 64 projects supporting adults living in Dundee.

These were:

Improving mental health is a priority for the Scottish Government and we remain committed to meet the standard that 90% of patients start treatment within 18 weeks of referral by March 2023.

Public Health Scotland’s statistical release providing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Psychological Services waiting times for the quarter ending 31 March 2023 will be available on 6 June 2023.