Chamber and committees

While the site continues to operate on the basis of the current operational functions there is no cause to look towards any environmental remediation. As outlined in the previous answer, any environmental remediation follows in a situation where operational licences are being handed back and are dealt with on a regulatory basis. The polluter pays principles are used to ensure that the land can be remediated to another purpose if this is required. When dealing with potentially contaminated land through either the development planning system, or if voluntary remediation is undertaken, it is for the developer or landowner to investigate and assess the extent of contamination and undertake any remediation that would be required. These remain hypothetical scenarios as the current site is operating and continuing to produce steel.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published guidance on what is reasonable for a policyholder to rely on to satisfy the burden of proof for claims against Business Interruption Insurance. This includes, but is not limited to, a range of publicly available data including the Public Health Scotland Daily Dashboard which provides information about the location of positive cases in Scotland.

We have been as open and transparent as possible, with professional analysts publishing available data seven days a week to inform the public on how the pandemic is progressing. The data made available will continue to evolve over time to ensure the most relevant information is included, and it is fit for purpose. This supports public scrutiny and transparency, providing timely and equal access to data for the public, media and other commentators.

Work is underway with Public Health Scotland and other partners to review the content and frequency of all Scottish Government current data reporting to identify what is required to support resilience and recovery in the future. This will involve prioritising the modelling, data and analysis that is essential to support the future monitoring and surveillance of Covid. We also need to establish the data and evidence required to monitor the wider harms of Covid in the future. A data and reporting strategy will be published in Spring to support implementation of the Strategic Framework following consultation on any planned changes.

There is no evidence at this time to suggest that insurance companies are not following the FCA’s guidance or that there are any specific issues regarding access to data to support insurance claims being made by businesses in Scotland. The Scottish Government stands ready to work constructively with the United Kingdom Government, the FCA and the insurance industry and will engage with them specifically on this matter as part of regular ministerial and official engagement activity.

There are a total of 3,374 properties in the KA24 postcode area. As of 11 February 2022:

• 3,061 properties are already able to access superfast broadband speeds of 30 Megabits per second (Mbps) or above and, therefore, are not included within build plans for the Reaching 100% (R100) Central contract.
• 205 properties are within R100 Central contract build plans, with that build expected to be completed by the first half of 2023. They may be eligible for an interim voucher – worth up to £400 – through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) and people can check their eligibility using our online checker at www.scotlandsuperfast.com . The interim voucher portion of the R100 SBVS was recently extended to 31 March 2022, giving people more time to secure a connection.
• 101 properties are not included within R100 Central contract build plans and, therefore, are eligible for a main voucher – worth up to £5,000 – through the R100 SBVS.

• The remaining 7 properties are expected to receive superfast connections as a result of commercial coverage – they may also be eligible for an interim voucher through the R100 SBVS.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05818 on 2 February 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

In August 2021, the first six pilots commenced, meeting the 100 day commitment set by this government. A further four pilots have been launched since then. These pilots will run for up to 12 months, testing different approaches and delivery models to help inform a national rollout. The latest figures calculated show that 988 free bikes have been issued across the ten pilots so far.

Due to the changes in responsibilities, it is difficult to provide an exact like-for-like comparison of Scottish Government funding from the UK Government over the last five years. However, excluding Social Security and EU Replacement funding (neither of which featured in the Scottish Budget limit 5 years ago), the amount of funding has increased from £30.662 billion in 2017-18 to £39.257 billion in 2022-23. This is a real terms increase of 14.3 per cent over the period.

As the Scottish Government remains committed to passing on every penny of additional health funding from the UK Government much of this increase has been allocated to Health which has a direct impact on all other areas of the Scottish Budget, including local government.

If Health funding is excluded, the Scottish Budget real terms increase over the period is 8.5 per cent, and local government have therefore been treated very fairly with council’s revenue funding having increased by 9.9 per cent in real terms.

We are aware that there is significant public interest in carrying out work to comply with the new standard for fire alarms in all Scottish homes. We are also aware that some retailers have short term supply issues, and may be affected by difficulties with imported components. Whilst we encourage homeowners to install these alarms at their earliest opportunity to protect lives and possessions, we have emphasised consistently that there will be no penalties for non-compliance and individual circumstances, including availability of suitable alarms, will be taken into account.

The Smith Commission recommended that the Scottish and UK Governments should ‘explore the possibility of different powers being in place in Scotland for asylum seekers to access accommodation and financial support and advice.’ Discussions on this recommendation took place over a period of around two years, but concluded without making progress.

The Scottish Government continues to raise issues which impact people seeking asylum living in Scotland and has consistently pressed the UK Government to ensure that people have access to the support and services they need. This includes raising concerns about use of hotels as contingency initial asylum accommodation in correspondence published in January 2022: Use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers: correspondence with UK government - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

I have also requested that the Home Office re-establish regular four nation meetings on asylum to support continued discussions on asylum policy and operations.

ScotWind leasing is administered by Crown Estate Scotland who are responsible for completing the process of due diligence in line with relevant guidance.

Crown Estate Scotland advises that all project partners were required to make a declaration providing Crown Estate Scotland with written assurance that they have not been convicted of unlawful activity in relation to a range of requirements, including aspects such as; corruption, bribery, fraud and human trafficking and exploitation, within the last five years. Only companies providing such assurances were allowed to proceed with bids.

The ScotWind terms and conditions make clear that Crown Estate Scotland reserves the right to void any application which is found to have provided false information. If any companies have been found to have made false declarations on these matters Crown Estate Scotland will take the appropriate action.

The Scottish Government is clear that both public authorities and private enterprises have a responsibility to ensure human rights are respected and protected in the workplace. Scottish Ministers remain committed to defending the vitally-important legislation which protects human rights in Scotland and in the UK – including both the Human Rights Act 1998 and the constitutional protections built into the Scotland Act 1998.

The Fair Work Convention’s Framework defines fair work and underpins our Fair Work policy, but it is not designed to be enforceable. Moreover, employment law is currently reserved to the UK Government, and in the absence of employment powers we continue to deliver our Fair Work Action Plan to embed work practices in workplaces across Scotland.

Through our Fair Work First approach, fair work criteria is being applied to public sector grants, other funding and contracts where it is relevant and proportionate to do so. This approach encourages employers to adopt fair work practices, rather than penalising those who cannot and provides the best opportunity to engage and support employers.

As part of the Bute House Agreement , and subject to limits on devolved competence, by Summer 2022, we will make it a requirement for the recipients of public sector grants to pay at least the real Living Wage and provide appropriate channels for effective workers’ voice, such as trade union recognition. We continue to work with the Fair Work Convention and other key stakeholders to strengthen conditionality and ensure it is proportionate and effective in delivering real benefits.