Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government grant funds the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) and Migrant Help to provide support and assistance to adult victims of human trafficking and exploitation; and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Psychological Trauma Service to meet their psychological support needs.

Grant funding is also provided to the Scottish Guardianship Service for specialised support for unaccompanied asylum seeking children who are victims, or at risk, of human trafficking.

Grant agreements include a range of conditions requiring compliance in order to support victim care. These are reported against quarterly and regular monitoring meetings are held with officials.

Support providers conduct assessments with clients as they exit services and TARA has recently developed an externally facilitated survivor advisory group to provide open and transparent feedback as part of this process.

Migrant Help and the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) were awarded a combined £1,484,606 for the current financial year to support adult victims of human trafficking and exploitation across Scotland. Support can include accommodation, assistance with day to day living, medical advice and treatment, language translation and interpretation, counselling, legal advice, help accessing other services and, if the victim wishes, repatriation.

Both Migrant Help and TARA maintain crisis accommodation which is available to potential victims of trafficking and exploitation.

The Victim Centred Approach Fund, which includes funding to support adult victims of human trafficking and exploitation, opened for applications on 18 October 2021. Information on the application process, including timelines, can be found at Victim Centred Approach Fund - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Potential victims of human trafficking can present or be recovered in a wide range of situations. First Responder organisations such as Police Scotland, Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, Border Force, local authorities, the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) and Migrant Help can identify and refer potential victims to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The NRM is the UK-wide system for identifying victims of trafficking and is operated by the Single Competent Authority (SCA) within the Home Office. Adults must provide informed consent to enter this process.

In June 2021, the Home Office launched a series of 12 month pilots to test devolving the responsibility to make NRM decisions for child victims of trafficking from the Home Office to local authorities. Glasgow City Council is one of ten pilot sites and the pilot has been underpinned by Scotland-specific guidance . The pilot will be subject to an evaluation by the Home Office which the Scottish Government will consider for any future policy development.

A range of training and awareness raising resources have been developed to increase the likelihood of victims being identified. In March this year, we launched a NRM toolkit for First Responders which aims to improve the formal identification of victims and we are establishing a working group to ensure the ongoing consideration of the quality and availability of training and awareness raising resources.

The Scottish Government’s National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 provides practitioners with information on identifying and responding to concerns about children or young people who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing abuse or neglect, including child victims of human trafficking and exploitation.

Test and Protect continues to inform schools of a positive Covid-19 PCR test for one of their pupils where it is deemed necessary after being risk assessed by public health officials. As set out in Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on reducing the risks in schools , parents, carers and young people are also strongly advised when they receive a positive test to inform the school or early years setting.

The Scottish Government has been engaging with Glasgow based businesses, both in terms of logistics and how they can get involved in COP.

In terms of logistics, we have communicated relevant travel information to our stakeholders through a variety of channels. This includes: 7 webinars to almost 40 organisations, 5 directed 1-2-1 sessions on business support for large businesses, 4 newsletters to almost 400 recipients, as well as a Scottish Government run travel campaign aimed at businesses, residents and commuters to and throughout Glasgow, to raise awareness of the changes to travel arrangements. Scottish Enterprise have also been working closely with Glasgow City Council relating to planning of COP26 events in Glasgow. With Glasgow City Council engaging extensively with businesses in Glasgow, particularly those impacted near venues, from large employers in the area to small 3 rd sector organisations.

Glasgow businesses are speaking at, and attending the Scotland’s Climate Ambition Zone COP26 programme of events and a number of Glasgow based businesses are booked into a virtual exhibition stand as part of the wider programme of activity around this. Additionally, we are supporting Glasgow Chamber of Commerce’s Climate Chamber Mission and wider COP26 programme.

The Scottish Government believes that hosting COP26 will offer important economic opportunities for both Glasgow and Scotland, particularly for Glasgow’s accommodation and hospitality sectors. COP26 also offers potential additional trade and investment opportunities. Scotland has the ideal mix of political, regulatory and commercial factors that will allow investors, entrepreneurs and corporates to start and expand their activities that will help the world meet its climate change targets. We will be using COP26 to accelerate our work on delivering our commitment to Net Zero, as set out in Scotland’s Vision for Trade. Net Zero is at the heart of our global capital investment plan, Investing with Purpose, and our inward investment plan, Shaping Scotland's Economy.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a separate study of the economic impact of COP26 to date. We are engaging closely with the assessment of the economic benefits of COP26 commissioned by the UK Government, along with Glasgow City Council. This will consider the economic impacts of COP26 to Glasgow, Scotland and the UK.

The Scottish Government will be monitoring the success of our COP26 activities. This includes an evaluation of our programme of over 60 in-person or hybrid events comprising Scotland’s Climate Ambition Zone at the Lighthouse in Glasgow. This two week programme will showcase the opportunities for future business and investment presented by our commitment to delivering a just transition to a net zero economy in Scotland, and will be the start of longer term engagement with business on this issue.

COP26 presents a unique opportunity to empower and support individuals across Scotland to take collective action towards our net zero target.

In Glasgow, we have awarded £18,000 to support the COP26 Pop Up Climate Café Programme. Our funding will enable Climate Café and Climate Reality to host 18-22 events from 1 to 12 November. These will create informal and welcoming spaces in communities, workplaces and campuses to talk and act on climate. To extend the reach of the cafés, some events will be held virtually.

We have also provided up to £198,000 to Keep Scotland Beautiful to deliver the Scotland’s Climate Festival initiative, which Glasgow communities can apply to. This initiative will support communities across the country to plan and deliver their own local climate festivals. Between 35-40 festivals will be held, as well as a number of virtual online events, launching during COP26 and running to March 2022.

Furthermore, we have allocated almost £950,000 to support children and young people to engage at COP26. This includes funding events and initiatives that will be open to children and young people within Glasgow.

To enable greater access, we have provided around £8,000 funding for a digital platform which will allow the live-streaming of all Scottish Government events at Scotland’s Climate Ambition Zone and at Atlantic Quay. In addition, our fully-funded climate change website – Net Zero Nation – will be open to the general public enabling them to access live-streams of Blue Zone and other online events.

The Scottish Government recognises that COP26 is not an end in itself. It is a unique opportunity for meaningful engagement with people, communities, and businesses in Scotland and beyond, with the potential for a powerful lasting legacy.

In collaboration with Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Government has created Scotland’s Climate Ambition Zone at the Lighthouse in Glasgow. Through a programme of over 60 in-person or hybrid events over the two weeks of COP26, this will showcase the opportunities for future business and investment that are presented by our commitment to delivering a just transition to a net zero economy in Scotland. Net Zero is at the heart of our global capital investment plan, ‘Investing with Purpose’, and our inward investment plan, ‘Shaping Scotland's Economy’. By grasping this opportunity to demonstrate Scotland’s strengths and the economic opportunity presented by a just transition, we will further invigorate the transformation of our economy to address the global climate emergency.

The Scottish Government is also committed to a summit that engages people and communities. We are supporting a range of events to engage the public before, during, and after the conference. This includes a series of pop-up ‘Climate Cafés’ across Glasgow over the two weeks of the conference, which will provide informal spaces for people in Glasgow to get together to learn about climate change and be inspired to act. We also want to ensure a long-term legacy for children and young people. The COP26 Youth Climate Programme includes a range of online and in-person activities that will provide opportunities for children and young people to learn and develop networks and skills. This will deliver a strong positive legacy, enabling younger generations to build on the summit and develop an ongoing dialogue with children and young people across Scotland and internationally, so that they are involved in Scotland’s climate discussions in the longer term.

In addition to delivering a legacy for Scotland, the Scottish Government is committed to supporting the delivery of a global legacy from COP26 by contributing to securing an ambitious and deliverable international deal. The Scottish Government will do everything it can to support the negotiations. One of Scotland’s key objectives during the summit itself is to build a bridge between the UN member states in the negotiating room and the governments of cities, regions and devolved nations like ours. As European Co-Chair of the Under2 Coalition, the Scottish Government will use its platform to encourage devolved, regional and state governments to agree ambitious climate action and push national governments to go further and faster. A successful COP26 deal will give Glasgow lasting legacy as a city that helped power the planet towards net zero.

The Scottish Government is extremely sympathetic to the extent to which the announcement to replace the SQA has been troubling for staff concerned about their jobs and careers.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills attended a SQA staff Q&A session on 29 June 2021 and met SQA Unions on 29 July 2021 to discuss staff concerns. Scottish Government officials continue to have direct engagement with SQA Union representatives, meeting on 12 August and 23 September 2021. In addition Professor Ken Muir, in his role as Independent Advisor on the replacement of SQA and reform of Education Scotland, is engaging with staff and unions in both organisations to inform his work.

The Scottish Government is committed to ongoing engagement with staff and unions throughout this period of uncertainty and beyond. Matters raised by staff and unions are under active consideration and we are committed to ensuring that the employment rights of staff are protected and that trade unions and staff are fully consulted and informed.