Chamber and committees

In accordance with the Sewel Convention and Scotland Act 2016, the UK Parliament does not legislate with regard to devolved matters in Scotland without the consent of the Scottish Parliament.

This is an important part of the devolution settlement, which acknowledges the special constitutional position of the Scottish Parliament and the democratic mandate conferred on this Parliament by the people of Scotland. In the view of the Scottish Government, the Sewel Convention will remain an essential part of the constitution of the UK for as long as the UK Parliament retains its current powers and functions in relation to Scotland. It is to be regretted that the UK Government failed to more comprehensively incorporate the intent of the Sewel Convention, as embodied by Devolution Guidance Note 10, in to the Scotland Act 2016. However, the UK Government has made clear that Devolution Guidance Note 10 remains the statement of the Sewel Convention in practice.

In the normal course of business, legislation on devolved matters should be scrutinised and determined in the Scottish Parliament. There may however be situations in which it is helpful and appropriate for legislation dealing with devolved matters to be taken forward at Westminster.

The Scottish Government is committed to assessing opportunities of this kind on their merits and to working closely and constructively with the UK Government, on a case by case basis, to deliver legislation which best meets Scotland’s needs. The Scottish Government is equally committed to working with the UK Government to pursue opportunities to extend devolved competence.

The formal consent of the Scottish Parliament is required in relation to all proposals for Westminster primary legislation on devolved matters, including alterations to devolved competence, in accordance with Chapter 9B of Standing Orders.

Within the legislative programme announced today by the UK Government, we have identified potential opportunities to legislate for the benefit of Scotland on matters that are within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament or which alter legislative or executive competence.

The UK bills which we currently expect to give rise to Legislative Consent Motions in the Scottish Parliament cover:

Cultural Property (Armed Conflict) Bill – a Bill which aims to ratify the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and thereby establish a system of mutual recognition amongst states party that cultural heritage should be protected in the event of armed conflict, alongside mechanisms for recognising said cultural heritage, and prosecuting those who fail to comply with the Convention.

Investigatory Powers Bill – a Bill which aims to address on-going capability gaps that are seen as severely degrading the ability of law enforcement and intelligence agencies ability to combat terrorism and other serious crime. The Bill will aim to Maintain the ability of our intelligence agencies and law enforcement to target the online communications of terrorists, paedophiles and other serious criminals, to modernise our law in these areas and ensure it is fit for purpose and provide for appropriate oversight and safeguard arrangements. 

Policing and Crime Bill – a Bill to Continue the reform of policing and enhance protections for vulnerable people and to continue to reform the criminal justice system to protect the public better, build confidence and improve efficiency.

The Scottish Government will, in due course, lodge memoranda and motions for these bills. It will then be for the Scottish Parliament to determine whether to give or withhold consent.

It is possible that further opportunities to legislate for Scotland by means of Legislative Consent Motion may occur in connection with other UK bills, including Private Member’s bills. Any additional proposals of this kind, together with any relevant amendments to the UK Government bills listed above, will be drawn to the attention of the Parliament as they arise, in line with the requirements of Standing Orders.

This is an operational issue for Scottish Enterprise.

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It is the responsibility of councils and their respective community planning partnerships (CPPs) to support local regeneration activity, based on their understanding of local needs and circumstances, from their local government settlement.

The Scottish Government has, in addition, established a number of different funds which address specific areas of regeneration activity. Whilst not all regeneration budgets are provided directly to local authorities, all the funding contributes to local regeneration in local authority areas.

For example, the six Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs) have received in excess of £250 million since their inception. The 2009-10 £60 million Town Centre Regeneration Fund benefited 66 projects in every local authority area with 89 town centres receiving funding for new build and renovation of key building for a variety of business and community uses, cosmetic improvements to high street frontages and walkways as well as other public realm works and the People and Communities Fund has supported more than 350 community projects across Scotland.

But note, it is not possible to attribute all regeneration spend directly to a specific regeneration budget. Some regeneration occurred due to other policy interventions, whilst others may have occurred due to activities in neighbouring areas. Also, activity that is later identified as a regeneration project may not have been recorded as such initially.

Detailed information is available on a number of regeneration funds with local authority recipients:

1. The Fairer Scotland Fund (FSF) announced by the Scottish Government in January 2008 and worth £145 million per annum over 2008-11.

It merged the following seven previous funding streams:

Community Regeneration Fund

Working for Families

Changing Children’s Services Fund (“social inclusion” element)

Community Voices Fund

Financial Inclusion Fund

Workforce Plus (including the New Futures Fund)

More Choices, More Chances

The purpose of the fund was to enable local authorities and CPPs to tackle area based disadvantage; individual poverty; and help more people to access and sustain employment opportunities.

The FSF was ring fenced for the first two years to allow all community planning partners to play a part in driving strategic investment of this resource. In 2010-11 the ring fencing was removed and resources awarded to local authorities as part of their block allocations in acknowledgement of their responsibility for local economic development and regeneration.

2. The Vacant and Derelict Land Fund, established in 2004 with the aim of tackling long-term vacant and derelict land in Scotland. The fund is one of the few remaining ring-fenced funds in the local government settlement. The objectives of the fund are to tackle long term vacant/derelict land; stimulate economic growth and job creation; develop a diverse sustainable environment with a focus on temporary and permanent greening; support communities to flourish and tackle inequalities.

Spend to date is £130 million, with five local authorities sharing c. £10 million of funding each year, reflecting the extent of vacant and derelict land in these areas and levels of deprivation. Due to re-profiling the fund will be £7.835 million in 2016-17.

3. The Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) is a £25 million joint local authority/Scottish Government fund, which was made available to local authorities from 2014-15 onwards (previously used to support Urban Regeneration Companies) and is expected to deliver the holistic outcomes set out in the regeneration strategy.

The fund supports large scale regeneration projects which have the potential to demonstrate wider impact as well as delivering strong physical, social and economic outcomes; and potentially leverage other funding and investment.

The fund is open to all 32 local authorities, URCs and other local authority regeneration special purpose vehicles. It is open to both rural as well as urban areas and primarily supports areas which suffer from high levels of deprivation and disadvantage.

Two rounds of funding have now been completed with recommendations on 40 projects agreed, representing projects from across the country, encompassing both urban and rural areas. Full details of the recipient local authorities/URCs are available on the Scottish Government website: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Built-Environment/regeneration/investment/capitalgrants/rcgf.

The independent RCGF panel will meet in February 2016 to assess second stage applications submitted for a share of the £25 million fund in 2016-17.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The Scottish Government would expect NHS boards to ensure that relevant national pathways, guidelines and models are implemented and that advice and guidance from professional bodies and statutory organisations is followed.

The maternal, newborn and infant clinical outcomes review programme, delivered by MBRRACE-UK established the national perinatal confidential inquiry process in the UK. The MBRRACE reports highlight rates of stillbirth and neonatal death across the UK and make recommendations for improvement. The Scottish Government uses these reports as a basis for action to drive improvements in rates of stillbirth and neonatal deaths in Scotland.

There is a lot of work underway to reduce stillbirth and neonatal deaths, although this work does not look at multiple pregnancies separately. The Scottish Government’s stillbirth group, established in 2011, is considering all issues pertinent to stillbirth, including improvements in detection of those at risk of stillbirth. The group has wide representation from health experts across Scotland and the Early Years Collaborative, as well as several members of the stillbirth charity Sands. There is clear evidence that the stillbirth rate has fallen in Scotland since the work of the stillbirth group commenced. The stillbirth rate across Scotland in 2011 was 5.1, and provisional figures on the National Records of Scotland website show the rate has fallen across Scotland in 2014, to the lowest recorded rate of 4.0. The government’s stillbirth group will meet in January 2016 to develop a work plan looking at where the focus of their work should be over the next three years.

Neonatal Care in Scotland: A Quality Framework defines the approach taken to provide high quality care for neonates and their families. The framework has a strong focus on safety and improving outcomes for neonatal babies, demonstrated by a culture of continuous service improvement, underpinned by high quality facilities and staff training. All boards are working towards full implementation of the framework and delivery of best quality care for all neonatal babies.

In 2013 the Scottish Government established the Maternity and Children Quality Improvement Collaborative to lead the way on patient safety in maternity, neonatal and paediatric care (as part of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme). The collaborative’s aim is to reduce avoidable harm in maternity, neonatal and paediatric care by 30% by 2015. This programme has already made significant progress in improving services and keeping safety at the top of the agenda, and in improving outcomes for mothers and babies. We are currently considering plans to extend the programme.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children in Scotland get the best start in life. The best quality maternity care and the best quality neonatal care are therefore crucial, and to achieve this we published A Refreshed Framework for Maternity Care in Scotland in 2011 and Neonatal Care in Scotland: A Quality Framework in 2013.

The Scottish Government would expect NHS boards to ensure that maternity care services have processes in place to monitor adherence to and implementation of appropriate national pathways, guidelines and models of care, such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Keeping Childbirth Natural and Dynamic and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

The Scottish Government is not complacent. As Minister for Public Health I announced a review of maternity and neonatal services on 26 February 2015. The review will provide assurance that maternity and neonatal services in Scotland are as good as they can be, and will refresh our approach to them to ensure that care is person centred and as safe, sustainable and high quality as possible.