Chamber and committees

The Leicester Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Centre is a research facility based at Leicester Glenfield hospital. The Unit conducts a research programme investigating the causes, genetics and treatment of spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD). Referrals for patients in Scotland to take part in the research can be made by any cardiologist in Scotland.

The diagnosis and treatment for those affected by SCAD is provided by the relevant health boards in Scotland. The Scottish Government expects all those affected by acute coronary syndrome, which includes myocardial infarction or heart attacks to be provided with the care they need in line with the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guidelines.

NHS National Services Scotland does not hold this data. We would not routinely expect young people to be referred to Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust as there is an NHS Gender Service available at Sandyford Young People's Gender Clinic in Glasgow.

The then Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work met the UK Secretary of State for International Trade on 2 November 2017. They discussed the UK Trade Bill and the involvement of the Scottish Government in developing future UK trade arrangements.  

Additionally, I along with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work, are due to meet the Secretary of State on Friday of this week. We will take that opportunity to impress the importance of Scottish involvement in the negotiation and approval of any future trade deals that may be signed by the UK post-Brexit.

The Minister travelled to New York for engagements between 4 to 7 April 2019. The programme focussed on engagement with New York diaspora groups for Scotland Week, as well as promotion of Scottish culture, trade & investment, tourism, higher education and food and drink. In addition, the Minister’s presence highlighted the importance of the Declaration of Arbroath and the links between Scotland and the US Founding Fathers, ahead of the 700 th Anniversary next year in his constituency.

The relationship between Scotland and the US is extremely important, reflected by strong economic, cultural and policy links. The US is Scotland’s top export partner with Scottish exports to the US estimated to be worth £5.545 billion in 2017 (17.1% of all international exports).

NeueHouse, on East 25 th Street, acted as a ‘pop-up Scotland House’ venue for a number of engagements at Scotland Week this year, a partnership between the Scottish Government, Visit Scotland and Scottish Development International (SDI) with each having the opportunity to host events for the key stakeholder groups.

On 4 April, at NeueHouse, the Minister attended the annual SDI Stakeholder Reception where he spoke to an audience of businesses with key interests in Scotland.

On 5 April the Minister addressed approximately 50 key members of the diaspora in the New York area including: the St Andrews Society of the State of New York; the American Scottish Foundation; the New York Caledonian Club and the New York Tartan Day Committee.

Minister Dey then met with SALT Hotels, CEO, David Bowd. They discussed SDI’s intentions to continue to work with the company as they continue to focus on hotel development in Edinburgh.

The Minister attended the American Scottish Foundation’s Tartan Day Observance at Bryant Park. The Minister spoke at the gathering of the importance of the shared links between Scotland and the US, in particular highlighting the upcoming 700 th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath and its links to the US. He thanked the organisers and Pipe Bands for participating.

The Minister also undertook a business meeting with the ID Co, CCO, Milko Radotic, where it was agreed that the company would collaborate with SDI in building networks and exploring growth opportunities in the US market

The Scottish Affairs Office hosted their annual Alumni Reception. The Minister took the opportunity to engage with alumni of Scottish universities and thank them for continuing to celebrate and champion Scottish educational links.

To end the days’ engagements the Minister attended the NYC Tartan Day Parade Committee’s annual Ceilidh which was attended by approx. 500 guests, including key members of the diaspora community.

On Saturday 6 April to mark the start of Tartan Day, Minister Dey delivered a reading at the St Andrews Society Kirkin o’ the Tartan ceremony at The Brick Presbyterian Church of the City of New York alongside fellow Parliamentary colleagues.

The Minister then had the opportunity to meet with some Veterans who volunteer to support the parade, including Alan Bain, who founded the first Tartan Day parade in New York in 1998. Dan McSweeney, from the Tartan Day committee, welcomed Mr Dey and introduced him to former servicemen and women in the US Armed Forces. The Minister thanked the veterans for their voluntary support of Scotland and discussed veterans’ issues with them.

Following this the Minister and representatives of the Scottish Government, Visit Scotland and Scottish Development International participated in the Tartan Day Parade. The Parade was led this year by Grand Marshall, Sir Billy Connolly.

On the final day of this programme Minister Dey visited Ellis Island to mark Scotland Week activity taking place there. He had the opportunity to witness some highland dancing and Scottish Music before having a guided tour of the Scottish Exhibit on display which highlights the impact of Scots on early America through to the modern day.

The First Minister travelled to the US and Canada from 3 to 8 February. The programme focussed on key areas including trade and investment as well as promotion of key Scottish Government policies including climate change/ green energy, human rights, gender equality and social enterprise. In addition the First Minister addressed ongoing issues related to Brexit and reiterated Scotland’s strengths as a place to invest, live, work and study.

The relationships between Scotland, the US and Canada are extremely important, reflected by strong economic, cultural and policy links. The US is Scotland’s top export partner with Scottish exports to the US estimated to be worth £5.545 billion in 2017 (17.1% of all international exports). Over the same time period Scottish exports to Canada were estimated to be worth £580 million.

The First Minister’s visit covered five key cities over five days.

In Washington DC, the First Minister met with Verdant Power, Marriott International, and American technology company Leidos – all businesses with key investment and employer interests in Scotland. The First Minister also delivered a speech at Georgetown University that focussed on Scotland’s place in the world. The First Minister met with members of Global WIN, an organisation focussed on promoting progression towards gender equality in enterprise.

In Trenton, New Jersey, the First Minister met with Governor Phil Murphy where a document of joint working in climate change was signed between Scotland and New Jersey focussing on three key pillars: to share experience and best practices on tackling climate change; to work with like-minded countries, states and regions to increase ambition on climate change; and to promote business and economic opportunities created by the transition to a low carbon economy. The conversation also covered shared values around social policy, including the living wage and access to education. There has already been immediate follow up with the New Jersey Government at official level to build on the relationship and take forward shared working.

In New York City, building on her visit from 2017 the First Minister met with UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucuka, where she was appointed the inaugural #HeForShe Global Advocate by UN Women, with the Scottish Government becoming signatories to the UN Women’s global solidarity movement for gender equality. The First Minister also announced that a Scottish Government funded partnership with UN Women, through the International Development Fund, is providing £113,000 in 2018-19 so that young women and girls in Malawi can participate in an innovative new pilot project that aims to reduce rates of early and child marriage in rural areas.

From there the First Minister participated in a roundtable discussion at the UN with Andrew Gilmour, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights focussing on Scotland’s Human Rights agenda.

She attended a Scotland Is Now investor lunch, hosted by IBM, where she addressed an audience of around 50 senior business people about Scotland’s strengths and assets as an investment location and trading partner. The First Minister met with Conway, Inc. and was a signatory confirming that Scotland will host the FDI World forum in 2022.

The First Minister also visited Morgan Stanley’s Fusion Center which helps firms improve their cybersecurity resilience and met senior members of their technology innovation and cyber-resilience teams. She discussed current and future collaborative projects at Morgan Stanley’s Centre of Excellence in Scotland. The company employs 1,550 people in Scotland and is a key part of Scotland’s financial services industry.

The First Minister then visited Canada’s capital city Ottawa where she undertook a social enterprise roundtable with the members from the social enterprise world forum and representatives from both provincial and federal governments.

In the evening the First Minister hosted a Scotland is Now reception to officially open the Scottish Government’s new Ottawa office and to launch the global marketing campaign to a Canadian audience for the first time. The new Ottawa office is headed up by Catriona Little, who moved out to Ottawa in mid-September 2018. Catriona joined the Scottish Government from the Department for International Trade (DIT), where she worked for two industry sector teams, initially leading on trade and investment and high value campaigns for the education sector in the Middle East and North Africa and most recently as Chief Operating Officer for the UK Life Sciences Organisation in DIT.

The launch reception also celebrated the wide range of Scottish produce in Canada, and the First Minister was joined by Scotland’s national chef Gary Maclean and GlobalScot chef John Higgins who cooked a range of dishes to showcase Scottish food and drink. In her comments at the reception, the First Minister took the opportunity to promote cultural links between Scotland and Canada, announcing the Scottish Government’s £80,000 support for the Scottish International Storytelling Festival in their ‘Canada – Scotland: Coast to Coast’ international programme.

Toronto was the destination for the final day of the First Minister’s North America programme and began with a meeting with the CEO and senior management team of the Toronto Region Board of Trade and World Trade Center, Toronto to discuss and promote trade opportunities, particularly in the digital, data and fintech sectors.

After opening the Toronto Stock Exchange with Steve Dunlop, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise and Gillian Docherty, CEO of The Data Lab, the First Minister visited the MaRS Center and the Vector Institute in Toronto’s Discovery District, where she met MaRS CEO and senior team to discuss opportunities in data science and artificial intelligence.

The First Minister had bilateral calls with Canada’s federal Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna MP and Canada’s federal Minister of Science and Sport, Kirsty Duncan MP - helping open the door to establishing a more formalised partnership between Scotland and Canada in these policy areas.

The First Minister finished her time in Canada at a community organisation in downtown Toronto where she announced a three-year international agreement to grow and sustain social enterprises in Scotland and Canada, alongside Scotland’s Social Enterprise Academy and their local partner.

In addition to the above engagements, the First Minister also undertook a series of interviews including The Washington Post Editorial Board, Amanpour and Co., PBS News hour, CBC, BNN Bloomberg and the National Post.