- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reconsider its decision to redact clause 12.4 on the total aggregate liability in the release of the business purchase agreement in relation to the Dalzell steelworks, as set out in the response to freedom of information request FOI/202100212787, a review of FOI/202100203997.
Answer
The original FOI request and the subsequent review were handled by the Scottish Government in compliance with its statutory obligations under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). Where any requester is dissatisfied with the outcome of a review, there is a clear statutory route by which they may appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner, within six months. Any new request received by the Scottish Government would be considered afresh, in compliance with our obligations under FOISA.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Tata Steel’s reported statement on 15 December 2021 that the contract it holds with the Scottish Government in relation to the Dalzell steelworks is “valid and binding in all aspects”.
Answer
Channels of communication between the Scottish Government and Tata Steel UK remain open so both parties are aware the other’s position on this commercially sensitive topic.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has to support the view stated by the Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, during his ministerial statement on 15 December 2021 on Dalzell Historical Industrial Transactions, that “the circumstances upon which it [the indemnity] would be called upon are unlikely to materialise”.
Answer
Liberty Steel Dalzell continues to trade. At the time of the deal, in 2016, a parent company guarantee was signed with Liberty House, which meant that, if the part of the company at Liberty Steel Dalzell ceased to exist, the liabilities would pass to the wider group.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what legal advice it received in relation to the facilitation of the sale of the Dalzell steelworks, and whether it contained a single view or range of views on whether it complied with state aid rules.
Answer
I am unable to confirm on the basis of Section 2.38 of the Ministerial code. Ministers must not divulge either who provided the advice or its contents (whether it is from the Law Officers or from anyone else). This applies to all forms of legal advice, including advice on a particular subject or advice associated with clearance of a document.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise on 15 December 2021 on Dalzell Historical Industrial Transactions, what parties comprise the "wider group" that he referred to.
Answer
The ‘’wider group’’ referred to by the Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise is Liberty Steel Dalzell Limited's parent company.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government on what date and at what time it contacted Tata Steel after identifying that it may have broken state aid rules while facilitating the sale of the Dalzell steelworks, and whether it will publish any (a) notification and (b) response.
Answer
Scottish Government officials contacted TATA Steel UK on 9 December 2021 to inform the company of its findings concerning the potential presence of State Aid with respect to 2016 transaction. Channels of communication between the Scottish Government and Tata Steel UK to facilitate dialogue remain open but it would not be appropriate to publish the detailed content of these commercially sensitive exchanges.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that all secondary school pupils are offered the opportunity to study psychology.
Answer
The Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) is about providing young people with a well-rounded education that prepares them to thrive in today’s world.
Where available, psychology is most likely to appear as a standalone subject in the senior phase and national qualifications are available. Many schools also offer ‘elective’ courses in psychology for senior phase learners, not always leading to a specific qualification. Outside the senior phase, aspects of psychology may well be explored within different curricular areas.
Schools and Local Authorities are encouraged to consider innovative ways to ensure that there is a wide choice of subjects available to their learners; CfE empowers schools and teachers to design their curriculum in ways which best suit all their learners. It would be for schools and Local Authorities to plan what subjects are available in their areas and how these may be accessed.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 25 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the debate on motion S6M-02625 (A New Deal for Tenants), how it plans to increase its ambitions for the building of more homes for social rent, and on what date any increased ambition will be announced.
Answer
As set out in our Programme for Government, the Scottish Government has already increased its ambition and commitment to deliver more social homes by increasing our affordable homes target from 100,000 to 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, with 70% of these being for social rent.
Housing to 2040 sets out our long term vision for Housing in Scotland. While a longer-term ambition allows for greater foresight, it does present challenges with predicting how circumstances might change or what unforeseen events might arise. That is why we will carry out a review at the mid-point of the target period, to assess if plans should continue unchanged or be adapted.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported ongoing alterations to the functionality of the NHS Scotland Covid Status app, whether users are (a) notified and (b) required to consent when there is an update to the (i) privacy policy agreement and (ii) personal information that is provided and displayed by the app.
Answer
Privacy notices are updated regularly and accessible via the app and NHS Inform at any point in time.
Consent is sought only when is applicable and consent is not required for the Covid Status app to process data. The legal basis for processing the data in the app is communicated in the privacy notice in detail.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what user, personal and medical information is currently provided and displayed on the NHS Scotland Covid Status app, and whether that information is explicitly outlined in the user privacy policy agreement.
Answer
The information displayed on the NHS Scotland Covid Status App is described in detail in the privacy notice .
Venues are required to display a privacy notice in areas where the app will be used. This will help members of the public understand the purpose of the data processing that will be done by the app and provide assurance about how their personal data will be safeguarded by the venue staff. A privacy notice template can be found here .
Rigorous data minimisation controls have been put in place, including the use of the “Green Tick” for domestic purposes, to ensure that as little personal data is displayed as possible, through the NHS Scotland COVID Pass Verifier app.