Chamber and committees

Both bidders for the principal contract for the Forth Replacement Crossing indicated that China was one of several possible sources being considered for the supply of steelwork as part of their bid. Once the principal contract was awarded the Scottish Government had no further involvement in the award of subcontracts by the contractor, Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors, but it is aware that no Scottish or UK based steel fabricators bid for the main cable stayed bridge deck fabrication subcontract. A further subcontract for the fabrication of the approach viaducts was awarded to Cleveland Bridge in Darlington, who indicated that they would use UK manufactured steel.

The Scottish Government continues to lead by example in creating a culture of fair work in Scotland. We are committed to treating every employee with dignity and respect and have a range of policies to ensure that all staff have equality of opportunity in their terms and conditions of employment and are able to work, and undertake work-related activities, in an environment free from harassment, victimisation, discrimination and/or bullying.

Further, the recently published statutory guidance, Addressing Fair Work Practices, including the Living Wage, in Procurement (6 October 2015), states that we expect contractors to have policies which describe how they adopt fair work practices for all workers engaged on delivering public contracts.

We also encourage other organisations to adopt fair work practices, for example through promotion of the Scottish Business Pledge and Living Wage Accreditation.

The Scottish Government is committed to tackling the long term drivers of poverty and inequality through early intervention and prevention. This commitment is made clear in our Programme for Government 2015-16 and our national approach is articulated in the revised Child Poverty Strategy for Scotland 2014-15. This includes an innovative measurement framework that reflects both the wide range of drivers of poverty and the impacts poverty has on the lives of children and their families. This enables us to track progress and inform our future actions.

We are doing what we can to tackle poverty with the resources and powers available. This includes the appointment of the Independent Advisor on Poverty and Inequality, who has the power to make recommendations on further actions to reduce poverty and inequality in Scotland. We are also investing around £104 million in 2015-16 in anti-poverty measures to mitigate against the impact of welfare reform, contributing to the collective investment of over £274 million with local authorities, NHS and other partners in the Early Years Change Fund and the provision of free school meals for all primary 1 to 3 children which delivers a saving for families of around £380 per child per year. Tackling child poverty is increasingly difficult in the face of the UK Government's £12 billion of annual welfare cuts, which have a significant and detrimental impact in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has two specific funding streams to support schools in tackling educational inequality – the Attainment Scotland Fund and the Access to Education Fund. Inzievar Primary (£47,350) and St. Serf’s Primary (£79,300) in the Dunfermline constituency are among six in Fife to participate in the Attainment Scotland Fund Schools Programme.

Four schools in the Dunfermline constituency have benefitted over the last two years from the £1.5 million Access to Education Fund. The table below shows the funding received by these schools from the fund over the past two years, together with the figures for Fife as a whole.

The government does not routinely provide funding directly to schools but rather provides resources to local authorities through the general revenue grant for them to allocate on the basis of local needs and priorities. The government's education and lifelong learning budget covers early years provision; support for children and families; some aspects of school education; further and higher education; university research, innovation and knowledge exchange; science; and community and adult learning and development. It would therefore be misleading to provide the individual school funding figures as percentages of the total education budget.

Over 2015-16 and 2016-17 the Scottish Government’s total capital investment is estimated to exceed £8 billion and we remain committed to investing in our infrastructure and helping to support economic activity and the delivery of public services in communities across Scotland including those in Fife.

Whether it is though the Scotland Schools for the Future Programme, or the use of innovative financial models such as tax increment financing and the Growth Accelerator Model, or via house builders and housing associations through the National Housing Trust and the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, the Scottish Government, together with the Scottish Futures Trust, is working closely with local authorities and other partners to deliver local investment that supports regeneration and growth.

The emergency food fund has not provided funding in Dunfermline. Two projects have been funded in the Mid Scotland and Fife Region:

The emergency food fund was allocated via a panel of expert partners using a set assessment criteria. While the assessed score was the main criterion used to select projects, the panel reserved the right to ensure an appropriate mix of projects received funding. The Scottish Government is unable to comment on the basis of individual funding decisions.

The Scottish Government is currently considering its future funding strategy for food poverty-related activity. Decisions will be based on recommendations from the independent short-life working group, chaired by Martin Johnstone, Secretary of the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council, which has been asked to consider the issues which push people into food poverty and will make recommendations to ministers in 2016.

Business start-ups are measured using new business VAT/PAYE registration figures. These figures are available from the Office for National Statistics Business Demography publication. These figures exclude business start-ups which fall below the VAT threshold or are not registered for PAYE.

Business start-up figures are not published for Scottish parliamentary constituencies or regions. However, business start-up figures are published for the Fife local authority area; these data for 2007 to 2014 are provided in the following table.

Business start-ups, Fife local authority area, 2007 to 2014

Source: Business Demography 2014, Office for National Statistics

Note that the figures for 2007 were particularly high, in part, due to a change in business behaviour in response to a change in tax legislation in 2007.

Scottish Government officials met with Fife College on 4 September 2015 to discuss overall plans for the new Fife College campus. The Scottish Government has separately sought, and received, assurance from the SFC that Fife College is fully aware of the Town Centre First Principle and is applying it to its decision making process. In addition, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners Rights wrote to the Scottish Funding Council on 8 December 2015 to highlight the importance of the Town Centre First Principle and to seek its support in implementing the principle when considering capital investments.

The Town Centre Action Plan recognises that Scotland’s town centres can be a central component of successful local economies. It sets out the appropriate conditions for recovery and offers a range of actions which might be tailored to meet both local circumstances and the priorities of local communities by supporting the wider public, private and community sectors to regenerate town centres. This includes our agreement with COSLA on the town centre first principle.

To highlight progress, we published the Town Centre Action Plan – One Year On report in November 2014. We will publish a two year update report in 2016 that will capture the learning stemming from the demonstration phase of the action plan.

We also published the town centre toolkit. This free online resource gives communities information and advice on how they can make their town centres more attractive, active and accessible. It is being hosted and promoted by Scotland's Towns Partnership through their website http://www.scotlandstowns.org/.