Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has consistently maintained the employed status element of the modern apprenticeship (MA) programme here in Scotland, linking apprenticeship opportunities to real, sustainable jobs. The availability of places in any sector is therefore reliant upon demand from employers to participate in the MA programme.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) publish statistical information about the modern apprenticeship (MA) programme on a quarterly basis. Year end statistics for 2015-16 were published on 7 June 2016, and can be accessed here:

https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/41664/modern-apprenticeship-statistics-quarter-4-2015-16-2-1.pdf

From these published statistics, I can advise that modern apprenticeship starts in the construction and related framework grouping have increased since 2012-13, as shown:

2012-13: 3,787

2013-14: 4,435

2014-15: 4,409

2015-16: 4,894

Human rights are at the heart of Scotland’s constitutional settlement. They are fundamental to the work of the Scottish Government, our Parliament and all of Scotland’s public authorities. They are reflected in our national laws and directly inform public policy decisions.

The Scottish Government is already taking action in areas identified in submissions to the UN Committee, including tackling the gender pay gap, combatting poverty, mitigating the impact of welfare reform and improving access to housing.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to working with civil society partners through Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights (SNAP), and with the people of Scotland as a whole, to give further and better effect to the internationally-recognised human rights to which we are all entitled, and to realise the shared vision of a Scotland where everyone is able to live with human dignity.

It is unacceptable in 2016 that a gender pay gap still exists and that women continue to be paid less than men for work of equal value.

It is encouraging to see however that Scotland is making progress in addressing the gender pay gap. At 10.6% for the mean and 7.3% for the median measurements, Scotland has a lower gender pay gap than the UK (13.9% and 9.4% respectively) and we have plans to reduce it further.

We are using the powers available to us to ensure greater transparency in equal pay reporting in the Scottish public sector. Until recently the law applied only to public bodies with more than 150 employees in Scotland. However, in February 2016 the Scottish Government extended the law and it now applies to public bodies with more than 20 employees.

In relation to public sector boards in Scotland, the Scottish Government will also use additional powers as part of the Scotland Act 2016 to introduce legislation requiring gender balance on the boards of public bodies. In 2015, for the first time, Scottish Ministers appointed more women than men (54%) to the boards of regulated public bodies in Scotland. The Scottish Government does not however, have power to extend these legal duties to the private sector in Scotland but we are encouraging employers to sign up to voluntary initiatives such as the partnership for change. since its launch, 180 public bodies, third sector organisations and private companies have signed up to the partnership.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with our national skills body, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) undertakes range of activity to encourage more modern apprenticeships (MA) in construction and related sectors. This includes:

Prioritising key and enabling sectors, including opportunities in construction, within the annual MA target, which this year has increased to 26,000 starts;

The development of a skills investment plan (SIP) for construction published in March 2015. The construction SIP provides a blueprint for the public sector and industry to work collaboratively to address skills issues now and in the future, with a key focus on attracting future talent and building pathways into the sector.

Developing wider apprenticeship opportunities in the civil engineering area of construction though foundation apprenticeships in the senior phase of school and graduate level apprenticeships with Scottish Universities.

Working with construction industry training board (CITB) through the annual Scottish apprenticeship week campaign and the annual Scottish apprenticeship awards.

As a result there has been an increase in the number of construction related MA opportunities between 2010-11 and 2015-16, as set out in the following table:

MA Starts to Construction and Related Frameworks

Year	Starts
2010-11	3,109
2011-12	3,795
2012-13	3,787
2013-14	4,435
2014-15	4,409
2015-16	4,894

Data by industry sector is not held. However, the number of properties the large business supplement is estimated to apply to in respect of 2016-17, by local authority area and by property classification type, are as follows.

(a) by local authority area

Local Authority Area	Number of Properties
Aberdeen City	2,324
Aberdeenshire	1,107
Angus	405
Argyll and Bute	349
Clackmannanshire	144
Dumfries and Galloway	552
Dundee City	944
East Ayrshire	415
East Dunbartonshire	302
East Lothian	325
East Renfrewshire	225
Edinburgh, City of	3,910
Eilean Siar	117
Falkirk	676
Fife	1,618
Glasgow City	4,740
Highland	1,396
Inverclyde	303
Midlothian	369
Moray	364
North Ayrshire	500
North Lanarkshire	1,548
Orkney Islands	96
Perth and Kinross	720
Renfrewshire	963
Scottish Borders	421
Shetland Islands	146
Local Authority Area	Number of Properties
South Ayrshire	564
South Lanarkshire	1,476
Stirling	571
West Dunbartonshire	415
West Lothian	1,114
All Scotland	29,119

(b) by property type

Property Type	Number of Properties
Advertising	20
Care Facilities	986
Communications	90
Cultural	198
Education and Training	2,401
Garages and Petrol Stations	447
Health and Medical	756
Hotels	960
Industrial Subjects	6,082
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	1,213
Not in Use	1
Offices	5,192
Other	342
Petrochemical	79
Public Houses	851
Public Service	1,251
Quarries, Mines, etc.	123
Religious	233
Shops	7,507
Sporting	59
Statutory Undertaking (utility)	328
All types	29,119

Based on number of properties on valuation roll as at 1 April 2016

The Scottish Government will monitor local discretionary rates relief awarded under powers created by Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act.

Ken Barclay has been appointed as chair of the group to review non-domestic rates and announcements on additional members will be made shortly.

Additional non-domestic rates income generated in each local authority area from the increase in the large business supplement is estimated to be as follows in 2016-17.

Local Authority	Estimated Additional Revenue (£m)
Aberdeen City	5.0
Aberdeenshire	2.1
Angus	0.6
Argyll and Bute	0.7
Clackmannanshire	0.3
Dumfries and Galloway	0.9
Dundee City	1.6
East Ayrshire	0.6
East Dunbartonshire	0.5
East Lothian	0.5
East Renfrewshire	0.3
Edinburgh, City of	8.7
Eilean Siar	0.1
Falkirk	1.7
Fife	4.1
Glasgow City	8.7
Highland	2.7
Inverclyde	0.5
Midlothian	0.7
Moray	0.8
North Ayrshire	0.9
North Lanarkshire	2.6
Orkney Islands	0.2
Perth and Kinross	1.1
Renfrewshire	2.3
Scottish Borders	0.6
Shetland Islands	0.6
South Ayrshire	0.9
South Lanarkshire	7.2
Stirling	1.0
West Dunbartonshire	1.9
West Lothian	2.0
Scotland	62.4

*Figures are an estimate based on valuation roll and billing system snapshot data.

Certain local authorities collect non-domestic rates on behalf of utilities located in other areas, which may make those appear to collect disproportionate amounts.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) publish statistical information about the modern apprenticeship (MA) programme, including a breakdown by framework followed, on a quarterly basis. Year end statistics for 2015-16 were published on 7 June 2016, and can be accessed here: -https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/41664/modern-apprenticeship-statistics-quarter-4-2015-16-2-1.pdf

I can advise that, from the year end statistics, there were 4,894 MA starts in construction and related sectors in 2015-16, out of a total 25,818 MA starts.

We aim to publish the findings of the review in July 2016 and to announce our response to its recommendations at the same time.