Chamber and committees

Information on PPP/PFI projects in Scotland, including a link to HM Treasury’s list of projects and corresponding capital values and unitary charges, is available online from: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/12308 .

Data of this type is not collected by the Scottish Government.

Data of this type is not collected by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government did however, commission research to consider the reliability of the evidence base internationally on the impacts of the criminalisation of the purchase of sex, and to explore the available knowledge and evidence of prostitution in Scotland. The research reports were published in February last year and can be viewed at http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/02/3333 and http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/02/6562 .

Delivering transformational change in the lives of disabled people is a top priority for this government as set out in detail in A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People which we published in December 2016.

Since then some of the actions we have taken include the launch of a New Independent Living Fund Scheme for young disabled people aged 16-21; the publication of the first ever BSL National Plan, and we have started the second phase of the NHS disabled graduate intern programme alongside extending Modern Apprenticeship funding to disabled people up to age 30. Further, we launched a consultation on setting targets for employing disabled people in the public sector as well as a £1 million Business Engagement Fund to provide businesses with advice on recruiting and retaining disabled staff.

The Scottish Government was pleased to fund the development of a Toolkit for higher education institutions to develop coherent responses to tackling and eradicating violence against women and girls.

My Letter of Guidance to the Scottish Funding Council is clear about my expectation of institutions adopting and working with the Toolkit, which itself builds on good practice in the sector.

I am encouraged by the positive engagement that we have had from the sector through Universities Scotland on this issue.

To support the sector, both Universities and Colleges, I inaugurated a Working Group specifically to look at Equally Safe in Further and Higher Education.

I am pleased that the Sector is already demonstrating action.

Universities Scotland are taking the lead in working with stakeholders including the College Development Network, NUS Scotland, Scottish Women’s Aid and UCU Scotland in developing Support Cards. Work is underway to have these ready by the start of the new academic year and they will contain key national helpline numbers.

Alongside this we are also working with stakeholders on how to make best use of Fresher’s week, parallel colleges arrangements, and beyond, to share information and raise awareness.

The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work visited the United States between 4 and 7 April, attending events and meetings in New Jersey and New York. The visit focused on promoting trade and investment, culture, heritage, innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as engagement with the diaspora network. The visit also marked the 20 th anniversary of Tartan Day in New York.

The relationship between Scotland and America is an important one with deep and long-standing ties reflected by the strong economic, cultural and personal links of our citizens. The US is Scotland’s top source of inward investment, accounting for 35% of projects and is Scotland’s second largest export partner - worth £4.6 billion or 15.9% of all international exports.

Beginning his engagements in Princeton, New Jersey, the Cabinet Secretary attended the Offshore Wind Partnering Forum, meeting senior stakeholders including industry leaders and new and existing global investors in the Scottish renewables sector. Mr Brown emphasised the Scottish Government’s commitment to the future of the industry in Scotland and took the opportunity to support and endorse the Scottish offshore wind community as they built new business opportunities at this key industry partnering event.

The Cabinet Secretary moved on to New York for the pre-launch of Scotland Is Now, the new national brand for Scotland to encourage people to live, work, invest, study and visit Scotland. The preview event was held in partnership with the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), one of America’s most prominent broadcast networks at the iconic Roxy Hotel Cinema in New York.

During the event, the audience were shown a preview of the new Scotland Is Now brand film. Additionally, WNBC host Dave Price chaired a panel discussion on Scotland and the Scotland Is Now campaign. Mr Brown was part of this panel and answered questions from the audience, supporting the new campaign and affirming Scotland’s position as a pioneering, progressive, dynamic and inclusive nation.

On 5 April, the Cabinet Secretary hosted an ‘Invest in Scotland’ business breakfast for potential capital investors from the New York financial community and spoke about the opportunities for investment in Scotland’s key infrastructure projects. He also attended a networking lunch hosted by Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) which allowed him to meet with potential trade and investment partners in the financial services community. He also took the opportunity to recognise ASI as a globally successful financial services firm headquartered in Scotland and engaged with senior members of the ASI team.

In addition to networking with capital investors, the Cabinet Secretary also held meetings with key stakeholders from the oil and gas, transport, technology and life sciences sectors to further promote trade and investment in Scotland.

This included a meeting with the Vice President of JetBlue where the possibility of new routes to Scotland was discussed. Further meetings included engagements with new and existing investors across a range of sectors including energy (BluHaptics and the MerGroup), life sciences (LEIDOS and Orthosensor) and technology (IBM) where Mr Brown had the opportunity to discuss opportunities for Scotland.

The Cabinet Secretary also spoke at the reception held by the St Andrew’s Society of New York which was held to celebrate the 20 th anniversary of Tartan Day. He took the opportunity to thank the St Andrews Society for their charitable work and support for Scottish culture and history. Mr Brown also welcomed diaspora groups to a breakfast commemorating the anniversary. He thanked the groups for their support of Tartan Day over the last 20 years, in addition to their promotion of Scotland and Scottish values more generally.

Mr Brown also met with the President of the World Fair Trade Organisation, Dr Rudi Dalvai and creator of the World Fair Trade Tartan, Tania Pramschufer. The Cabinet Secretary expressed his pride in Scotland’s status as a Fair Trade Nation and affirmed his support for the World Fair Trade Tartan’s efforts to make new trade contacts in the North American market.

The American-Scottish Foundation, a key Diaspora group in New York City, held an event to celebrate National Tartan Day and to commemorate the Declaration of Arbroath. The Cabinet Secretary spoke at this event to acknowledge the bonds of kinship and friendship between Scotland and the USA.

An event supported by Universities Scotland then brought together influential alumni from Scottish universities based in the greater New York area. Mr Brown gave a speech promoting Scotland as a great place to visit, work, study and invest.

The visit culminated in the celebration of the 20 th anniversary of Tartan Day in New York. During the day of celebrations, the Cabinet Secretary met veteran volunteers of the Tartan Day parade to thank them for their service, attended the Kirkin’ of the Tartan and joined the march for the Tartan Day parade. He also took the opportunity to meet Sgoil Lionacleit Pipe Band, a youth pipe band visiting New York to participate in Tartan Day.