Chamber and committees

Statistics from the ONS Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) survey provide estimates of renewable employment statistics in Scotland. No data is available to provide additional geographic breakdowns below the Scotland level at present.

As the following table shows, the estimated number of direct jobs in renewable electricity was 9,200 in 2021, up from 5,600 in 2017.

The Scottish Government home education guidance sets out the legal position on home education and provides advice on the roles and responsibilities of local authorities and parents in relation to children who are home educated.

This guidance is currently in the process of being updated following consultation with local authorities, other public, community and voluntary sector bodies and home educators and their relevant representative bodies. Scottish Government will engage further with stakeholders part of this process and we expect the publication of the refreshed home education guidance to be later this year. Officials will ensure that stakeholders and the public will be notified of the publication date.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-25533 on 21 February 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

Management of the Post Office is a reserved matter for the UK Government, and the Scottish Government has no role in the investigation of miscarriages of justice, which is a matter for the independent Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Issues regarding the Post Office’s Horizon IT system were in the public domain from 2009.

The first record the Scottish Government has of any official or minister being made directly aware of any concerns regarding the Post Office’s Horizon IT system, is in an email from a member of the public dated 23 January 2020 addressed to the then First Minister. This email related to calls for a Public Inquiry into the Horizon IT system, a matter which is reserved and falls into the responsibility of the UK Government.

The Scottish Government was first formally made aware of concerns regarding the Post Office’s Horizon IT system by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) on 2 July 2020, at quarterly sponsorship meeting with Scottish Government officials.

Following this, on 29 September 2020 the then Cabinet Secretary for Justice was made aware by officials in the Scottish Government that the SCCRC intended to write out to 73 people with criminal convictions potentially affected by issues arising from the Post Office’s Horizon computer system, and encouraging all those who may have suffered a miscarriage of justice to make contact with it.

We are engaging with a range of stakeholders including local authority employers, university providers and the teaching unions to work collectively to raise the profile of teaching as a highly rewarding career.

Work is ongoing and we would expect to confirm a set of actions by the end of this academic year.

I wrote to the Ardrossan Task Force on the 27 November 2023 to advise that the business case and cost review exercise for the Ardrossan Harbour project is currently being progressed. Transport Scotland and our project partners continue to make progress in the development of the business case and the updated cost estimate reviews with additional information expected in February. Once the business case review has been compiled, a meeting of the taskforce can be arranged, allowing the outcomes of the business case and cost exercise to be shared.

We continue to work with partners on the development of a digital strategy for education.

The Small Vessel Replacement Programme (SVRP) will see Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) procure up to 10 small vessels across two phases which will serve the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service network. This will provide modern, standardised vessels that are capable of as close to zero emission operation as possible.

As part of the programme, CMAL will undertake associated enabling works to the shore side infrastructure to provide suitable shore power supply for charging batteries onboard. The work is progressing in relation to the Port feasibility studies for the relevant projects and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks and Scottish Power are involved in carrying out feasibility studies for the shore side power availability.

Ministers are currently considering the outline business case for SVRP and an update will be provided once a decision on investment has been taken. Cold ironing (shore charging) projects associated with the new Islay vessels and Little Minch vessels are also underway ahead of their delivery.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS has agreed prison officer staffing complements which are tailored to the needs of each establishment and agreed in partnership with the Prison Officers Association (Scotland).

On 2 February 2024 (the most recent data available), SPS had 59 prison officer vacancies across the prison estate, which is a 1.8% vacancy rate.

The Framework for Tax has since been superseded by our commitment in last year’s Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) to develop our strategic approach to tax as part of this year’s MTFS publication. This will be published for public consultation with the MTFS in spring 2024.