Chamber and committees

Established in 2001; led and managed by Scottish Enterprise, GlobalScot is a worldwide network of business professionals, entrepreneurs, business leaders and community figureheads, who have a connection to Scotland and work voluntarily to help the wider Scottish business community thrive internationally by providing market intelligence, connections and mentorship. They also act as advisors and advocates in promoting Scotland as a place to live, work, invest and study. GlobalScots were vital in the development of the National Strategy for Economic Transformation, and Sector Export Plans as well as in supporting the delivery of Scotland’s Inward Investment Plan.

As, this is an operational matter for the Scottish Enterprise, who administers the GlobalScot network. I have asked their Chief Executive to respond.

All Ministerial engagements and travel information (including costs) are proactively released 3 months in arrears and available here Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Scottish Government officials make provisional overseas travel plans as part of official government business diary management and planning for Ministers. Until the date of the visit, these are provisional and contingent on Parliamentary Business and other commitments and issues arising.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13979 on 30 January 2023. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14348 on 31 January 2023. 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

Supporting the recovery and when ready, the sustainable exit, of those with experience of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) is a key aspect of the recently published principles which will underpin the developing Framework to challenge men’s demand for prostitution, and support those with experience of it.

The Scottish Government funds a range of services aimed to address commercial sexual exploitation and to support those who may be exploited through it. This includes £700,000, over two years, through the Delivering Equally Safe (DES) Fund to projects tackling commercial sexual exploitation, where the support available can include advice on employment and support to exit CSE. The DES fund also supports the CSE Aware project, which aims to improve awareness within the public and third sector of the support needs which those with experience of CSE may have.

In addition, as part of expanding the reach of Fair Start Scotland, Scottish Government’s devolved employability support service, an employability project is being delivered to support women exit CSE by offering tailored and holistic support, identifying and removing barriers.

Through our Victim Centred Approach Fund we are also providing the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance with £622,000 per annum over a three-year period, to provide support and assistance to women who have been trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation.

The Scottish Government is working in partnership with local authorities, third sector organisations and UK colleagues to assess and mitigate any safeguarding concerns, including the risk of human trafficking relating to displaced people from Ukraine.

This includes chairing a Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy Ukraine sub-group which comprises key operational partners and frontline support services and enables the sharing of trafficking specific information, assessment of ongoing risk and the elevation of any concerns to the Ukraine Safeguarding Strategy Group.

Police Scotland instigated Operation Escarpment to effectively manage and coordinate the required policing response in Scotland. This included human trafficking threat assessments for the Ukrainian diaspora and those arriving who may be vulnerable to exploitation. Potential trafficking and exploitation of displaced people from Ukraine continues to be actively monitored.

The use of digital continues to be a key priority to support better choice and access to health and care services. The Near Me video consultation service has now supported in excess of 1.8m people through appointments since early 2020 across Scotland, avoiding over 60 million miles of unnecessary travel with important benefit for those on Island’s and rural areas. Remote monitoring of conditions is also being prioritised with over 40,000 people now having monitored their blood pressure from home through our Connect Me service with further developments for other conditions underway. Digital for Mental Health has seen significant growth with a range of self-help guides, self-referral therapy and self-management options now available to the public. In addition, NHS Inform continues to be the key place for validated information and support and we continue to encourage people to go to NHS Inform as a first step to help identify the best route of support for that person and their circumstances. Further access to services digitally will be made through the Digital Front Door.

The latest trunk road Network Management Contracts (NMCs) in the two northern units commenced on 16 th August 2022. Both contracts are contracted to run for a minimum eight years and include the trunk roads in the Highlands and Islands. The focus on the new contracts strives for increased quality and innovation which delivers best winter practice in Scotland, serving communities and businesses by operating a safe and efficient network. Overall, from a winter service perspective, there have been significant changes delivered by the NMC contracts. These include enhancing our operational responses during snow events with a particular focus on vulnerable locations, extension of patrol routes as well as a proactive approach in treating our footways. To provide a joined-up approach where trunk road and local authority footpaths intersect, our Operating Companies consult with each respective local authority to agree levels of service provided.

Defects on roads, including potholes, can appear as the result of a number of factors, and it is up to roads authorities to maintain roads that they are responsible for. On the trunk road network, the Operating Companies are required to complete regular safety inspections and safety patrols. Their inspection teams are on the network to identify defects, including potholes, prioritise them based on the potential risk to road safety and where possible repair them or call for back-up.

While specific winter plans sit with Scotland’s Railway delivery partners (Network Rail, ScotRail, and other train and freight operators) Transport Scotland continue to engage with the industry to ensure plans are developed and delivered as required.

The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 introduced a discretionary power for local authorities to implement workplace parking licencing (WPL) schemes. It will be for local authorities to decide whether they wish to implement WPL locally and to shape proposals to suit local circumstances.

To date, no local authorities have implemented a WPL scheme and therefore no revenue has been collected under a WPL scheme.

The Workplace Parking Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2022 require local authorities to notify Scottish Ministers when publishing notification of a scheme proposal. There is no requirement for local authorities to register their interest in introducing a WPL scheme with Scottish Ministers before they have formally published a scheme proposal (such as during initial scoping or exploration of a scheme).

While no notifications of scheme proposals have yet been received, I am aware that local authorities may be considering how best to use the new powers. For example, the City of Edinburgh Council has included plans to take forward a WPL scheme as part of its published City Mobility Plan 2021-2030 and are continuing to scope such a scheme. I am also aware that WPL is under consideration in Glasgow as part of their Local Transport Strategy policy framework.

As per answer to question S6W-13986 on 31 January 2023 there are a number of developments underway to support online triage. However, we do not hold information on the amount spent specifically on online triage.

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