Chamber and committees

Under the current constitutional arrangements in the United Kingdom the application process for all immigration routes is fully reserved to the UK Government and is dealt with by the Home Office. If a displaced person from Ukraine has been issued a visa, including under the Scottish Super Sponsor Scheme, they are free to travel anywhere within the UK or to leave and re-enter the UK when they wish, as long as they are meeting the conditions within their visa. The cross border geographical movement, within the UK, which includes that between Scotland and England is not monitored and the data requested is therefore not available.

I am committed to finding a way to meet the Programme for Government pledge to consider how best to provide free bus travel for people seeking asylum in Scotland. A short-term pilot led by the Refugee Survival Trust and third sector partners in Glasgow commenced on Monday 30 January and will run until July. A report will be produced by the Refugee Survival Trust and included in consideration of the Scottish Government's next steps towards meeting our commitment.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy has now been published and is available here:

Strategy - https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781805259275

Executive Summary - https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781805259282

Easy Read - https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781805259299

Having reviewed our progress on the accompanying Delivery Plan and Workforce Action Plan, we now intend to carry out further engagement over the summer period to develop these further. We now intend to publish these supporting documents in the Autumn.

The comment I made during the members’ business debate on motion S6M-09174 on 22 June 2023, was in reference to contributions to the Scottish Government consultation Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation.

An analysis report of responses to the consultation has now been published and is available to view at: Landreform in a Net Zero nation: consultation analysis . In particular, section 2 of the analysis report (Criteria for large-scale holdings) and section 11 (Assessing impact) consider responses to the proposed threshold, and any potential unintended consequences of the policy. In addition to this analysis report, where permission was granted by respondents, consultation responses have been published in full .

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

Transport Scotland, acting on behalf of Scottish Ministers, is a statutory consultee in the planning process on developments that affect the trunk road network, including the A1 at Reston. In support of the Reston station development, Transport Scotland undertook a review of the submitted Transport Assessment prepared by the developer.

The results of the junction assessment showed that there were no significant adverse operational impacts on the A1/B6438 junction as a result of predicted development traffic associated with the Reston Station development.

Each year Transport Scotland, through its Operating Companies, undertakes a review of collisions on the trunk road network to identify cluster sites, or routes with recorded collisions that may be worthwhile of further investigation. This evidence led approach ensures that resources can be targeted at locations where the greatest potential for casualty reduction is available. The most recent screening process did not identify the A1/B6438 junction as a priority site for further investigation, however Transport Scotland will continue to monitor road safety at this location.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19355 on‎ 29 June 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 am pleased to announce that the second Annual Report on our progress towards implementing Scotland’s Vision for Trade is being published today.

The Vision positions trade strategically in support of our wider economic, social and environmental ambitions. Since our last Annual Report, published in Spring 2022, we have used the levers available to the Scottish Government to support the delivery of NSET, help meet our climate targets and to align economic growth with our ambitions for building a wellbeing economy. The report outlines in particular the steps we have taken to improve the trading environment for Scottish goods and services, to build our evidence base on the differential impacts of trade, to put human rights at the centre of our trade policy, and to showcase Scotland’s leadership on environmental regulation at a multilateral level.

Recognising that many trade levers do not sit with the Scottish Government, we have continued to scrutinise and contribute to the UK Government’s proposals for each new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and, in the case of US States, any new Memoranda of Understanding on trade. We have assessed these against our trade policy principles, so that they best serve the interests of Scotland’s economy, people and the planet.

We have also continued to engage in open dialogue on trade policy with individuals, businesses, academics and other organisations, in Scotland and elsewhere. This second Annual Report details, for example, the creation of a Scottish Services Trade Forum, an avenue for services businesses to directly inform our approach to trade, as well as stakeholder roundtables on regulation, differential impacts, climate and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). As we move into the third year of implementing Scotland’s Vision for Trade , we will continue to work in collaboration with our stakeholders and businesses to enhance the impact of trade in our wellbeing economy.

The Scottish Government’s Fisheries Management Strategy sets out a clear approach for managing sea fisheries in partnership with our stakeholders in a way that balances environmental, social and economic interests.

Sustainability is at the heart of how we manage Scotland’s fisheries, and an important part of protecting spawning cod in the Firth of Clyde is through a targeted seasonal closure, in the same way as we protect spawning cod in other parts of our seas. We have authorised a full closure of the spawning grounds in the last two years, without exemptions, following a reassessment of the knowledge of these spawning grounds.

As this closure is implemented on a biennial basis, we are now undertaking a public consultation which will run for 12 weeks to gather views on the continuation of the closure for 2024 and 2025. The consultation will run from 30 June to 22 September 2023 on Citizen Space. The consultation is available at https://consult.gov.scot/marine-scotland/firth-of-clyde-cod-spawning-closure-for-2024-25/

A partial BRIA has been produced alongside the consultation document and we will be seeking further information from stakeholders to input into the final BRIA following the consultation period.

We have a strong record of engaging with stakeholders and I would encourage all to respond to this consultation.

The consultation reports can be found here:

https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781805259701

https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781805259718

Ferguson Marine Engineering Limited (FMEL) was put into administration in 2019 and since then the company has been dissolved. Operating the Crane at Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow is classed as an operational matter for Ferguson Marine as such the Scottish Government does not hold this information.