Chamber and committees

A working group to consider the future of the of the legal profession in Scotland has been convened and will be jointly chaired by the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, the Law Society of Scotland, and the Faculty of Advocates. The purpose of the group is to examine the evidence and propose improvements to address the challenges of recruitment and retention within the legal profession and to provide support for the planning, collaboration, and improvement of legal services in Scotland.

The first meeting of the short life working group will be held on 25 April 2023, and invitations have already been issued to members of the Group. Future meetings of the Group have been confirmed for 30 August 2023 and 5 December 2023. 

The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on the 20 April 2023. This was developed in response to a consultation that was developed in collaboration with consumers and the legal profession and responses to that public consultation.

As the Bill progresses through parliament, we will continue to engage with key stakeholders from the consumer and legal side, to collaboratively consider reform of the regulation of legal services, to provide for a modern regulatory framework for Scotland that will best promote competition, innovation and the public and consumer interest in an efficient and independent legal sector.

Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.

Officials across the Scottish Government regularly engage with gender equality stakeholders as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with the Young Women’s Movement as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to advancing gender equality and our work to increase the participation of women in politics and eradicate violence against women and girls.

Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.

Officials across the Scottish Government regularly engage with gender equality stakeholders as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with Close the Gap as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to advancing gender equality and our work to support employers address gender pay gaps across Scotland. A representative also sits on the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning group which seeks to tackle the barriers faced by girls and young women in an education setting.

The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) is subject to a programme of regular updates. Specifically, sections are updated as and when amendments are required, due to changes in policy of Scottish Ministers, with the guide also being subject to an annual review. To achieve this SG Financial Management Directorate lead on and liaise annually with policy owners to identify any planned changes to the guide ensuring guidance is updated in real time throughout the year. Significant updates to the guide are communicated to public bodies and to SG via Finance Guidance notes published on the SPFM and provided to Public Bodies via information notices.

The SG is currently undertaking a strategic review of the SPFM during 2023-24. This review will seek to enhance existing processes and frameworks ensuring the SPFM remains up to date, aligned with best practice and accessible to key stakeholders, continuing to promote economy efficiency, effectiveness and high standards of propriety, regularity, and value for money.

In June 2021 draft licensing guidance was published as part of our consultation on the Licensing Order. In March 2022 we published revised guidance for licensing authorities and hosts . Both iterations of guidance were produced in conjunction with our Stakeholder Working Group comprising industry bodies, local authority housing and planning forums, resident and community groups, licensing experts, Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

We are currently in the process of updating both parts of the March 2022 guidance to take account of matters arising since local authority schemes opened in October 2022, including topics discussed and advice provided to the forum of local authority officers facilitated by Scotland’s Housing Network. We are continuing to take a collaborative approach seeking input from licensing authorities and industry stakeholders.

A Planning Circular on control areas and short-term lets was published in June 2021. We intend to publish an updated Planning Circular on short-term lets this month (April 2023).

The purpose of the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act 2022 was to embed reforms in Scotland’s public services and justice system that, though necessitated by the Covid pandemic, have delivered improvements for service users and improved efficiency.

Section 39 enables lawyers to provide specific legal services such as the taking or administering of oaths, affirmations or declarations, and the execution of certain documents, without being in the physical presence of those seeking such legal services.

Section 25 enables the process for registering a birth to be carried out remotely, and for registers to be kept electronically. Section 27 enable the process for registering a death to be carried out remotely, and for registers to be kept electronically. Both replace the process where a registration form required to be signed in the registrar’s physical presence.

There is no intention at this time to review the provisions in the 2020 Act in these areas.

Scottish Ministers have no plans to undertake a formal review of the trunk road network on Skye. The statutory duty to manage, maintain and improve the trunk road network is set out in the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 and places an obligation on Ministers to keep the network under continual review.

In the United Kingdom, trunk roads were first defined in the Trunk Roads Act 1936. There have been two national reviews of the Scottish road network since the Act was introduced. The first was in 1946 and the second in 1994/95. The latter was prompted by the reorganisation of local government in Scotland.

A comprehensive review of the trunk road network on Skye would only be required in response to matters of national significance. We therefore currently have no plans to undertake a formal review of the trunk road network on Skye.

The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), published on 8 December 2022, will inform the Scottish Government’s investment programme over the next 20 years (2022 to 2042). STPR2 has been undertaken in line with the Sustainable Investment Hierarchy, which aims to reduce the need to travel unsustainably and prioritises making best use of and enhancing existing infrastructure, before investing in new capacity.

The STPR2 recommendations include progressing safety improvements across the trunk road and motorway network (recommendation no. 30) with a primary but not exclusive focus on rural sections where accident rates and severities are typically higher. Measures are likely to include one or a combination of junction improvements, carriageway widening, route realignment and provision of overtaking opportunities. At this stage, potential example locations forming part of this recommendation include the A87 Invergarry to Uig with the location and type of improvements on specific routes requiring further detailed investigation.

In addition, climate change adaptation and resilience of the trunk road and motorway network forms STPR2 recommendation 31 and sea wall improvements, strengthening or replacement is a possible intervention in relation to the A87. Furthermore, recommendation 32 is focused on continued investment in the maintenance of a safe, reliable and efficient trunk road and motorway network. It should be noted that the STPR2 recommendations are not funded and will be subject to prioritisation that takes into consideration the fiscal context and availability of funding.

INTOG provides significant support to the delivery of the oil and gas sector’s decarbonisation targets in the North Sea Transition Deal and offers the opportunity for the transfer of skills from one sector to the other.

With INTOG projects, we are supporting growth in the supply chain to service ScotWind and promoting the transfer of knowledge and skills across the energy sectors. We are working with the energy sector to plan for a multi-skilled workforce, one that can benefit from opportunities across the energy system.

Our £500m Just Transition Fund is providing financial support to help energy workers reskill and find good jobs and to build confidence in the potential for a just transition. Funding from the Just Transition Fund has already been allocated to support development of the energy skills passport; to create an advanced manufacturing skills hub in Aberdeen and a pilot scheme with the National Energy Skills Accelerator to determine the skills required for an energy transition.

Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation makes clear that we will launch new skills guarantee for workers in carbon intensive industries and together with Skills Development Scotland, we launched the Green Jobs Workforce Academy, a national long term programme to support the retraining and upskilling needed for the transition to net zero.

INTOG will further support the transfer of skills between renewables and oil and gas sectors, with the 2021 Robert Gordon University's Workforce Review suggesting that more than 90% of the UK’s oil and gas workforces have medium to high skills transferability and are well positioned to work in adjacent energy sectors, and that a majority of offshore workers could be delivering low carbon energy by 2030.

The second meeting in 2023 of the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group was scheduled for 30 March. Following the announcement of the SNP leadership contest, this meeting was postponed and rescheduled for 20 April 2023.

Invites to join our Accessible Housing and Independent Living Stakeholder group were sent in October 2022 and the group had a productive first meeting on 3 November 2022, giving constructive feedback to our Housing for Varying Needs review.

a) Membership of the group includes the following:

• Age Scotland
• Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers
• Carers Trust
• Care & Repair Scotland
• Chartered Institute of Housing
• Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
• Disability Equality Scotland
• Health and Care Directorate
• Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living
• Glasgow Disability Alliance
• Hanover Housing Association
• Healthcare Improvement Scotland
• Housing Options Scotland
• Homes for Scotland
• Housing Support Enabling Unit
• Motor Neuron Disease Scotland
• Our Positive Voice
• Regional Networks Tenant Representatives
• Royal College of Occupational Therapists
• Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
• Scotland’s Housing Network
• Scottish Association of Landlords
• Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities
• Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
• Scottish Older People’s Assembly.

b) The Terms of Reference have yet to be agreed in detail by the group, but its purpose is to advise on the relevant commitments in the Scottish Government’s Housing to 2040 strategy document in relation to Housing for older people and disabled people.