Chamber and committees

The Core Scottish Government has 18 owned buildings. Solar panels are installed at 4 buildings; Victoria Quay Edinburgh, Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) Edinburgh, St Andrews House Edinburgh and Cameron House Oban. 22% of owned buildings have solar panels.

It has not been possible to install solar panels on all owned buildings due to the availability of useable roof space, roof orientation and shading, roof structure and other technical constraints.

We expect the consultation on proposals for introducing regulations on minimum standards of energy efficiency for private housing will take place during 2022. I will work closely with officials to ensure an optimum and effective launch date.

In line with consultation best practice, the duration of the consultation period will last for a minimum of 12 weeks, and may possibly run longer depending on the launch date to ensure a strong response. Details on timelines for the analysis and results of the consultation will be provided in due course.

The funding package to deal with the Omicron crisis was focused on those businesses most severely impacted by the cancellations due to public health advice and re-introduction of regulations on some businesses. The hostel sector whose business model is reliant on accommodating large numbers of (often unrelated) households mixing at one time, was particularly impacted during this period. Similarly hotels with bars and restaurants were particularly affected and therefore made eligible for hospitality top-up payments.

We sympathise with businesses such as self-catering, B&Bs and Guesthouses and others which have also been impacted by COVID-19. However, with limited funds available we have had to focus support on those most severely affected by restrictions. We will continue to consider the impacts of COVID and make the case with the UK Government for more comprehensive support.

Apprenticeships are a key way for all employers to invest in their workforce, providing the skills the economy needs both now and in the future.

Published in December 2020, the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) sets out the actions we need to take to ensure our workforce is able to support the transition to net zero. Agile and responsive work-based learning, including apprenticeships, will support these ambitions and the CESAP notes the importance of developing new work-based learning pathways to capitalise on net-zero opportunities and maximising the uptake of apprenticeships in green jobs.

In this context, the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB) commissioned IFF Research to carry out a consultation with SAAB members, and other employers, covering industry views on the importance of reflecting sustainability into Scottish apprenticeships, and the steps required to achieve this. A final report of findings and recommendations was published in November 2021.

Ministers are due to meet SAAB to discuss its findings on 27 January 2022. Work is already underway to update National Occupational Standards (NOS) and the apprenticeship frameworks for sectors that are critical to the transition, to include mandatory net zero elements. The Scottish Government is also keen to work with SAAB and industry to explore how we can incentivise and increase apprenticeships taking up opportunities on green pathways.

The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board to maximise apprenticeships and prioritise a recovery that creates new jobs, good jobs and green jobs, supporting the long-term future of work-based learning and the economy.

These projects are all being funded from the Scottish Government’s £254 million investment in the North East, which is in addition to the £125 million committed to the Aberdeen City Region Deal in 2016.

Option selection for rail improvements, towards which £200 million has been allocated, is scheduled for completion by the end of March 2022.

Following the publication of Draft Orders, Transport Scotland is currently dealing with objections to the Laurencekirk junction, towards which £24 million has been allocated.

Digital projects, towards which £10 million has been allocated, are progressing as expected. The City Network Extension project, connecting 57 Aberdeen City corporate sites to full fibre was completed in November 2021. The full fibre project in Aberdeenshire is due to be completed by the end of March 2022.

To date, no eligible projects have been submitted for housing infrastructure projects, towards which £20 million has been allocated. Scottish Government officials have been in discussions with officials from Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils to identify suitable projects following the launch of the Housing Infrastructure Fund (Round 2) in October 2021.

Face coverings are recommended in schools for adults and children aged 12 and over. Mitigations to reduce risks in schools and Early Learning Childcare settings including face covering measures, are kept under regular review by the Scottish Government’s Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues. This approach is grounded in evidence and draws on the expert advice of the advisory sub-group. The group last met on 11 January and further details can be found here .

The Scottish Government recommends that face coverings are made of cloth or other textiles and should be two, and preferably three, layers thick in line with WHO recommendations and fit snugly around the mouth, nose and chin while allowing you to breathe easily. A face covering can be a covering of any type, except a face shield, that covers the mouth and nose. There is no requirement for face coverings to meet specific levels of filtration efficiency and breathability.

More information on face covering guidance can be found here and further information on guidance for schools can be found here .

The COVID-19 statistical report which is published weekly includes a section for COVID-19 vaccinations by Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) priority group, including first, second, and third/booster doses for frontline social care workers. This cohort is made up of registered Scottish Social Services Council staff and does not include those without professional registration.

This data can be found at. https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/show-all-releases?id=20580.

The Gateway Review into Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), which was published on 14 December 2021, gives a preparedness estimate of 12-24 months for individual stakeholders including retailers. This informed their judgement that a full implementation date of July-September 2023 was possible albeit with significant risk.

The Gateway Review does not give a breakdown of preparedness estimates for individual businesses. Businesses interviewed separately by SG typically gave ranges of preparedness estimates, which broadly aligned with the findings of the Gateway Review, rather than an exact time.

Wind farm applications under 50MW are considered under planning legislation whilst proposals over 50MW are dealt with under the Electricity Act.

Planning legislation cases

Information on the approval rate of wind farm applications in each local authority area, not determined by Scottish Ministers, is not held centrally. The Scottish Government publishes figures on the approval rate of all planning applications determined by Planning Authorities for different types of development in Scotland. Over the past 5 years the approval rate has been consistently over 93.7% (this includes the development type Electricity Generation, which includes wind farm applications). The information is available on the following website: https://www.gov.scot/collections/planning-statistics/

Scottish Ministers have called-in two planning applications from Orkney Islands Council and issued decisions in 2021 granting consent for both applications.

The following table confirms the position in relation to planning appeals. All bar two of these appeals were decided by reporters from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division of the Scottish Government. The two appeals not decided by reporters were in the Argyll and Bute Council area, one in 2017 and one in 2019, and were both allowed by Scottish Ministers.

The latest published Official Statistics on the number of incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland are for the year to 31 March 2021. In the period from 1 January to 31 March 2021, the Police recorded 14,782 incidents of domestic abuse.

Figures showing police recorded domestic abuse incidents are also published in the monthly data reports on how the pandemic has affected the Justice system in Scotland. In the period from 1 April to 30 June 2021 the police recorded 15,749 incidents of domestic abuse. This data is based on management information provided each month by Police Scotland, based on their administrative data available at that time and will in due course be incorporated into the 2021-22 Official Statistics.

In the period 1 January to 30 June 2021, 16,395 domestic abuse charges were reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). These are reported charges with a domestic abuse identifier. During the same period, 15,096 domestic abuse charges were prosecuted.

It should be noted that information on police recorded incidents of domestic abuse and cases prosecuted by COPFS are not strictly comparable as there is no direct relationship between the number of incidents (and the crimes they involve) recorded by the police and the number of follow-up actions taken by other agencies within the criminal justice system. For example, some incidents of domestic abuse do not involve any crimes or offences being recorded, whereas others may involve multiple crimes which lead to more than one prosecution. There are other comparability issues in that incidents recorded by the police may not be processed by COPFS or the courts in the same period they were recorded.