Chamber and committees

accines are approved through an established four nations basis framework and the current approved vaccines are those used by the NHS as part of the UK rollout, as well as those approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or from an eligible country using the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen vaccines. We do not currently accept others such as the Sinopharm vaccine at this time. This is based on clinical advice and represents a consistent approach across the four nations.

To qualify under the fully vaccinated rules for travel to Scotland, you must have been fully vaccinated with a full course of an approved vaccine under:

• the UK or UK overseas vaccination programme
• the United Nations vaccine programme for staff and volunteers
• an approved programme in one of the programmes found on the link below

Approved COVID-19 vaccines and countries with approved COVID-19 proof of vaccination - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Those who do not meet the COVID-19 vaccine eligibility criteria must continue to take a pre-departure test, self-isolate for 10 days upon arrival and take day 2 and 8 tests. All arrivals from red list countries must continue to book and stay for 10 days in a managed isolation hotel.

Travel restrictions are in place to prevent cases of COVID-19 being imported to Scotland. Travel restrictions will be in place as long as they are required and Scottish Government will continue to liaise with affected groups and stakeholders over any restrictions and exemptions that may apply.

To qualify under the fully vaccinated rules for travel to Scotland, you must have been fully vaccinated with a full course of an approved vaccine under:

• the UK or UK overseas vaccination programme
• the United Nations vaccine programme for staff and volunteers

Approved COVID-19 vaccines and countries with approved COVID-19 proof of vaccination - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In November 2020, we announced that the Rural and Island Housing Fund would be extended beyond March 2021 with up to £30 million made available to support development of affordable homes in rural and island areas across Scotland in the current Parliamentary term.

The fund is part of the wider Affordable Housing Supply Programme which supports delivery of affordable homes across Scotland including in rural and island areas.

The Scottish Government’s consultation on the regulation of electricians closed on 12 February 2021. All responses were analysed and a report was published on 23 March 2021. A link to the report can be found on the consultation web page at https://consult.gov.scot/energy-and-climate-change-directorate/a-consultation-on-the-regulation-of-electricians In addition, on the same web page can be viewed the submitted responses where consent had been given to publish the response. The Scottish Government is currently considering its response to the consultation and key stakeholders will be updated in due course.

Through our Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP), nearly £328 million is being made available to the Highland and three Island local authority areas over this Parliamentary term to support the delivery of affordable homes.

Within the AHSP there is a strong focus on enhancing energy efficiency through incentivising delivery of new homes which meet a higher ‘greener’ standard.

We have also committed to new homes delivered by Registered Social Landlords and local authorities being zero emissions homes by 2026.

The recently announced Social Security Scotland recruitment campaign will support the effective national roll-out delivery of Child Disability Payment and, in due course, Adult Disability Payment in line with our values of dignity, fairness and respect. This will also provide capacity to process new claims and support the transfer of existing cases from the Department of Work and Pensions. In 2022-2023 alone this will ensure that payments in excess of £2.2 billion are made safely and securely to over 400,000 people with lasting health conditions or disabilities. In addition, we are also building capacity for the introduction of further benefits beyond Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment, including Scottish Carers Allowance.

The Scottish Government provides Sustrans with funding to maintain and extend the National Cycle Network (NCN) in Scotland, with £4.065 million this financial year alone. And where the NCN interacts with the trunk road network, Sustrans and Transport Scotland work in partnership to ensure the best possible outcome is achieved for specific projects. Intentions to explore improvements to the National Cycle Network in the south west are included within Sustrans Scotland’s 30 year National Cycle Network Plan. See link: Paths for Everyone - Sustrans.org.uk

Also, the South West Scotland Transport Study, published in January 2020, included a recommendation to develop the Strategic Active Travel Network in the South West of Scotland. This option included proposals to better connect communities to key destinations, including cycle paths parallel to trunk roads and improvements to the National Cycle Network. This intervention is currently subject to detailed appraisal as part of Phase 2 of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).

Once complete, STPR2 will inform strategic transport investment in Scotland for the next 20 years, including decisions on new active travel infrastructure. STPR2 will conclude later this year, with publication of recommendations for investment and be followed by the appropriate statutory consultation period.

The Apprenticeship Levy is a tax on employers, introduced by the UK Government in 2017, and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) hold the data on what is raised through the Apprenticeship Levy.

The Scottish share of Apprenticeship Levy receipts received through the block grant continues to be invested in wider skills, training and employability to meet the needs of employers, the workforce and Scotland’s economy.

The Scottish Government receives some raw data from HMRC on what is raised through the Apprenticeship Levy and has carried out some analysis which suggests that in both 2017-18 and 2018-19, approximately 60 percent of the Apprenticeship Levy contribution in Scotland was from the private sector, 34 per cent from the public sector and 6 per cent from the non-profit making bodies and mutual associations. However, the data that we receive does not enable a full breakdown analysis of each sector.

More recent sector level analysis from 2019-20 is not yet available.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) are currently engaged with criminal justice partners, including the Police Service of Scotland, Transport Scotland and the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service to develop relevant infrastructure and guidance for the possible introduction of Speed Awareness Courses in Scotland.

The possible introduction of Speed Awareness Courses in Scotland requires enabling legislation. The United Kingdom Government has introduced the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which is currently being considered by the House of Lords. The Bill includes provision for police forces in England and Wales to recover costs from drivers who are the subject of a road traffic diversionary courses.

Whilst the Bill does not include substantive provision to allow Police Scotland to recover costs from drivers, the Bill makes provision for the Secretary of State to make such provision for Scotland, similar to that provided for in England and Wales, by statutory instrument. Any such provision by statutory instrument would require to be made following passage of the Bill.

We recently launched the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board to help develop new proposals for sustainable farming support by considering the Climate Change Plan Update and the Farmer-led Groups recommendations. This was one of our 100 days commitments and will help Scottish agriculture become more economically and environmentally sustainable.

Today the Scottish Government is announcing “The National Test Programme”, a £51m package to assist farmers, crofters and land managers to transition to a system of sustainable agriculture that will reduce GHG emissions and enhance biodiversity in our agricultural landscape.

The package is a twin track approach made up of two components:

Track 1 is to encourage farmers to improve their knowledge of current environmental performance and efficiency, and will allow all those in receipt of a basic Agricultural Support payment to make a start in addressing GHG emissions reduction for their businesses. This will include the following;

• Substantial public support for Carbon audits and Nutrient Management Plans .
• The establishment of a Livestock Data Performance Feedback Scheme.

Track 2 is to design and test the tools and process necessary to reward land managers for the climate and biodiversity outcomes they deliver. It will create a robust understanding of how new conditions or activities could be applied to future support, and to ensure delivery of environmental outcomes in a way that supports sustainable businesses. This will be a more detailed design and test how measuring environmental performance of farms will be managed in future and include;

• The creation of a Conditionality Test Programme.
• The instigation of an Active Livestock Management initiative for suckler beef farms.