Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government maintains regular contact with the hospitality and nigh time trade sectors. This has included engagement on proposals for a domestic vaccine certification programme both before and after the policy announcement, and that dialogue continues at both Ministerial and official level. The Scottish Government completely understands how difficult it has been for the night time industries over the course of the pandemic, they have felt the impact of restrictions more than most. That is why we are pursuing certification as an alternative to the potential closure of high risk venues.

The existing law in this area operates within reserved legislation such as the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 and the Health and Safety etc. Act 1974.

A Members’ Bill was introduced by Claire Baker MSP (entitled the Culpable Homicide (Scotland) Bill) in June 2020 and the Presiding Officer indicated the provisions of the Bill as introduced were not within the competence of the Scottish Parliament.

Our view is that any consideration of reform of culpable homicide as it applies to organisations should only be considered once the Scottish Law Commission’s wider review of Homicide Law is completed in 2023.

The most recent legislative proposals introduced to the Scottish Parliament relating to corporate homicide was certified by the Presiding Officer as not being within the competence of the Scottish Parliament.

Our view is that any consideration of reform of culpable homicide as it applies to organisations should only be considered once the Scottish Law Commission’s wider review of Homicide Law is completed in 2023.

We have not made any such assessment. However, achieving the ambition, set out in our Update to the Climate Change Plan 2018-2032: Securing a Green Recovery on a Path to Net Zero , published in December 2020, to reduce electricity sector emissions to zero before the end of this decade would mean that the energy used for bitcoin mining has no effect on emissions within Scotland.

As set out in our draft Heat in Buildings Strategy - partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment, the estimated average capital cost of converting a home from a fossil fuel boiler to an equivalent zero emission system such as an air source heat pump is just over £12,000. These estimates are sourced from research commissioned by the Climate Change Committee to inform its Sixth Carbon Budget. The cost for an individual dwelling can differ from this average depending on building type, existing levels of energy efficiency and type of heating system being replaced.

The Scottish Government has committed to introducing regulations for zero emissions heat from 2025, subject to confirmation of devolved competence, technological developments, and action by the UK Government in reserved areas. We will consult in further detail in 2022, but it is envisaged that any such regulations will apply to building owners.

The Scottish Government provides a range of financial support to households to help meet the costs of changing from fossil fuel systems to low and zero emissions alternatives. If they meet certain eligibility criteria, households may be able to access fully-funded support through Warmer Homes Scotland, or local authority-led Area-Based Schemes. For other households interest-free Home Energy Scotland Loans with up to 75% cashback grants are available. However, due to the higher unit cost of electricity compared to fossil fuels such as natural gas, urgent decisions are needed by the UK Government to ensure zero emissions running costs are comparable to fossil fuel heating. These include urgent action on energy prices which must be rebalanced.

The Scottish Government and VisitScotland are in close contact with Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park (LLTNPA) and other partners on a regular basis. Working with LLTNP, VisitScotland has led a responsible tourism marketing campaign and developed a national action plan for visitor management to help meet the challenges of the 2021 season while international travel has remained restricted.

The LLTNPA has worked in collaboration with other public bodies to address and manage visitor pressures through the National Park Safe Recovery Action Group. It’s Visitor Management Plans - Respect Protect Enjoy -Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park (lochlomond-trossachs.org) sets out the extensive range of measures and resources put in place for the 2021 season. The partners continue to meet every Monday to discuss emerging issues, solutions and opportunities. It is recognised that some challenges will require longer term solutions.

Localised visitor management groups have also been established this summer. Meetings have been held to ensure stakeholders (communities, land managers, businesses and recreation groups) are informed on the partnership work to manage visitor pressures. Recordings of each session have been published online on our Advice for Communities webpage. These sessions have included signposting to funding.

Funding of £475,000 has been provided by the Scottish Government over the last two years to the National Park to meet the costs associated with additional visitor management pressures following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. In addition to this a further £425,000 has been allocated to mitigate the wider impact of the pandemic on businesses and local communities. This funding has supported increased seasonal staff (such as rangers), toilet provision and signage among other things.

The Scottish Government also increased in the Park Authority’s Capital budget by £540,000 for 2021-22 to deliver visitor infrastructure improvements and develop a capital investment plan to better support visitor management. This also enabled the organisation to establish a £250,000 Green Recovery Fund.

https://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/park-authority/how-we-can-help/funding-grants/national-park-grant-scheme/

LLTNPA has received £100k from Transport Scotland towards a Sustainable Visitor Transport Co-ordination Project and a parallel Shuttle Bus Pilot in 2022 which focuses on visitor hot spots.

The Scottish Government believes that, where appropriate, family cases should be resolved outwith court.

The Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act), which gained Royal Assent on 1 October 2020, contains the following provisions:

• Section 23, which places a duty on Scottish Ministers to set up a scheme to make assistance available so that individuals can meet the costs of alternative dispute resolution procedures; and
• Section 24, which places a duty on Scottish Ministers to arrange a pilot scheme for mandatory alternative dispute resolution meetings.

The provisions are at Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (legislation.gov.uk) .

Work has progressed in these areas, but the provisions will take time to implement. A report on the Scottish Ministers' progress between 1 October 2020 and 1 April 2021 is available: First_Report_Children_(Scotland)_Act_2020_.pdf (parliament.scot) .

We are aware of the UK Government Family Mediation Voucher Scheme and will consider if any lessons can be learnt from this scheme when implementing the 2020 Act provisions.

The Scottish Government gives funding to Relationships Scotland , who provide a number of services including family mediation.

Families where the mother is under the age of 25 and lone parents families are two of the six priority family types identified in the Scottish Government’s Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan as those where children are at greater risk of living in poverty.

Our Delivery Plan sets out wide ranging action to support these families, this includes making £23 million available for our Parental Employability Support Fund since 2019 – with £1 million of investment specifically targeted to enhance support for young parents – helping young parents to progress into and within employment. This is further strengthened through our £70 million investment in the Young Person’s Guarantee, offering every 16-24 year old in Scotland the opportunity of a job, apprenticeship, further or higher education, training programme or volunteering.

We are also providing direct support through our Scottish Child Payment and bridging payments, which will put over £130 million in the pockets of families this year. In addition we are continuing to support organisations such as One Parent Families Scotland and Home Start, which offer support and advice to lone parents, and providing an estimated £45.3 million available this year for awards through our Scottish Welfare Fund and £82 million through Discretionary Housing Payments, which includes £71 million to mitigate the bedroom tax in full.

Through these and other measures we are tackling child poverty head on, with investment to support children in low income households reaching nearly £1 billion in 2020-21.

We call on the UK Government to work with us to tackle child poverty, including by maintaining the £20 uplift to Universal Credit and by restoring the adult rate of benefits for young mothers under 25 – helping to protect the financial wellbeing of these priority families.

The delivery of training by Police Scotland, in Sri Lanka, is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. The current training programme, provided by Police Scotland in Sri Lanka, is aimed at improving community policing and gender equality, with all training underpinned by equality and human rights. The current programme of training in Sri Lanka is currently suspended, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Scottish Government has not made an assessment on the continuation of training by Police Scotland in Sri Lanka as it is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland to agree the details of any training programme. The Scottish Police Authority has responsibility for oversight of Police Scotland and to scrutinise the decisions of the Chief Constable.

COVID-19 case numbers remain high and the winter period ahead will pose significant challenges of increased transmission and related pressure on the National Health Service. Action is therefore needed across all sectors to ensure compliance with baseline COVID-19 mitigations, and it is vital to consider further targeted and proportionate measures that can reduce risk further. Vaccine certification is one such measure. We are working with the hospitality industry to ensure that only those premises regarded as within scope of the policy for domestic vaccine certification are included and definitions will be confirmed in due course.