Chamber and committees

Under the Environment Act 1995 and associated regulations all Scottish local authorities are required to regularly assess air quality in their areas against objectives for several pollutants of concern for human health, including PM2.5 particulate matter. If any objective is found to be exceeded, or at risk of being exceeded, the authority concerned is required to declare an Air Quality Management Area and produce an action plan setting out how it will address the issues identified. These action plans are agreed by both the Scottish Government and SEPA.

To date no local authority has identified an exceedance of the PM2.5 objective relating to the Scotch whisky industry. However this is kept under regular review, with all authorities required to submit an annual air quality progress report to the Scottish Government. Should the situation change in any local authority area, we would expect the necessary action to be taken.

Following the UK’s exit from the EU on 31 December 2020, the EU State aid regime was effectively revoked from UK law from 1 January 2021 and therefore ceased to apply in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Scottish Government continue to work under the interim Subsidy Control regime introduced by the UK Government on 1 January 2021 and provisions held within the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Alongside this, consideration has to be given to any further UK Subsidy Control obligations such as World Trade Organisation membership and commitments arising from international treaties and Fair Trade Agreements to which the United Kingdom is a party. However, our preference is to continue to align with EU State aid rules as a safe harbour for interventions and to help facilitate any future accession arrangements.

Scottish Government has regularly engaged with public bodies prior to the UK’s exit from the EU and from 1 January 2021 to keep them abreast of Subsidy Control requirements, issuing technical guidance and information received via colleagues in UK Government. This is an ongoing process.

The Scottish Government has consistently called for the furlough scheme to remain in place for as long as it is needed to support businesses as we move through recovery. Whilst the figures show those on furlough are reducing, there is still a significant number of jobs which continue to be supported by this scheme. The Scottish Government is doing all it can to protect Scotland’s economy and ensure that as many people as possible on furlough keep their jobs.

We recognise that this is an extremely difficult time for businesses of all kinds across Scotland and we are doing everything we can with the limited powers available to us to support the hospitality sector.

More detailed information on the support that is available for Hospitality can be found here:

Financial Support for Tourism - COVID-19 | VisitScotland.org .

We regularly assess workforce requirements across the whole of the Scottish economy, including in construction.

The construction industry is a core sector of the Scottish economy, providing infrastructure to businesses across all sectors of the economy. We are aware that the pandemic and Brexit may impact on the supply of labour in this sector.

For a successful recovery and to ensure no one is left behind we have a heavy focus on employability and skills. We continue to support our apprentices during these challenging times, including those in the construction sector, and have introduced additional interventions, such as an enhanced Adopt an Apprentice programme, to encourage employers to recruit and retain apprentices supporting the long-term future of work-based learning and the economy. In addition, we supported a range of skills-related activity, including supporting 5,033 people into modern apprenticeships in the construction sector during 2020-21. In 2021-22 we will invest more than £1bn to drive forward our national ambition for jobs and to equip our workforce with the future skills it needs.

The Construction Recovery Plan launched in 2020 sets out a range of short, medium and longer term actions to support employment, fairness of work, encourage new entrants into the sector, and address upskilling and reskilling needs to enable the sector adapt to technological change and net zero carbon in the built environment.

The forensic analysis of digital items and the management of any backlog are matters for the Chief Constable and Police Scotland.

Police Scotland are committed to providing the best possible service to the victims of crime and witnesses and will only examine a digital device where there is a legal basis and where it is necessary, justified and proportionate to the incident or crime under investigation. The number of digital items in Police Scotland’s possession currently awaiting forensic analysis demonstrates the importance of examination of digital devices for modern criminal investigations. Police Scotland recognises the demand in this complex area and consideration is being given to investment in additional staffing, technology and partnerships in order to enhance their existing capabilities in this area.

Police Scotland’s recently published Cyber Strategy and ongoing strategic Cyber Capabilities Project is evidence of their prioritisation of cyber related demand.

Police Scotland are using their internal management information, detailing how many Cyber Kiosk examinations have been progressed in the previous month, to assist in identifying areas for improvement and to enable them to move forward in this complex area.

The Scottish Government is committed to working closely with local authorities on the shared national endeavour to tackle the global climate emergency by achieving net zero emissions by 2045, recognising that local climate action is crucial to achieving our national climate ambitions.

Through the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, we have provided new powers for local authorities to introduce Low Emission Zones to improve air quality. We are also providing other forms of support to local government including the Green Growth Accelerator which will unlock £200m of investment in local authorities for emissions reduction infrastructure, and supporting local authorities to develop Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies and accompanying delivery plans.

More broadly, the joint Local Governance Review with COSLA is considering how powers and resources are shared between national and local government, to ensure that we are doing all we can to achieve our shared national outcomes.

We have been able to introduce a policy of exempting people from self-isolation where they arrive from an amber list countries and have been fully vaccinated as part of the UK rollout. Those who have been exempted must show evidence at the point of entering Scotland that they have received a full course of the vaccine and 14 days have passed since the final dose. The exemption from amber list country for fully vaccinated individuals only applies to self-isolation and day 8 tests, and those applicable must still follow the other rules, including taking tests prior to their departure and on or before day 2 once in Scotland.

This change applied to people coming into the country from 19 July onwards and therefore those who arrived in Scotland before then are unable to leave self-isolation until they have completed the 10 days or are otherwise exempt.

My officials have sought confirmation on this issue from panel members. There are 25 panel members, of whom 18 have responded to date.

Of those responses:

• 1 member of the 2018 panel and 3 members of the 2020-21 panel had a role in designing BS 8414;
• 1 member of the 2018 panel and 2 members of the 2020-21 panel have worked for organisations that carry out BS 8414 tests on behalf of commercial sponsors; and

Once a full response is received I will provide an update on the above information.

The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 sets out a statutory duty for local authorities to provide adoptive families with the support that they require, like the provision of counselling, guidance and any other assistance in relation to the adoption process that the local authority considers appropriate in the circumstances of that particular case.

As the support required by adopters and their families varies significantly from case to case, the Act provides the flexibility for individualised support plans to be developed to best meet the needs of families, at a time that is right for them.

The Promise Report of the Independent Care Review made it clear that adoption has an important role in providing permanent, loving nurturing home and set out that an adoption placement should not be the conclusion of the support offered to adoptive families. The Promise makes clear that all families need support to thrive. Through the work of the Family Support Delivery Group we are working in partnership with the third sector, statutory services and across government to deliver a vision that ensures all families can access the right support when they need it for as long as they need it, aligned with the implementation of the Promise.

The current guidance, updated on 3 August Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on reducing the risks in schools - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) , remains that face coverings will continue to be worn by staff in communal areas in all schools, and in classrooms by staff and pupils in secondary schools, for up to 6 weeks. However, I am acutely aware that some young people find this challenging. Therefore the Scottish Government guidance on face coverings , which is referenced in guidance for schools, does set out some exemptions, including when communicating with someone who relies on lip reading and facial expressions to communicate.

The decision to retain the use of face coverings in schools has been taken after very careful consideration, especially with regard to face coverings in classrooms. But at the moment, our judgement remains that this is the best way to protect children, young people and staff in the school environment. This approach is in line with the latest recommendations of the Advisory Sub-group on Education and Children’s issues and is kept under regular review in light of emerging scientific evidence and advice.