Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-00457

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 14 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve work-related outcomes for referrals to the Fair Start Scotland service, and what its response is to reports that 89.8% of people referred to the service in South Ayrshire did not achieve a 26-week job outcome after their time in the programme.

The percentages quoted have been calculated using statistics published on the number of job outcomes, broken down by local authority area. These do not provide an accurate reflection of performance as they include participants who have not had time to reach outcomes.

Pre-employment support on Fair Start Scotland ordinarily lasts 12 months (it can last up to 18 months), and job outcomes will increase as more participants move through the service into, and sustain work over time. Job outcome rates can only be reported for those cohorts where enough time has passed in pre-employment support (12 months) and also for job outcomes to be achieved (6 months for the figures quoted).

The figures have also been calculated based on the number of referrals to the service. It is worth noting that Fair Start Scotland is completely voluntary, and not everyone who is referred will choose to participate.

As part of our continuous improvement activities and in line with our “test and learn” approach to employability support in Scotland, we continue to work with Providers to improve all aspects of the service.

Our key priority remains ensuring participants receive a quality service in their journey to finding and sustaining fair work, and we continue to work closely with local government, the third sector and other partners to ensure the right employment opportunities are sourced for participants.

Question reference: S6W-00480

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 14 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government which universities have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism

The Scottish Government, Universities Scotland, College Development Network and Colleges Scotland are clear that there is no place for any form of hatred or prejudice, including antisemitism, in further and higher education.

Universities, as autonomous institutions, are aware of the IHRA definition of antisemitism. Many are actively and presently consulting within their diverse communities and stakeholder interests on the definition, with three (University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh and Abertay University) having adopted it to date. Universities UK is working with the Union of Jewish Students to raise awareness and understanding of antisemitism and to share best practice in tackling and eliminating it.

Universities and colleges are also addressing antisemitism through their ongoing engagement with the Scottish Funding Council to address discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race.

The SFC, in response to the recommendations of the EHRC report, Universities Challenged, published in October 2019, has developed resources to support challenging conversations on all aspects of racial discrimination, including antisemitism. These were developed with input of staff and students and were launched on 16 March 2021.

Question reference: S6W-00417

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 14 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many police officers in the Forth Valley area have been subject to COVID-19-related assaults.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. On 30 May 2021, Police Scotland published an article on 'assaults on police linked to coronavirus', which may provide the information requested. A link to this article is as follows: https://www.scotland.police.uk/what-s-happening/news/2021/may/over-1-000-assaults-on-police-linked-to-coronavirus-1/

It is unacceptable that Scotland’s police officers and staff should be attacked or abused while going about their daily duty and we fully support the actions that Police Scotland and the Chief Constable are taking to protect police officers and staff from assaults and their impact.

Scotland’s justice system has extensive powers to deal with perpetrators, through statutes such as the Emergency Services (Scotland) Act 2005 and section 90 of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. For more serious attacks, the Crown may prosecute cases under common law offences such as assault, with potential penalties of up to life imprisonment.

Question reference: S6W-00627

Asked by: Neil Gray, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 June 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made any progress on consulting retail employees and businesses regarding large retail stores trading on New Year’s Day.

Question reference: S6W-00187

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 11 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what outputs, outcomes and public benefits are being delivered by the Sea Eagle Management Scheme (SEMS).

Mairi McAllan: The Sea Eagle Management Scheme (SEMS) is part of the delivery mechanism for the White-tailed Eagle Action Plan. The Plan has run from 2017 and has recently been reviewed ( WTE Action Plan Review ) . NatureScot developed and published the White-tailed Eagle Action Plan Extension , which sets out objectives covering a further 3 years.

The public benefits and outcomes of the SEMS have included reducing the impacts of white-tailed eagles on farming and crofting interests, whilst developing the right conditions for the sustainable co-existence between sea eagles and sheep farming in ways that benefit the biodiversity, economic and social interests of Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-00432

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the SQA will charge local authorities a reduced amount for its services this session, given the reduction in the number of exam settings and marking services it has provided.

The budget agreed by Scottish Ministers for SQA for 2021-22 is based on the SQA levy to local authorities and entry fees charged separately remaining at the same level as has been the case since 2012-13.

These fees provide a contribution towards the cost of awarding, rather than covering the full cost for that individual local authority, school or college. The costs of awarding National Qualifications, even this year, are greater than the contribution made by local authorities in the form of a levy.

Question reference: S6W-00433

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much the SQA charged each local authority for providing its services in the 2019-20 session, and how much it will charge each local authority for the 2020-21 session.

I have asked SQA to respond. The charges per local authority are:

	Total Charges	Total Charges	Levy Amount	Non- Levy	Non- Levy
	2019-20	2020-21		2019-20	2020-21
Local Authority	£	£	£	£	£
ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL	705,222.25	699,017.00	698,265.00	6,957.25	752.00
ABERDEENSHIRE COUNCIL	1,177,229.25	1,185,000.00	1,169,834.00	7,395.25	15,166.00
ANGUS COUNCIL	555,398.25	552,189.00	549,886.00	5,512.25	2,303.00
ARGYLL & BUTE COUNCIL	445,413.50	443,867.00	443,348.00	2,065.50	519.00
SCOTTISH BORDERS COUNCIL	545,625.00	546,656.50	1,483,687.00	- 938,062.00	- 937,030.50
CLACKMANNANSHIRE COUNCIL	240,288.25	240,466.00	238,057.00	2,231.25	2,409.00
WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL	446,553.75	443,668.00	793,610.00	- 347,056.25	- 349,942.00
DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY COUNCIL	802,989.25	795,046.50	612,578.00	190,411.25	182,468.50
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL	620,854.25	622,603.00	602,382.00	18,472.25	20,221.00
EAST AYRSHIRE COUNCIL	609,791.50	610,740.00	678,524.00	- 68,732.50	- 67,784.00
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL	682,681.00	681,193.00	487,911.00	194,770.00	193,282.00
EAST LOTHIAN COUNCIL	496,080.50	491,256.00	764,774.00	- 268,693.50	- 273,518.00
EAST RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL	768,361.00	765,247.50	699,680.00	68,681.00	65,567.50
CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL	1,505,928.75	1,491,888.25	1,707,654.00	- 201,725.25	- 215,765.75
FALKIRK COUNCIL	707,678.75	703,365.75	2,135,236.00	- 1,427,557.25	- 1,431,870.25
FIFE COUNCIL	1,726,263.75	1,721,912.00	1,145,115.00	581,148.75	576,797.00
GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL	2,153,260.00	2,149,264.00	385,443.00	1,767,817.00	1,763,821.00
HIGHLAND COUNCIL	1,153,573.00	1,155,695.00	425,177.00	728,396.00	730,518.00
INVERCLYDE COUNCIL	387,147.25	387,967.00	709,006.00	- 321,858.75	- 321,039.00
MIDLOTHIAN COUNCIL	428,181.75	426,894.50	1,766,850.00	- 1,338,668.25	- 1,339,955.50
THE MORAY COUNCIL	482,969.75	482,338.00	112,028.00	370,941.75	370,310.00
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL	725,249.00	718,423.50	645,358.00	79,891.00	73,065.50
NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL	1,781,996.50	1,774,265.00	886,239.00	895,757.50	888,026.00
ORKNEY ISLANDS COUNCIL	112,504.00	112,028.00	540,772.00	- 428,268.00	- 428,744.00
PERTH & KINROSS COUNCIL	649,650.50	646,325.00	126,785.00	522,865.50	519,540.00
RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL	891,900.00	887,668.00	593,086.00	298,814.00	294,582.00
SHETLAND ISLANDS COUNCIL	127,303.75	128,010.50	1,545,723.00	- 1,418,419.25	- 1,417,712.50
SOUTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL	596,613.50	594,437.50	473,217.00	123,396.50	121,220.50
SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL	1,555,156.50	1,553,114.50	480,912.00	1,074,244.50	1,072,202.50
STIRLING COUNCIL	478,519.00	477,069.50	443,668.00	34,851.00	33,401.50
WEST LOTHIAN COUNCIL	968,179.25	962,863.00	953,766.00	14,413.25	9,097.00
WESTERN ISLES COUNCIL	146,237.50	145,530.00	145,530.00	707.50	-

TOTAL	24,674,800.25	24,596,008.50	24,444,101.00	230,699.25	151,907.50

Question reference: S6W-00314

Asked by: Audrey Nicoll, MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to raise awareness among EU Citizens who have not yet made an application to the UK Government Settlement Scheme.

Despite Scotland voting to remain in the European Union, EU citizens are being forced to apply to retain their basic rights. This Government is supporting EU citizens through the Stay in Scotland campaign . Our marketing campaign has relaunched and includes adverts on radio and in local newspapers, helping to reach those not online. Officials have engaged with a wide range of organisations, including religious organisations, parent groups, unions and prisons, to raise awareness. We have worked closely with local authorities and care providers, including funding a caseworker at COSLA and placed a particular focus on vulnerable groups such as the elderly, looked-after children and the homeless. We also deliver an advice service , with Citizens’ Advice Scotland, to support EU citizens applying for settlement.

Question reference: S6W-00467

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure the Marine Fund Scotland does not add to overcapacity in (a) the scallop dredge and (b) other fisheries.

The governance applied to the Marine Fund Scotland will deliver on the Future of Fisheries Management policy document published last December. This will provide a clear framework to manage fisheries, balancing environmental, social and economic interests, adopting an ecosystems approach to fishing which follows the science.

This approach will ensure that all sea fisheries catching activity is in balance with the available opportunity in the exploitation of wild fisheries stocks. In addition, scallop dredge fishing activity is also controlled by other measures such as the limited availability of licence entitlements which have been capped following the removal by Marine Scotland of latent unused licences ensuring there is no increase in scallop dredge capacity.

Question reference: S6W-00265

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 11 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reduce funding or support to OGTC during the current parliamentary session.

Scottish Government funding for the OGTC as part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal was set out in 2016 in tripartite agreement with regional partners and UK Government. There are no plans to review the terms of the Deal within the current Parliamentary session.

The stated purpose of the OGTC is to support the oil and gas industry to develop and deploy technology to accelerate the transition to an affordable net zero North Sea.

The Oil and Gas industry is a significant component of Scotland’s economy and remains an important player in ensuring energy security for Scotland and the UK . It can contribute to a sustainable, secure and just and inclusive energy transition, ensuring that a green recovery and a just transition is created that supports good green jobs, skills and expertise and critically leaves no-one behind.

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