Chamber and committees

There are a number of subsidised training schemes provided by Scottish Government in regards to HGV and Bus Driver training:

• Employability Fund - offers employability and skills training for unemployed individuals across Scotland. HGV driver training is available to eligible individuals through this fund.
• Modern Apprenticeships – learn on the job to gain the experience you need and work towards a recognised qualification. The Freight Logistics framework applies to HGV/LGV. As part of this framework apprentices will be offered the opportunity to study SVQ Driving Goods Vehicles at SCQF Level 6.
• Individual Training Account – to help people develop the skills they need for work. Up to £200 contribution towards a training course, which can include HGV and Bus driver training.

I have now appointed an independent group who will provide oversight and assurance. The group will work with the Tayside Executive Partnership to support progress in improving Tayside’s mental health services and ensure that the recommendations from the independent inquiry are fully implemented.

The group will be chaired by Fiona Lees, former Chief Executive of East Ayrshire Council. She will be supported by David Williams, former Chief Officer of Glasgow City Integrated Joint Board and previously an Advisor on Integration to the Scottish Government; and Fraser McKinlay, former Controller of Audit and Director of Performance Audit and Best Value.

The Scottish Government takes the recommendations from the independent inquiry seriously and I believe the skill set and experience of these members are essential to providing the appropriate oversight of their implementation to improve mental health services in Tayside.

The Independent Oversight and Assurance Group on Tayside Mental Health Services will provide me with written updates on progress on a quarterly basis. The role of this group is also separate from that of the Tayside Executive Partnership which is expected to have its own collective assurance processes and remains accountable to the NHS Board and relevant Councils. This is a time-limited group, initially for a 12 month period. The timescales for its operation will be kept under review and as such, it will not become an established part of the governance landscape in Tayside.

I am determined that real and sustained progress is made in Tayside through the implementation of the independent inquiry recommendations and most importantly, that the people of Tayside receive the quality of mental health care which meets their needs and expectations, and that healthcare staff are appropriately supported and developed.

The Programme for Government 2020-21 commits the Scottish Government to consult on legislation to extend the new framework that came into force on 1 September for the licensing of animal welfare establishments, dog, cat and rabbit breeding and pet sales to performing animals and animal care services.

We plan to bring forward consultations in this area in due course after allowing a period of familiarisation with the recent licensing changes, so that the practical experiences of local authorities in implementing these can be considered in any future proposals.

As Scotland emerges from COVID-19, our colleges and universities have a key role to play in rebuilding our economy. Ministers have been liaising with our education and skills system to address skills needs across various sectors of the Scottish economy, both in the short and longer term.

Our ‘A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan’ sets out key actions we as a Government will take to meet our commitment to reduce the employment gap between disabled people and the rest of the working age population by at least half by 2038. This Action plan will be refreshed in Spring 2022; and we are working closely with our partners, including disabled people themselves and the organisations that represent them, as we develop this. The Young Person’s Guarantee will ensure that every person aged between 16 and 24 – including disabled people and those from low socio-economic groups will have the opportunity to study, take up an apprenticeship, job or work experience, or participate in formal volunteering. The transition to net zero presents opportunities to put this into practice. This year we have provided £27 million for Fair Start Scotland to provide tailored support for unemployed disabled people to move into fair and sustained work.

We are also providing over £8.65 million for the Parental Employability Support Fund in 2021-22, and will invest at least a further £15 million across 2022-24. This helps low income families identified as being most at risk of experiencing poverty, including disabled parents to increase their earnings, by gaining and progressing in fair work, providing intensive, person centred key worker employability support. In August we launched phase 1 of The Green Jobs Workforce Academy. The Academy makes it easier for individuals of all backgrounds at any stage of their career to consider how their skills and experience can be built upon to launch a green career. Finally, The Individual Training Account scheme continues to support the unemployed or those in low paid work with the opportunity to access £200 towards training.

The Scottish Government has not given a contract to Oviva to deliver any NHS services.

In January 2021 I announced that £50 million would be allocated to support the justice system “Recover, Renew and Transform Programme”, which includes addressing the national requirement for a higher number of both sheriff and summary sheriff roles to manage the backlog in the sheriff courts that occurred due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

To support this programme of work, the Lord President made a formal request to Scottish Ministers for 15 fee paid sheriffs and 15 fee paid summary sheriffs to be appointed by the end of 2021. In April 2021, Scottish Ministers formally requested the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland (JABS) begin the recommendation for appointment process to fill these roles. Subsequently recommendations for appointment are expected to be received from JABS in November 2021.

The Scottish Government recognises that the food we produce and consume has wide-ranging impacts in many areas of life. Our ambition is for Scotland to be a Good Food Nation where people from every walk of life take pride and pleasure in, and benefit from, the food they produce, buy, cook, serve, and eat each day. We have already been working across government on an extensive programme of measures to deliver on this ambition. This work will now be supported and underpinned in law by the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Bill, introduced on 7 October 2021.

The Bill will provide an over-arching framework for clear, consistent and coherent future Scottish food policy. It places duties on Scottish Ministers and certain public authorities to produce plans of their policies in relation to food and set out what they will do to make those plans real. These plans will also have to set out the main outcomes to be achieved in relation to food-related issues, the policies needed to do this and the measures we will use to assess progress. We want these plans to deliver outcomes which support our nation’s social and economic wellbeing, the environment, people’s health and economic development.

We have an ongoing and unwavering commitment to land reform. We will aim to bring forward a new Land Reform Bill by the end of 2023, and we plan to double the Scottish Land Fund to £20m by the end of this Parliament, providing more support to enable communities to own land and assets.

We will undertake a wide-ranging consultation in the course of 2022 on proposals for the Bill, and remain committed to working with all stakeholders, including land owning interests and community representatives, to develop policy and legislative solutions to progress our proposals.

Following the allocation of £2.1 billion provided to date to NHS Boards and Integration Authorities to support additional COVID-19 costs, a further £482 million is now being provided to NHS Boards and Integration Authorities in 2021-22 to meet ongoing costs associated with Covid-19. This includes funding for PPE, Test and Protect and delivery of Covid-19 vaccinations.

The Scottish Government will continue to ensure that our health and care services have the funding that they require to respond to this pandemic.

Details of funding allocations to NHS Boards and Integration Authorities are set out in the following table: