Chamber and committees

Scottish Ministers set investment priorities for the Scottish Government. When making investment decisions, Ministers will consider multiple criteria and evidence informed by robust assessments which are in accordance with statutory procedures.

Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, as amended by the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012, requires any person who manages controlled waste to apply the Waste Hierarchy set out in Article 4(1) of Directive 2009/98/EC (the “Waste Framework Directive”) and to take reasonable steps to increase the quantity and quality of recyclable materials, with the desired outcome being closed-loop recycling.

The scheme administrator for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme will therefore have to ensure glass is sorted and processed in a way that maintains the recyclate in a high-value state.

The Parliament welcomes and facilitates protests all year round and will continue to do so;  it is an important part of the expression of democracy in Scotland.  In taking the decision to apply for designated status, SPCB has carefully considered Police Scotland advice and security assessment, and the experiences of other Parliaments.  The UK Parliament has been designated for many years and the Welsh Senedd since 2018. SOCPA is an existing mechanism for bodies such as Parliament which have a critical role to play in terms of national security. It would only be used in exceptional cases where very disruptive and/or dangerous activities may impede the parliament’s democratic role, the safety of those working or visiting the Parliament and the rights of others to engage with the Parliament in a wide variety of ways. In giving effect to the designation, the SPCB and Police Scotland must still ensure on each occasion that they are used that the powers of enforcement under SOCPA are necessary, have a sound legal basis and are proportionate to the circumstances. This process provides assurance that the designation will have no bearing on the tens of thousands of people who protest in a robust but peaceful way at Holyrood each year.

The current allocation of full-time employees per Scottish Government Minister is:

We committed in our 2018-19 Programme for Government to invest up to £5 million over a three year period to support 2,000 women who have had a career break to return to the workplace. This commitment and the scale of ambition built on the learning from our 2017 pilot Women Returners Programme.

An initial Programme commenced in late 2020 which offered immediate support to women during the pandemic. Within the three month period of delivery it attracted twelve projects offering support to over 450 women. This included projects such as HRC Recruitment which provided employability workshops combined with menopause support and mental health fitness coaching to women over 50 years old.

The programme for government published in September 2021 committed to continuing the programme. SDS are delivering the programme this year on behalf of Scottish Government backed with up to £2 million. Bids from prospective providers are currently being assessed. Women will be given support to enable them to apply for jobs or take part in activity such as further training that suits their own personal needs, timescales and circumstances for returning to work.

The Scottish Government has maintained a rolling programme of rail electrification, unlike other parts of the UK. In line with our Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan it remains the expectation that the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh Haymarket and Aberdeen will be fully electrified.

We will confirm investment decisions will be made in an appropriate manner following due appraisal, necessarily having regard to the capital funding available to the Scottish Government in the light of UK Government budgetary decisions, however positive progress is being made with Network Rail confirming ground investigation works for the Aberdeen to Central Belt project are starting in October 2021.

The Scottish Government will publish its response to the consultation on the draft Licensing Order and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for short-term lets ahead of laying the draft Licensing Order in November.

It is a matter for SPCB under its legal responsibilities to provide a safe and secure estate.  As the decision on applying to become a designated site was based on confidential security advice from Police Scotland, it would not have been appropriate to have held discussions with external organisations. The decision will have no bearing on campaign groups, trade unions and other organisations or individuals who protest in a robust but peaceful way at Holyrood. 

The Scottish Government is already working with key partners to address existing data and evidence deficits which will allow us to fully understand the complex picture that exists in health inequalities for people from ethnic minority groups. The Scottish Government welcomes this report and will provide an official response once we have carefully considered its recommendations.

A consultation based on Esther Roberton’s recommendations, from her independent review of legal services regulation, will be available to the public via Citizen Space from 1 October until 24 December 2021. In parallel we will be undertaking a series of consultation focus groups to increase the opportunity for stakeholders and the public to respond to the consultation in part or in whole.

As was stated in my response, the Scottish Government is open to further views on how the report recommendations should be taken forward and this consultation is intentionally broadly set to capture the fullest range of views on the recommendations and what level of reform is supported. As such the consultation has been developed collaboratively with those representing consumer interests and the legal profession.

The findings from the consultation exercise will inform the design of reform, and confirms our commitment to a modern and effective framework of legal services regulation.

The consultation will be available at: https://consult.gov.scot/justice/legal-services-regulation-reform-in-scotland .