Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government considers regulation of short term lets to be vital in balancing the needs and concerns of residents and communities with wider economic and tourism interests. Mr Stewart, the then Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning, announced in January 2020 that regulation of short-term lets would include a licensing scheme. The remit of the Short-Term Lets Stakeholder Working Group established in February 2021 is to refine the licensing legislation and develop guidance.

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, the Scottish Bed and Breakfast Association, Airbnb and the UK Short Term Accommodation Association favour a registration scheme. The Scottish Government has valued their contributions to the Working Group and is disappointed that they have decided not to continue to participate. The Scottish Government is committed to getting this important legislation absolutely right and monitoring its implementation.

As announced by myself, Professor Ken Muir has been appointed to act as the Independent Advisor to the Scottish Government on the reform of the Scottish Qualifications Authority and Education Scotland. In his role as Advisor, Professor Muir will provide advice to the Scottish Government as outlined in his revised remit that was published on 19 August 2021.

Since taking up role as Advisor on 2 August, Professor Muir has established an Expert Panel and a Practitioner and Stakeholder Advisory Group to support his work. We understand the Advisor has invited the Scottish Youth Parliament to join the Practitioner and Stakeholder Advisory Group. This Group will play a significant role in supporting the work of the Advisor and his Expert Panel - further information, including Terms of Reference and membership of these groups, is available here: Scottish Government | Education Reform

I also announced the creation of a Children and Young Person’s Education Council and we will ensure that this group and the voices of young people are heard during the process led by Professor Muir and broader plans to implement the recommendations of the OECD report.

The Scottish Government is pleased that three Scottish areas are involved in the expression of interest phase of the UK City of Culture 2025 competition. Scottish Government officials have attended the dedicated information session for potential Scottish bidders and are working closely with DCMS and Creative Scotland to support the overarching application process. Officials will continue to work with all of the bid teams and will continue to discuss the Borderlands bid with South of Scotland Enterprise and all relevant partners.

(a) Scottish Government and (b) Transport Scotland officials have (i) & (ii) not held any discussions with Professor Iain Docherty in relation to his Scotland’s Railway after the pandemic report.

Transport Scotland, as part of the Rail Recovery Task Force, uses Transport Focus’s passenger pulse research to identify the changing priorities and requirements of rail passengers during and post Covid-19 which also provide a platform to assess the scale and pace of recovery from Covid 19 and, in particular, the potential to move towards our policy vision of an integrated public sector controlled railway.

Transport Scotland is pressing ahead to put in place arrangements to mobilise a wholly owned company of the Scottish Government to provide ScotRail services when the current franchise expires as expected on 31 March 2022.

From 2017 to the end of 2021 we have received a total of £194.8m in EU Exit preparation consequentials.

Spend, both in preparation and post-EU Exit, has been on staff supporting activities such as legislative preparations, and supporting stakeholders and partners, including businesses, cultural bodies, higher education institutes, local government and the third sector.

We have consistently targeted our spending responsibly and appropriately to mitigate against the negative impacts of exiting the EU and this last year we have allocated our spend to deal with the concurrent impacts of Covid and EU exit. An example of this is the £100m Winter Support package which was announced to support those on low incomes, children, and people at risk of homelessness or social isolation in coping with winter weather and the economic impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) and Brexit.

Transport Scotland does not hold the information requested, therefore, I would refer the member to the British Transport Police and/or Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

Youth related anti-social behaviour data, which will not result in court proceedings can be sourced via the Scottish Children’s Reporter.

The clause in the Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd franchise that permits the operator, from 1 April 2022, to seek adjustments to the financial terms of the Franchise Agreement, or exit the contract, cannot be instigated by the Scottish Government. As per the Franchise Agreement, this must be requested by Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd.

Our Energy Strategy, published in 2017, reiterated the Scottish Government’s continued opposition to new nuclear stations based on current technologies, and our determination instead to continue developing Scotland’s huge renewable resource while also promoting storage and energy efficiency.

The Strategy made clear our awareness of new technologies, such as Small Modular Reactors, and our duty to assess them as required. In the meantime, however, this particular technology remains unproven, and there are no plans or propositions for its development in Scotland.

Oil & gas, and wider energy policy is reserved to UK Government, including the licensing of exploration and extraction of offshore reserves. While tax and regulation powers over offshore oil and gas are reserved to Westminster, any Scottish Government support for the oil and gas sector in the North sea will be conditional upon the industry contributing to a sustainable, secure and inclusive energy transition.

We are wholly committed to ending Scotland’s contribution to climate change by 2045, and to ensuring we do it in a way that is just and leaves no-one behind.

T he IPCC’s recent scientific report only serves to underline how important it is that we take significant, near-term action in response to the climate emergency - for this and future generations. That is why the First Minister has called on the UK Government, who have the power to act in this instance, to urgently re-assess all approved oil licenses where drilling has not yet commenced against our climate commitments.

The oil and gas sector has a positive role to play in our journey to net zero. Indeed, we are clear that the North Sea has a vibrant future in renewable energy, hydrogen, and Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage. Meeting our climate obligations while ensuring a secure energy supply and supporting our highly skilled workforce to transition to the green jobs of the future must all go hand in hand. We will continue to work closely with industry, trade unions, communities and workers to ensure the right skills and training are in place to protect and create jobs as we become a net-zero economy.