Chamber and committees

MV Glen Sannox was launched in November 2017. For Hull 802, much of the outfitting will be carried out before launch, making the work more efficient. As a result 802 will weigh over 1,000 tonnes more than Glen Sannox, meaning the tide conditions will be critical. Detailed engineering analysis is required to balance the tide, launch arrangement and weight to find the most effective combination.

Full details of Scottish Government budget allocations, including those to Local Government can found in the Scottish Government annually published Scottish Budget at Publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00790 on‎ 13 July 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Ferguson Marine have strong links with the local college and have a thriving apprentice community. The yard currently have five apprentices who will complete their training this summer, and a further twenty four who will shortly be moving up into their second year.

The 2021 apprentice recruitment process is also underway, aimed at recruiting fifteen new apprentices for September 2021. The yard are also considering a Foundation Apprentice programme, and potentially taking apprentices into non-technical disciplines such as Finance and Human Resources.

We welcome the publication of The Change Programme, which sets out what needs to happen over the next year to ensure Scotland keeps its Promise to improve the lives of children and young people in or on the edges of care.

I wrote an open letter to Fiona Duncan, Chair of The Promise Scotland, setting out the Scottish Government’s response to the publication of The Change Programme. A copy of the letter can be found here .

We recognise that there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure full implementation of The Promise by 2030 and we will continue to work with The Promise Scotland, Local Authorities, partners, families, children and young people to deliver the ambition of making Scotland the best place to grow up where every child feels loved, safe, respected and able to reach their full potential. We will #KeepThePromise.

The Turing Scheme is currently signposted on the Scottish Government mygov.scot public services website, as well as on the website for the Scottish Funding Council.

Any action to promote the Turing Scheme will be for local authorities themselves to decide and report on.

It is the Scottish Government’s position that the UK Government’s Turing Scheme is not fit for purpose. It is a replacement scheme, which cannot match the breadth and scope of Erasmus+. With funding only guaranteed for one year, no provision for inward mobility to the UK, and no support being offered for adult education and youth work, Turing will see support for our most disadvantaged learners cut, and opportunities for our students, staff and young people reduced.

We will continue to engage with the UK Government to ensure Turing better reflect the needs of Scotland.

The Scottish Government stepped in to take ownership, to ensure a viable future for the yard, its workforce and completion of the much needed vessels. The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the yard to explore all possible options to ensure a viable future for the business.

The provisional HMT fiscal underspend against total budget, for each funding type, in each year since 2007 is summarised in the following table:

Table: 2007-08 to 2020-21 Provisional Outturn Variances Comparison – HM Treasury Budgets

The Scottish Government microplastics monitoring programme began in 2013, and has undertaken annual surveys since that time. There have been nearly 400 locations sampled between 2013 and 2020. There is currently an insufficient data series to determine if a trend exists or to be able to say when a baseline may be determined. However annual surveys continue to gather data, in order to work toward determining a baseline and/or trends.

The Scottish Government understands that Historic Environment Scotland (HES) wrote directly to Mr Sweeney on 24 June 2021.

HES assessed this property in 2017, and it was found to not meet the criteria for listing at that time as it was not a notable example of its building type and its setting had been altered. HES held subsequent discussions with the Sir John Stirling Maxwell Trust and Glasgow City Heritage Trust during 2020 regarding the best ways to retain and reuse the building.

As Scotland's lead public body for built heritage Historic Environment Scotland (HES) investigates, cares for and promotes Scotland’s historic environment. Part of those duties is responsibility for designating listed buildings. The role of Scottish Ministers in designations largely relates to strategic oversight in matters of national importance. It should be noted that Minsters' powers are used sparingly as HES retains the considerable experience and expertise which is more appropriate to assess applications on a case-by-case basis.