Chamber and committees

Local authorities as employers are responsible for dealing with equal pay claims and Ministers have no legal powers to intervene. However the Scottish Government has consistently made it clear that any delays by local authorities in settling outstanding equal pay claims are unacceptable, and has called on local authorities to deal with outstanding claims as quickly as possible.

I wrote to all Scottish local authorities in October last year reiterating the Scottish Government's concerns about delays in settling equal pay claims and asking for information about the number of outstanding claims. The reply from Glasgow City Council said that it did not have any claims that had been determined in favour of the claimants but not yet settled. The Council also advised that over 9,000 claims were on hold pending a decision by the Court of Session in an appeal against decisions in favour of the Council by the Employment Tribunal that had been upheld by the Employment Appeals Tribunal. I understand that this Court of Session decision is still awaited.

A public consultation on Policing 2026 was launched by Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority on 27 February 2017. I understand there has been strong engagement to date, with over 1,050 responses submitted. This sits alongside an extensive programme of public and stakeholder engagement, with the Authority and Police Scotland reaching out to communities across Scotland. Over the course of this week that engagement activity will include meetings with the community group Uniting Nations in Scotland and the Scottish Alliance against Prejudice and Hate Crime, supporting Police Scotland in ensuring that Policing 2026 helps to deliver a fairer and more inclusive society.

The final deadline for responses to the consultation is 8 May although a three week extension has been offered to local councils to accommodate the upcoming local government elections. We encourage everyone with an interest to have their say on the content of Policing 2026, both through the engagement activities which are planned over the remaining weeks of the consultation and through the submission of a formal written response.

I have committed to making a statement to Parliament setting out the Government’s position on the Strategy at the end of the consultation.

The Scottish Attainment Challenge commits £750 million over the course of this parliament to close the poverty related attainment gap. A table setting out the primary and secondary schools that received support through the Scottish Attainment Challenge in 2016-17 has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre - BIB reference number 58676.

The process to allocate the £170 million committed in 2017-18 is underway. This includes £120 million Pupil Equity Funding. The school level allocations of Pupil Equity Funding are available on the Scottish Government website at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Education/Schools/Raisingeducationalattainment/pupilequityfund/Schoolallocations.

The Scottish Government has committed £750m during the course of this Parliament through the Attainment Scotland Fund to provide targeted support for children, schools and communities to close the poverty related attainment gap.

In 2017-18 £120m will be provided directly to Headteachers to use for additional staffing or resources they consider will help reduce the poverty related attainment gap. This funding is in addition to the £50m a year which will continue to provide targeted support to specific Scottish Attainment Challenge authorities and schools in the communities with high levels of deprivation as well as a number of national programmes, including staffing supply and capacity, professional learning and school leadership.

Scottish Government officials regularly meet with both organisations - as well as individual clubs - as part of our ongoing relationship with Scottish football, discussing a range of issues.

As Minister for sport, I also speak to the Scottish FA and SPFL, as well as individual clubs.

The Scottish Government is clear that bullying of any kind is unacceptable and must be addressed swiftly and effectively whenever it arises. It is the responsibility of head teachers, teachers and other school staff and local authorities to decide on the specific actions to do this in schools in consultation with parents and carers and children and young people.

To support schools and all adults working with children and young people; Respect for All, the refreshed national anti-bullying strategy for children and young people, will take a holistic approach to addressing the issue and include an explicit commitment to addressing prejudice-based bullying.

The Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee are currently engaging with stakeholders on this refreshed guidance. I will carefully consider any points raised by the Committee as a result of this and I will look to publish the refreshed guidance in the Spring.

In advance of the conclusion of the DWP’s consultation on this issue, we don’t yet know the impact of the UK Governments proposed closures will have on vulnerable and disadvantaged people in Glasgow. However, we are particularly concerned that the Department for Work and Pensions has not given sufficient consideration to this matter.

We believe it could be more difficult for people to access Jobcentre Plus services in the city and travel costs for those required to register unemployed on a weekly or fortnightly basis could increase. Disabled people and those without access to internet services could be particularly disadvantaged by the changes.

Given the challenges Glasgow faces in terms of unemployment levels – particularly in its most deprived areas, I am pressing UK Ministers to reconsider these proposals, and to consult properly, not just in Glasgow, but across the whole of Scotland.

The Member will be familiar with the paper published last month by the Scottish Government’s Office of the Chief Economic Adviser, which summarised the potential impact that leaving the EU could have on Scotland’s GDP and public spending based on recent studies. For example, Treasury analysis suggests that by 2030 funding for public services could be between £20 billion and £43 billion a year lower under Brexit compared to circumstances where the UK remained in EU.

Looking at direct funding flows, EU funding benefits Scotland significantly, supporting jobs, delivering infrastructure and providing valuable support for the farming and fishing industries. This should have benefited Scotland to the tune of over £5 billion over the life of the current EU budget round (2014-2020) but this is now at significant risk due to the UK Government’s unwillingness to guarantee continuity for all funds.

Whilst the arrangements announced by the Chancellor on 13 August 2016 are to be welcomed, this still leaves around £750 million of funding that remains at risk. It puts at risk significant investment and jobs, revealing the reality of Brexit and demonstrates that the best way to guarantee the jobs, investment, services and projects all over the country which depend on this funding beyond 2020 is by maintaining Scotland's relationship with the EU.

The Scottish Government works with a range of public and private sector partners to promote and invest in the food and drink sector, and our success is reflected in the latest figures, which show, since 2007, an increase in food exports of 57% and drink exports of 40%. Retail sales of Scottish brands across these islands have also increased by 35% since 2007.

The food and drink growth sector has also reached record turnover of £14.3 billion, moving closer to the target of £16.5 billion the industry set for 2017.

The Scottish Government regularly meets with the Scottish FA to discuss a range of issues.