Chamber and committees

Our international work provides us with significant opportunities to collaborate with like-minded partners, to share best practice, to learn from others and to help the Scottish Government develop and deliver effective policy at home. We have built links with international partners to discuss domestic interventions to tackle a wide range of issues, including demographic challenges and the conservation of biodiversity. In June last year, for example, we signed a memorandum of understanding with the Flemish Government to strengthen cooperation in a wide range of policy areas to support future collaboration and exchange best practice.

We will continue to engage with a variety of international partners on a range of policy areas, building on relationships where we already have strong links, such as in Europe and our near neighbourhood.

Since the publication of Scotland’s Arctic policy framework in 2019, the Scottish Government has helped establish Scotland as a valuable contributor to, and host of, Arctic dialogue. Edinburgh will be hosting Arctic Science Summit Week in March 2024 and the Scottish Government will continue to engage with Arctic partners to secure future opportunities for collaboration to enable delivery of the framework.

The Scottish Government is investing at least £100m more annually in culture and the arts by the financial year 2028-29. Through this increased investment we want to drive up opportunities for participation in creative pursuits, support the production of new works, and ensure that Scotland’s cultural output has platforms at home and abroad.

As set out in the International Strategy, we want to build on Scotland’s long history of excellence in the cultural and higher education sectors. This is why we have published a standalone International Higher Education Strategy. Universities Scotland and Colleges Scotland were engaged in the development of the strategy which outlines how we will work collaboratively with the higher education sector to achieve our joint ambitions:

• attract global students, staff, and researchers to help diversify our international student population and support them to maximise their contribution to Scotland.
• as an outward looking, inclusive nation that values our international education capabilities and export potential, we will work with universities and colleges, to maximise our social, educational and economic contribution globally.
• as a world leader in international education, research and knowledge exchange, deepen our global collaborations and engagements .

We have also committed to publishing an International Culture Strategy, which will build on the work that the Scottish Government already does to showcase the sector and facilitate opportunities for international collaboration .

Thanks to continued investment from Scottish Government, the screen sector in Scotland continues to grow. The 2021 Economic Value of the Screen Sector in Scotland Report showed a rise from £567 million GVA in 2019 to £627 million GVA in 2021.

Scottish Government has a strong track record of supporting the Screen Sector and since 2018, has provided £50 million to Screen Scotland in regular Grant in Aid funding with an additional £14.8 million (£14,749,690) funding provided for Covid-19 support, skills, studios, and cinema projects.

This funding has enabled Screen Scotland to provide specialist support across the industry, including for new productions, skills and training programmes, and the film exhibition sector.

We remain committed to the screen and wider culture sector and are increasing funding to the culture sector by £15.8m next financial year to £196.6m, which is the first step on the route to investing at least £100m more annually in culture and the arts by the financial year 2028-29. In 2025-2026 we aim to provide an additional £25m to the culture sector.

This investment will drive up opportunities for participation in creative pursuits, support the production of new works, increase skills provision, and ensure that Scotland’s cultural output has platforms at home and abroad.

We are continually seeking new opportunities to support and grow the screen sector and we are committed to ensuring that the exceptional growth experienced in recent years continues to develop our sustainable creative economy, making Scotland an attractive production base and place for people in the creative industries to live and work.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS does not operate minimum prison officer staffing requirements. SPS has agreed prison officer staffing complements which are tailored to the needs of each establishment and agreed in partnership with the Prison Officers Association (Scotland).

SPS workforce data is produced monthly after the conclusion of the previous month, the most up to date data available is as follows:

On 2 February 2023, SPS had 70.9 prison officer vacancies (a 2.2% vacancy rate) across the prison estate.

On 2 February 2024, SPS had 59 prison officer vacancies (a 1.8% vacancy rate) across the prison estate.

The Scottish Government does not directly intervene with ScotRail staff duties, this is a matter for ScotRail as the employer.

Transport Scotland currently audit ScotRail under the Service Quality Inspection Regime (SQUIRe). The SQUIRe inspectors undertake a sample inspection of trains and check many aspects including train heating during its regular inspections.

The Member may wish to note that the reason for the low temperatures on the early services in the West Highland line is not a faulty heating system, but the time it takes for the train diesel engines to heat up. It would not be appropriate to replace the heating system which is not faulty.

In the longer term, ScotRail’s diesel rolling stock will be replaced by the greener trains as set out in the Scottish Government’s Decarbonisation Action Plan.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail, its officials however inform us that they are looking for some short term solutions to improve the temperatures on these trains.