Chamber and committees

Economic conditions across the UK are extremely challenging but the Scottish economy remains resilient and is outperforming the UK on employment, unemployment, and economic activity. Latest GDP data show that the Scottish economy grew 5% in 2022 and the UK economy grew 4% over the same period. Looking ahead, the International Monetary Fund is forecasting that the UK economy will be the only major international economy to contract in 2023 – a devastating indictment of the UK Government’s economic mismanagement. In the face of this, the Scottish Government is doing everything it can with the powers it has to deliver sustainable, greener, and fairer economic growth in Scotland.

Scottish Government officials have access to Corporately Owned Privately Enabled (COPE) mobile devices. They are built with business in mind but with the flexibility to allow the users to install other applications. These devices are securely configured in line with NCSC best practice and third party applications (such as TikTok) are prevented from interacting with corporate applications. The Scottish Government has a social media policy that defines the responsibilities of all Scottish Government staff when using social media, this can be found on their website at www.gov.scot/publications/social-media-policy/ .

The 'Bringing Home the Bacon: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Scottish Pig Sector' report was part of the Farmer-Led Group initiative to develop advice and proposals for the Scottish Government on how to cut emissions from agriculture. The Scottish Government is grateful to the Pig Industry Leadership Group and the other Farmer Led Groups (FLGs) for the work they undertook in short order to provide recommendations to support our ambitious vision for Scottish agriculture.

The recommendations of the FLGs informed the 'Agricultural Transition in Scotland' consultation, which was carried out between August 2021 and November 2021. This consultation has informed policy development to support the progression of our forthcoming agriculture bill.

To continue our co-design process with industry as part of the Agriculture Reform Programme we established the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board (ARIOB) to advise on progressing the broad recommendations of the FLG's and support implementation of policy reform. The ARIOB is comprised of representatives from all key Scottish agricultural sectors including members of the Pig Industry Leadership Group.

In the Bringing Home the Bacon report there was a reference to the role of Carbon Audits in supporting businesses to reduce emissions. As part of the National Test Programme we are funding farmers to undertake carbon audits which establish a business’s carbon footprint, and identify areas where emissions can be reduced.

The report also refers to the need for investment in on-farm slurry storage and management. Through the Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant Scheme (SACGS) the Scottish Government funded investment in slurry management equipment for farms in 2022 and in 2023 support for slurry storage is available through the Agri-Environment Climate scheme.

The Scottish Government recognises the substantial challenges that Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost crisis have presented to self-employed people and freelancers in the creative industries, including the literature, languages and publishing sectors.

The Scottish Government’s vision is for Scotland to be a leading Fair Work Nation by 2025. We want fair work to be the norm for workers and employers in workplaces across Scotland – in all types and sizes of organisation and in all locations.

The Scottish Government will consider the report in parallel with the Culture Radar review of Fair Work within the sector, commissioned by Creative Scotland on behalf of Scottish Government. This review has now concluded and Scottish Government is currently considering the recommendations. We will also review the findings of the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre’s recently published ‘Good Work Review’, an independent review of working conditions in the creative sector.

Officials continue to meet regularly with the STUC and affiliate unions representatives of the cultural sector to discuss key issues impacting workers in the culture sector, including issues around freelancers and Fair Work.

The amendment to Section 9 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 provided for offences of 'upskirting' to be prosecuted under subsections (4A) and (4B). The Scottish Government does not hold information on investigations (question (a)). The answer to questions (b) and (c) is provided in the following table.

Please note that the latest available data is for the financial year 2020-21. Data for 2021-22 are expected in Summer 2023 following publication of the 'Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2021-22' statistical bulletin.

Table 1. People prosecuted and convicted in Scottish courts under Section 9(4A) and (4B) of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, where main charge, 2011-12 to 2020-21.

The Scottish Government notes the Made for Cycling report and recognises the opportunity on offer for Scottish cycling tourism to further develop and for Scotland to establish itself as a world-class cycling destination, as identified within the publication.

The topic paper highlights some of the positive work that VisitScotland has undertaken in recent years, including the creation of a new Cycling Industry Guide, to help businesses and communities maximise the sustainable economic, social and environmental benefits from a growing interest in cycling and cycling tourism. These business advice assets are especially important as Glasgow and Scotland gear up to host the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships between 3 – 13 August.

This event provides a platform to generate behaviour change across Scotland –bringing benefits for individuals, communities and businesses as a result.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked Douglas Millican, Chief Executive, to respond. His response is as follows:

Scottish Water does not support or encourage the use of dowsing and provides its employees with equipment and training to ensure they use methods for finding underground assets and leaks which are scientifically tried and tested. These include ground microphones, correlators, and metal detectors and other devices to pinpoint the exact location of underground assets and leaks. Scottish Water does not budget or spend money on any form of divination or dowsing tools and training.

The Scottish Government is a founding partner of CyberScotland Week which is celebrating its fifth year.

The Scottish Government has also set up the CyberScotland Partnership which now manages the Week. This year there are over 100 events taking place across the country, and across all sectors, ranging from raising awareness to upskilling to promoting careers in the cyber security industry.

I will be officially opening CyberScotland Week at the FutureScot Cyber Security Conference in Glasgow on 27 February. On the same day, the Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise will be officially opening Systal Technology Solutions’ Secure Operations Centre at their headquarters in Robroyston. The Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport is also participating in the Week by sharing cyber resilience messaging to sports’ Governing Bodies.

Like many organisations across Scotland, the Scottish Government is participating in CyberScotland Week by providing a programme of staff training and awareness events.

The Scottish Government is grateful to all officers who provide a blue light response as they attend serious incidents. The additional skills gained by officers as they undertake emergency response driver training is integral to providing an effective and safe response to 999 calls.

The Scottish Government does not collect data on Police Scotland’s driver training programme. Delivery and recording of this specialist training is a matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the SPA.

I refer the member to the question S6W-14257 on 30 January 2023. Detail on the facilities in place at fire stations and their condition is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Work is underway across the SFRS estate to improve facilities within the scope of their allocated budget, so the outstanding upgrade needs are an evolving picture. The Scottish Government has access to this information but to ensure the most accurate data is provided, the member should contact the Chief Officer of SFRS directly if he wishes access to this level of detail.