Chamber and committees

Consideration of all protected characteristics, including gender, will continue to inform the design and delivery of post school education and skills reform.

We will continue to build on our existing work to address barriers for women and girls, including:

• A range of resources developed by Education Scotland to address gender segregation in subject choices in schools.
• The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) is working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to tackle persistent inequalities in the tertiary education sector. Their approach includes for institutions to have regard to significant imbalances on courses and take action to address it.
• The refreshed Fair Work Action Plan which was published in December 2022 and aims to take an intersectional approach, where possible, to tackling the structural labour market barriers faced by disadvantaged groups in Scotland’s labour market including women.
• The Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB) created the Gender Commission, who developed recommendations that offer practical solutions to help address the gender imbalance across the Apprenticeship family. The Gender Commission published their report and recommendations, and SG are committed to integrate findings from the Commission into our reform work to ensure they become embedded in the skills system.

An initial Equalities Impact Assessment, Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA): Purpose and Principles (www.gov.scot) for the Purpose and Principles for Post-School education, research and skills Post-school education, research and skills - purpose and principles - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) was published on 4 July 2023.

Projected spending on the National Care Service up to 2032 is focused on strategic improvement of the sector, including improving standards for our workforce. The NCS Board will improve oversight, accountability and transparency on the delivery of integrated health and social care across Scotland. Allowing for greater consistency across local areas and helping frontline workers deliver their services to the best of their ability. We have already implemented Fair Work measures, including paying our commissioned social care workforce at least the real living wage of £12 an hour from April 2024 and improving standards through the NCS will make the sector a more attractive career.

Whilst electrification remains an option, no timescale has been established for the decarbonisation of the Maryhill Line.

The environmental impacts of current textile consumption can be damaging, and we recognise the need for a strategic approach to textiles, from production and consumption, through to recycling and end-of-life management, as set out in our draft Circular Economy & Waste Route Map.

The Route Map identifies a range of measures, including the intention to consult on kerbside collection of textiles. It also sets out that textiles are being considered as one of the priority products for our product stewardship plan, which will support the development of circular supply chains in Scotland by reducing the quantity of clothing that needs to be produced from raw materials.

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 gives Scottish Ministers powers to make regulations to restrict the disposal of unsold goods and powers to make regulations that require businesses to report on waste and surplus for specified product types, both of which could include textiles.

Scottish Ministers will also develop a statutory Code of Practice for household recycling, co-designed with local government, and consider ways to prevent materials being put into waste streams by building a high performing service across Scotland that will provide a consistent supply of high-quality recyclable materials.

The Scottish Government's Let’s Do Net Zero website provides practical advice and links to raise awareness of how we can reduce, reuse and recycle more effectively https://netzeronation.scot/.

In addition, information and advice for consumers on how they can make fashion more sustainable is provided by Zero Waste Scotland in their guide on https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/how-fast-fashion-failing-environment

The Scottish Government has not met with Police Scotland specifically to discuss road safety at the Toll of Birness.

Transport Scotland and Amey however had the opportunity to discuss road safety at the Toll of Birness with Police Scotland on 1 August 2023 following a separate meeting that had been arranged to discuss two locations on the A90 in the North East of Scotland.

ScotRail advises, it currently has no plans to increase service levels at Carstairs. ScotRail monitors passenger demand closely and wherever possible, adjusts service levels where it is required.

On 30 October I chaired the Road Safety Strategic Partnership Board. This meeting involved a range of operational partners, including Police Scotland and local authorities, to discuss measures aimed at enhancing road safety and progressing towards achieving our vision for Scotland, including the north east, to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030.

The findings of the WWF Living Planet Report provide further evidence, if any were needed, that the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss represent the existential threat of our times. We know we must take urgent action to address them now.

There are currently no imminent plans to make any further amendments to the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) system, following the amended Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) regulations which were introduced in November 2021.

The Scottish Government will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders including the local authority sector, Police Scotland and business and active travel representatives to understand any issues that arise from the various road order processes.

The Scottish Government applies fixed fees for its processing of Harbour Orders in Scotland. These are as follows:

• £2,000 for an order the sole purpose of which is to amend the borrowing powers of an existing authority;
• £4,000 for any other order that would not empower an authority to undertake works;
• £6,000 for an order which expressly empowers an authority to undertake works where an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is not required; and
• £10,000 for an order which expressly empowers an authority to undertake works where it is decided that an EIA is required.

As this proposal does not involve works, the fee paid by Argyll and Bute Council to the Scottish Government for the Argyll and Bute Council (Oban) Harbour Revision Order application is £4,000.