Chamber and committees

As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy source alongside electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when full electrification is challenging. We support the rollout of infrastructure needed for hydrogen vehicles to operate in Scotland: Aberdeen City has two hydrogen refuelling stations.

Transport Scotland has contracted Heriot-Watt University to work with road haulage fleets and stakeholders to assess where initial enroute charging and refuelling infrastructure for zero emission HGVs will be needed.

The Zero Emission Truck Taskforce, convened by Transport Scotland, includes a working group focused on hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. The Taskforce included hydrogen truck manufacturers and fleets interested in hydrogen trucks.

The recruitment and promotion of Senior Civil Servants must include a robust selection process. Standards for hiring Senior Civil Servants (SCS) are set by UK Cabinet Office. These include the use of additional forms of assessment including psychological assessment, which have supplemented interviews for SCS for over 10 years. Academic research suggests that interviews alone are a poor predictor of future job performance, and supplementing interviews with other forms of assessments, including psychological, strengthens hiring decisions.

A Prior Information Notice was published on 13 February 2024 to inform the market of our intention to issue an Invitation to Tender for a new assessment contract for Senior Civil Service recruitment and promotion. The Tender is yet to be published and a new contract will be awarded, after all bids are assessed for quality of service and value for money, later in 2024. In the last 12 months, the current provider of psychometric assessments to the Scottish Government assessed 125 candidates for 30 SCS recruitment and promotion campaigns, at a cost of £165,401. This is in line with equivalent Cabinet Office contracts per SCS Campaign.

The early learning and childcare (ELC) census Early learning and childcare statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) is the Scottish Government’s current annual data collection on funded ELC.

The census collects data on the number of registrations for funded ELC by age. It does not collect data on the number of hours each child accesses.

Number of two year old registrations for funded ELC at the time of each census:

Apprentices are employees and can undertake training in a college, and will also undertake a significant amount of work-based learning in their working environment as they progress through their apprenticeship.

Funding contributions for Modern Apprentices are weighted towards young people, particularly the 16-19 age group, with enhanced funding contributions for those who are care experienced and/or are disabled up to age 29.

For apprentices resident in Argyll & Bute, Highland, Moray, Orkney, Shetland, Western Isles, Isle of Arran, Isle of Great Cumbrae, and the Isle of Little Cumbrae, travel and subsistence funding is available to support apprentices who must attend structured and formal off-the-job training (out with normal daily travel requirements) as part of their Modern Apprenticeship. This may require them to travel and, where appropriate, use overnight accommodation.

All young people in Scotland can also apply to access the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26060 on 20 March 2024. 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/questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-25489 on 9 March 2024. 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/questions-and-answers

Whilst the Scottish Government sets the strategic direction for workforce development across NHS Scotland, it is important to note that each Health Board is an employer and is responsible for the recruitment of staff.

I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

Disclosure Scotland is consulting on how disclosure fees could be discounted in future. No decisions have been made on this. The consultation response from stakeholders and the public will help to shape decisions by Scottish Ministers. Since 2011, Disclosure Scotland has fully subsidised qualifying voluntary organisations to get free PVG disclosures for volunteers. Reviewing the policy on fee waivers and discounts helps to ensure the effective use of public finances and the potential impact of any changes, whilst providing an effective public service.

Wider Scottish Government initiatives and guidance, including the Volunteering Action Plan and the Scottish Public Finance Manual, form part of the consideration given to any changes to fees policy at Disclosure Scotland.

All subsidy schemes - including tax exemptions - must clearly demonstrate that the objective of the exemption clearly aligns with a set of seven principles defined in the Subsidy Control Act 2022. The Scottish Government will fully assess how any proposal for a devolved Air Departure Tax aligns with these principles.

All viable options identified by the Scottish Government will be subject to full consultation at the appropriate time. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all options presented will protect Highlands and Islands connectivity, along with the communities and business that rely on this to prosper.