Safe and legal routes are crucial to enabling people to seek safety when forced to flee war and persecution. We will continue to engage with the UK Government on issues which impact people living in Scotland, including refugees, people seeking asylum and displaced people. This engagement includes sharing lessons from the experience of over 27,000 Homes for Ukraine visa-holders arriving in Scotland, over 21,000 of which were sponsored by the Scottish Government. We also hope other governments can learn from our work implementing the pioneering New Scots refugee integration strategy; which is a UK-leading integration approach built on a partnership led by the Scottish Government, COSLA and Scottish Refugee Council. We look forward to working closely with the UK Government to deliver a system that is effective and more humane.

The Scottish Government is funding Peer Works to deliver the productivity programme set out in the 2023-24 Programme for Government. Formerly called Productivity Clubs, Peer Works has been delivered by Prosper in partnership with the Scottish Government since 2019.

The aim of Peer Works is to start or accelerate organisations along a productivity journey by providing practical peer-to-peer support and knowledge sharing opportunities. There are currently over 2,600 members, and over 700 members have participated in events over the last year. A range of case studies can be found here: Peer Stories - Peer Works.

The Peer Works programme exists to support the needs of micro and small organisations. An evaluation survey indicated that nearly half of attendees in 2023-24 had not received advice or support in managing their business from any other source in the previous six months. Furthermore, 99% of respondents found the Peer Works events and activities useful and 47% made improvements to their business as a direct result of participation.

Based on the information available, since the implementation of the more stringent Fair Work First grant conditionality, requiring public sector grant recipients to pay their workers the real Living Wage and provide appropriate channels for effective voice, Fair Work First has been applied to over 2400 grants across the public sector, at a total value of over £2.5bn (between July 2023 and March 2024.)

A list of each and every organisation awarded public sector grant funding is not held centrally. However, further detail on the number and value of grants awarded by individual public bodies will be published by end September on the Fair and Inclusive Workplaces webpage:  Fair and inclusive workplaces - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Fair Work First in public procurement is distinct from the application of Fair Work First in grants. Each public body is accountable for its own decisions in relation to procurement, including when it is appropriate to include Fair Work requirements in tendering exercises.

The latest annual report on procurement activity in Scotland covering 2021-22 showed that 101 public bodies awarded a combined total of 1,645 regulated contracts containing a scored Fair Work criterion during the period. Based on information from 95 public bodies a combined total of 2,016 unique suppliers committed to paying the real Living Wage in the delivery of regulated contracts awarded.

We do not think it is right that ownership and control of much of Scotland’s land is still in the hands of relatively few people.

A 2019 report by the Scottish Land Commission: The Model CHP for the Scottish Government and Associated Public Authorities Sector in Scotland - Word Template (landcommission.gov.scot) concluded that highly concentrated landownership can have detrimental effects on rural development outcomes, and that these effects arise because landowners have the power to decide who can access land, when, for what purpose and at what price.

Analysis by the James Hutton Institute to support the Bill identified 1066 landholdings above 1000 hectares, representing 4.32 million hectares, or 55% of Scotland’s land.

Canals in Scotland were not considered during the second Strategic Transport Projects Review, as water-based transport on canals and estuaries (such as water taxis) were deemed to be out of scope of the review, as noted in the Appendix A of the. Final technical report - December 2022 - STPR2 | Transport Scotland

The Scottish Government laid out their plans for the canal network in the 2013 publication HYPERLINK "" Making the most of Scotland’s canals | Transport Scotland based on the following seven principles:

• Valuing the heritage of our canals
• Fulfilling statutory and regulatory obligations
• Risk management and safety
• Increasing awareness of the potential contribution which canals can make
• Delivering a high quality experience
• Working through partnership and collaboration
• Monitoring and measuring outcomes

The UK Government is responsible for national security and energy-related critical national infrastructure.Like the UK Government, we consider that China’s global impact means it is important to maintain pragmatic economic relationships with the potential to create jobs and growth. The Scottish and UK governments, relevant agencies and delivery partners work closely with experts and investing businesses on these issues.

We welcome the involvement of international companies in supporting the domestic offshore wind sector and supply chain. When attracting inward investment strict due diligence is applied on a case-by-case basis by the lead enterprise agency and supported by guidance from Scottish Government. Due diligence will factor in a range of political, economic and social issues, including sanctions, human rights and national security.

The Scottish Government does not make estimates of the percentage of fish transported out of Scotland without appropriate landings documentation, this is because no vessel would be given authorisation to land without appropriate Port State Control authority, a condition of which is that all documentation is correct. All non-UK vessels landing into Scotland are subject to documentation checks prior to landing.

Marine Directorate officers do not record how many boxes of fish they physically check. When undertaking a monitor of a vessel, officers are expected to assure themselves that the quantities landed are consistent with quantities declared. Where species are sorted and landed together, officers are required to undertake sample checks by physically inspecting containers to check that all fish is the same species and correctly recorded. Where fish is not sorted and landed by species, officers are required to inspect each box.

The licensing of non-UK fishing vessels to fish in UK waters is led by the UK Government, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As of 12 August 2024, there were 1549 EU vessels, 213 Norwegian vessels and 26 Faroes vessels with UK access licences.

The Scottish Government ensures all non-UK vessels landing into Scotland are authorised to do so by meeting detailed regulations which includes vessel tracking and daily electronic catch reporting, and the requirement to complete Port State Control and export documentation. Officers from the Marine Directorate verify documentation by undertaking risk-based remote and physical inspections at ports. The Scottish Government also inspect non-UK vessels at sea using Marine Protection Vessels and surveillance aircraft. Additionally, the Scottish Government is further developing a program of detailed analysis of vessels fishing Scottish waters but landing in another state. This involves working closely with the EU and other third countries to improve data sharing, including sales and inspection data.