The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body last reviewed its flag-flying policy at its meeting on Thursday 9th May. The SPCB discussed its policy on the flying of flags at Holyrood and how significant events and/or anniversaries were marked.  The SPCB confirmed it remained content with the current Policy and agreed a framework to aid decisions on requests to fly additional flags.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has previously accepted requests to fly the Rainbow flag to mark Edinburgh Pride Day, which usually falls on the last Saturday of June. To date, the SPCB has not received a request to fly the Rainbow flag this year. Other ways events can be marked include Members’ debates and Member-sponsored events.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the system and culture change required to improve outcomes and support professionals in classrooms and education settings all over Scotland. As part of this work, a Bill will be laid before parliament this year which will underpin the establishment of a new qualifications body and an independent officeholder for education inspection, to be in place in the Autumn of 2025.

The UK Government’s Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) provides an opportunity to take a whole systems view of our future electricity market and consider how it can be reformed to support further renewable deployment, ensure security of supply and reduce costs for consumers. We are clear that any reforms should support a fair and just transition to net zero. We provided a response to the second REMA consultation on 3 May.

We are aware of the potential impacts, both positive and negative, that locational marginal pricing could have for market participants, and we are cognisant of concerns expressed by the renewables industry in Scotland. We are also aware of potential benefits for consumers, including those in or at risk of fuel poverty, as well as for the decarbonisation of industry, heat and transport through electrification. We continue to call on the UK Government to act quickly to provide further clarity on market reform options.

Following the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs on 16 May 2024, the Director of Justice in the Scottish Government wrote to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs), to make them aware of the Cabinet Secretary’s statement.

The letter committed to keeping ADPs informed regarding plans for emergency release and other measures as they continue to be developed.

The Scottish Government, with the Scottish Prison Service, has established an Operational Delivery Leads Group, to support planning and delivery in relation to emergency release. Representatives from ADPs will be invited to join the group.

In addition to this, we are working with health boards to ensure that the impact on prison healthcare teams is understood and considered within decision-making and, to support these teams respond to the current high levels of the prison population, whose needs are increasingly complex. Following the statement, a network of Executive-level leads from all Health Board areas and national and local SPS representatives met to discuss the prison population increase and will continue to correspond on all significant developments, meeting whenever necessary.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-27548 on 29 May 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/written-questions-and-answers .

Public bodies listed in the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 have a duty to comply fully with responsibilities set out for them in the Act. I expect them to fulfil these duties, including in relation to the publication of financial information.

There is a wide range of transformation work underway within the Scottish Government, much of which has built upon the foundations of the Corporate Transformation programme I established in my previous government role.

Transformation activity is now being directed by the ‘In the Service of Scotland’ framework, which sets out the mission, vision, improvement priorities and values for the core Scottish Government, and has the broad aim of creating an organisation that can deliver effectively and efficiently for ministers and the people of Scotland in any future operating environment.

The improvement priorities are:

• creating an empowering and enabling culture.
• building a sustainable and outcomes-focused organisation.
• nurturing respectful and trusting partnerships.
• developing high quality business processes.
• providing a flexible workplace, enabling technology and usable data.

Examples of current work include a shared services programme that will implement Oracle Cloud, transforming the HR, finance and purchasing function for Scottish Government and public sector customers; a programme of work to implement a People Strategy; a range of initiatives to upskill civil servants, such as the Scottish Digital Academy which provides high quality professional learning to public and third sector staff to build digital capability; and the Single Scottish Estate, which is identifying opportunities to efficiently co-locate some public services and support our transition to Net Zero.

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on how the Scottish National Investment Bank's £50 million investment in the Ardersier Port will benefit (a) the local area, (b) industry and (c) its climate ambitions.The Scottish National Investment Bank has invested £50 million in Ardersier Port alongside a similar £50 million investment from the UK Infrastructure Bank. This investment follows a £300 million capital commitment from Quantum Capital - the largest private sector port investment for offshore wind to date. The project aligns with the Bank’s net zero mission.

As a result, Ardersier Port is expected to become of strategic importance in supporting the growing offshore wind industry over the coming years. Once operational, the facility will significantly increase the offshore wind port capacity, to support the transition to net zero in Scotland and the UK. As one of the largest industrial regeneration projects in the Highlands in decades, it will re-establish the port as a major local employer, supporting and creating hundreds of jobs. At full capacity it is estimated that the site has potential to enable around 3,000 jobs and reskilling opportunities for the local area.

The global transition to net zero offers enormous economic opportunities for Scotland. Offshore wind is at the heart of both our energy and economic policy. We have made a commitment to invest up to £500 million over 5 years to anchor our offshore wind supply-chain in Scotland. This will support market certainty, helping to create a highly productive, competitive economy, providing thousands of new jobs, embedding innovation and boosting skills. Investments like Ardersier show the Scottish public sector can play a key role in building market confidence and anchoring core parts of the global offshore wind sector in Scotland.

As was the case throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Scottish Government continue to listen carefully to the World Health Organization’s advice.

Furthermore, although it is the statutory duty of Local Authorities to manage their school estate, we would be happy to work in partnership with them on this matter.