Chamber and committees

Transport Scotland is considering future ferry fares policy as part of the Islands Connectivity Plan alongside our wider Fair Fares Review, which will report by the end of 2023 and recommend a package of measures which can be considered for implementation from 2024-25 and onwards to address the wider issues of cost and availability across all modes of public transport.

Meantime, we are continuing to take action on ferry fares with fares on the Northern Isles and Clyde & Hebrides ferry networks to remain frozen until the end of March 2024.

Any introduction of new RET measures on lifeline ferry services in Scotland would now need to comply with the requirements of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 and there have been extensive discussions on the Subsidy Control Act 2022 but no separate specific discussions on RET with the UK Government.

Transport Scotland has conducted extensive analysis of the carbon benefits of transport modal shift in Scotland. However, there has been no flow-specific analysis on the Edinburgh/Glasgow to Belfast corridor.

Since the STEM bursary scheme (now known as the Teaching Bursary Scheme) was introduced in 2018, the number of bursaries awarded in each year is as follows:

Universal free school meals are available to all children in Primaries 1 to 5, and to all pupils in special schools, saving families £400 per eligible child per year.

We are committed to the expansion of free school meals, with the next phase of this being to children in Primary 6 & 7 whose families are in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment.

The following table shows the number of pupils at each school in the G74 and G75 postcode areas who were registered for universal free school meals at the time of our September 2022 Pupil Census.

Since the STEM bursary scheme (now known as the Teaching Bursary Scheme) was introduced in 2018, the costs the Scottish Government has provided is as follows:

Scotland is committed to reaching net zero and to ensuring the journey is fair and just for everyone.

The draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan lays out over 150 actions, as well as consulting on further actions, to help maximise a just transition to net zero for our economy, communities, business and workers

Decarbonising industry is critical to our climate goals and the infrastructure and expertise at Grangemouth will play a key role. That is why we have committed to delivering a dedicated Just Transition Plan for the Grangemouth industrial area.

We will work closely with industry, unions, the workforce and the community to make sure they have a say in the plan for Grangemouth’s future.

The Scottish Government understands the importance of bank branches to rural communities in Scotland and recognises that when a local branch closes it can be difficult for those living in rural and highland communities to access their next nearest branch.

The regulation of financial services is reserved to the UK Government. As such, the Scottish Government cannot intervene on banks’ commercial decisions to change their branch network and so we have not conducted data analysis on what we would consider a necessary number of bank branches in a particular area. We are, however, aware of ONS data showing a 41% decline in Scottish bank branches since 2012 and the data the FCA reported in Q4 2021 that only 32.7% of the Scottish rural population live within 5km of their nearest branch.

We proactively engage with the banking sector following decisions they have made to close Scottish branches. Through these engagements we have reminded banks of their social responsibility and re-iterated the importance of in-person banking services for communities across Scotland. We welcome industry commitments made through the Access to Cash working group to ensure alternative services are available to mitigate the impact of branch closures. This includes “Banking Framework 3” which allows customers of 30 major UK banks to use the Post Office for their basic banking needs. We note that, when including Post Offices with bank branches, 78.4% of Scotland’s rural population live within 5km of the nearest branch.

We will continue to engage with the banking sector and encourage them to do all they can to ensure that appropriate support is provided so that our rural communities are not disproportionately disadvantaged by branch closures.

Providing the support that people need to move towards, into and to sustain work is a key aspect of building a fairer and more equal society. I am pleased to confirm that from 1 April 2024, following the end of referrals to Fair Start Scotland in March 2024, employability support for disabled people and those at risk of long-term unemployment will be provided through No One Left Behind.

Learning and evaluation must continue to underpin our ambitions and I welcome today’s publication of the Implementation Evaluation of No One Left Behind and the Young Person’s Guarantee, which offers valuable insight on how we continue to build upon the strengths of local delivery and good practice.

As Michael Matheson advised in line with the Scottish Government’s evidence-led approach to policy development, we were undertaking a programme of work and analysis to better understand Scotland’s energy requirements as we transition to net zero and how this aligns with our climate change targets. In our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, we set out a clear pathway to deliver on global commitments and capitalise on the enormous opportunities offered by becoming a net zero economy. Whilst oil and gas licensing is reserved to UK Government we have been clear that our focus must be meeting our energy security needs, reducing emissions and ensuring a just transition for our oil and gas workforce as North Sea resources decline.

There was no discussion at the Heads of Devolved Governments Council regarding the UK’s Military presence in Scotland.

However, we have previously highlighted to the Scottish Affairs Committee decisions made by the UK Government on defence, which is a reserved matter, can have far reaching implications for Scottish communities who we support.

In the Scottish Government’s written evidence to the Committee, we proposed that the UK Government commits to meaningful engagement with the Scottish Government through clear structures that facilitate discussion leading to productive outcomes.