Chamber and committees

In accordance with the Sewel Convention and in line with Rule 9B of Standing Orders, the UK Parliament should not legislate with regard to devolved matters – that is on matters within the legislative competence of the Parliament, or which change the competence of the Parliament or the Scottish Ministers – without the consent of the Scottish Parliament.

Within the legislative programme announced by the UK Government, Bills which appear to give rise to the requirement for the legislative consent of the Scottish Parliament are:

• Animal Welfare (Livestock Export) Bill
• Automated Vehicles Bill
• Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Bill
• Criminal Justice Bill
• Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill
• Tobacco and Vapes Bill
• Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (carried over) – legislative consent memorandum already lodged
• Economic Activities of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill (carried over) – legislative consent memorandum already lodged.

In addition, the following Bills extend to Scotland. The Scottish Government will consider the need for legislative consent when the text of these bills is available, but we do not currently expect they will generate a requirement for a legislative consent motion.

• Media Bill
• Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill
• Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill
• Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill
• Victims and Prisoners Bill (majority of provisions apply to England and Wales)

The Scottish Government will consider the content of all Bills before making its recommendation to the Parliament on legislative consent. It will then be for the Scottish Parliament to determine whether to give or withhold consent.

It is possible that legislative consent may be required for other UK Bills and those will be drawn to the attention of the Parliament as they arise.

I last met with the COSLA Culture Conveners group on 21 September 2023.

During this meeting we discussed ways in which we can collaborate to progress our shared priorities for culture in Scotland.

The next meeting of the Culture Conveners, which I will attend, is scheduled to take place in early 2024.

The additional £8.55 billion of UK Government funding for CRSTS2 relates to financial years 2027-28 to 2031-32.

This funding will form part of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) future budget allocation. The Scottish Government will receive additional Barnett funding as part of its block grant based on any increase in the DfT’s total budget for the relevant financial years in accordance with the Statement of Funding Policy.

This funding announcement falls into the next UK Government Spending Review period and confirmation of funding levels for the Scottish Government will only be confirmed once the Spending Review has concluded.

All vessels authorised to operate in Scottish waters do so under the appropriate licences, and are obliged to follow Scottish domestic management rules. This includes a mandatory requirement for all vessels, including EU vessels, operating in UK waters to report any incidental injury or mortality (bycatch) of marine mammal to the Marine Management Organisation.

We take any infringements of fishing vessel licence conditions seriously, including those relating the reporting of marine mammal bycatch. We continue to remind masters of their obligation to record and report incidental mortality and serious injury (bycatch) of marine mammals in accordance with their licence condition and will investigate any reports where there is evidence which suggests this condition is not complied with.

While the management of Scottish waters is an area of devolved competency, the Scottish Government continues to work with the UK Government and other devolved administrations through the delivery of the Marine Wildlife Bycatch Mitigation Initiative (BMI) which is a joint plan for tackling bycatch across the UK with the aim of minimising, and where possible eliminating, bycatch of sensitive marine species.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail, noting that in 2016 any agreement was with the private company, Abellio ScotRail, but ScotRail is now operated by a new, publicly owned company.

Assessments are made at local level of the potential impacts of non-native species on adjacent or nearby habitats, through implementation of the Forestry Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations (EIA), and the implementation of the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) and associated guidance.

The EIA Regulations process ensures assessment of the potential environmental and social impact of non-native tree species seeding into other habitats. Where the new woodland proposed is adjacent to European designated site, a Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA) is also required to assess potential impacts. The UKFS and associated guidance also requires appraisals to be made of the potential impact of productive woodland on neighbouring habitats, as part of both woodland creation applications and Long-Term Forest Plans.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail, though we can advise that the Scottish Government does not support Driver Only Operation and continues to specify a requirement for a second member of staff to assist passengers on every ScotRail train.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. I recommend contacting your local authority who may be able to advise.

Assessments are made at local level of the potential impacts of non-native species on peatland sites and other priority habitats, through implementation of the Forestry Environmental Impact Assessment regulations, and the implementation of the UK Forestry Standard and associated guidance.

NatureScot is currently undertaking an initial national GIS analysis to estimate the potential scale and distribution of regeneration onto peatland from commercial plantations. This analysis could contribute to an assessment of the potential impact on carbon sequestration and peatland restoration targets in due course. Other assessments have been made on a site by site basis, specifically in Caithness and Sutherland, which have guided management planning.