Chamber and committees

Crown Estate Scotland will announce today (24 March 2022) the outcomes their evaluation of applications to the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas decarbonisation (INTOG) offshore wind leasing round.

In total 13 projects were successful and will be offered exclusive development rights over areas of seabed in Spring 2023.

Five new innovative wind projects (with a potential generation capacity of 449MW) were successful, providing opportunities for the new growth sector of hydrogen production, novel commercial solutions and stimulation of the supply chain.

To support secure energy supplies and the decarbonisation of fossil fuel production and extraction in Scottish waters, eight projects (totalling 4.96GW) providing green electricity directly to oil and gas platforms were also successful.

A full sustainability appraisal to support the INTOG planning process is underway and a public consultation later in 2023 will be carried out by Scottish Government, on a draft Sectoral Marine Plan. INTOG projects in the final adopted plan will be offered full Option Agreements by Crown Estate Scotland in 2024 and the consenting process can then proceed.

The Programme for Government 2022-2023 set out a commitment to introduce a Scottish Aggregates Levy Bill within this Parliamentary year. The Bill will set out key arrangements for a devolved tax on the commercial exploitation of aggregates in Scotland, including to provide for its administration by Revenue Scotland.

Consistent with the Framework for Tax, the Scottish Government is consulting and engaging with stakeholders to help inform development of the Bill.

Following public consultation and taking stakeholders’ views into account, the Scottish Government concluded that further work is needed to ensure that decisions on Bill provisions are based on optimal evidence. An advisory group has been formed to assist with this process.

Given this, the Bill will now not be introduced before the end of the current Parliamentary year.

We recognise the current pressure on the third sector, and understandably there are calls being made on the Scottish Government every day for more support.

SCVO estimate that the public sector as a whole invests around £1.4 billion each year to support the work of charities and social enterprises. Of that, around £500m comes from Scottish Government via a broad range of programmes including those supporting community empowerment, mental health and wellbeing, children and families and health and social care.

We will continue to invest widely in the third sector from across the Government and have committed to increase multi-year funding wherever possible. This includes investing £21.9m in Third Sector infrastructure and programmes that provide the ‘backbone’ support and development to the wider sector.

A range of resources and advice can be accessed through the Find Business Support service which Families Like Us that support the Juniors Play Café may find helpful. These can be accessed at the following link: Find Business Support .

Due to the scale and significance of this project, in addition to the NHS Capital Investment Group, the Executive Team in Investment Mode, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, will also review the Outline Business Case at their meeting on 11 April 2023. A decision on next steps will be made after that meeting.

The Programme for Government sets out that a Circular Economy Bill will be introduced in 2022-23 and we remain on track to meet that deadline. Further, the Deposit Return Scheme remains on track to go live in August 2023.

All applicants were advised to demonstrate and evidence how their proposal would deliver against all four areas of action for the fund, and that these were the criteria against which their application would be assessed. The criteria are:

• tackling poverty and inequality, including child poverty
• developing and sustaining place based approaches
• community-led regeneration
• ensuring a just transition to net zero

All applications were assessed equally against the criteria and organisations were advised that previous support through ICF did not guarantee a future award.

Meeting frequency will be determined by the Taskforce when it meets. We envisage that there will be a series of meetings and separate subgroup meetings focusing on the key themes within the terms of reference, and the frequency will vary by workstream, and as work progresses.

The Scottish Government will agree the date of the first meeting in due course, following confirmation of representatives and proposed structure.

NHS employers should take steps to ensure that wherever possible staff have access to nutritious food, out of hours catering and rest spaces.

In March 2023 we confirmed funding to Health Boards for the purchase of small hot food appliances for all hospital Doctors in Training.

In 2021, the Scottish Government made £12 million available to the NHS workforce, including funding for practical support such as access to hot food and drinks.

New ‘EnergyPods’ were introduced at Victoria Hospital in Fife, providing staff with the opportunity to boost their energy and take time out with a personalised guided power nap in comfortable surroundings. We are reviewing the feedback from this pilot and considering next steps.

NatureScot approached the Scottish Land Commission to provide advice so that the design of the investment meets the expectations for community engagement, benefit and ownership that are set out in the Scottish Government’s Interim Principles for Responsible Investment in Natural Capital. Neither the Scottish Land Commission nor NatureScot will be paid by the investors for their advice.