Chamber and committees

The Care Inspectorate are members of the working group which is exploring how to address issues facing local authorities in relation to secure transport.

The service specification for secure transport is still in development. Multi-agency discussions are ongoing about how that will be used in local authority commissioning arrangements.

We will consider the implications of changing the legislative and regulatory framework to make it possible to bring scrutiny of secure transport arrangements within the remit of the Care Inspectorate.

The NHS Capital Investment Group discussed the Outline Business Case at their meeting on 22 February 2023. The Group discussed a wide range of issues with representatives from NHS Lanarkshire including the service model, the economic appraisal, capital costs, revenue affordability and the workforce model.

Scottish Government officials are currently identifying representatives according to the draft terms of reference and will proactively publish the agreed membership in due course. There may also be opportunity to extend the participants list further as the meetings progress if required.

Where there is a product recall, we would expect current procedures to apply with the product being recovered intact to the producer who would manage the destruction as production waste or recycling.

Deposits and product costs would be reimbursed by the producer to the retailer and the producer will adjust their 'placed on market' report to Circularity Scotland Limited (CSL) by reporting the volume of product they have ‘placed on market’ via a self service portal. This allows CSL to calculate deposits and producer fees resulting in a refund of deposits and producer fees to the producer.

I am aware of Glasgow City Council’s unsuccessful bid for Levelling up Funding for their proposed M8 ‘garden cap’ project. However the Levelling Up Fund is a UK Government initiative which clearly encroaches on devolved areas of transport policy. The Scottish Government has had no input into the development of the fund nor any responsibility for award decisions. Therefore, all the final decisions are solely taken by the UK Government.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role the M8 plays in providing access to key markets, jobs and services in Scotland and beyond. However given that this proposal is about the wider public realm and land-use within the city it is more appropriate that this work is led by the City Council. Transport Scotland, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, has a statutory duty as the Trunk Road Authority to ensure that any potential impacts on the trunk road network are appropriately assessed and any adverse impacts mitigated, where required.

Transport Scotland will continue to engage constructively with local authorities where proposals or projects are considered to have a potential impact on transport assets and services owned and or provided by Scottish Ministers and I trust that Local Authorities will likewise proactively seek the advice and guidance of my officials at Transport Scotland on such matters.

The Scottish Government has today launched a survey seeking views from anyone with an interest in Scotland's world-class event industry on the review of the national events strategy, Scotland the Perfect Stage. The strategy was first published in response to Scotland's burgeoning potential to be a global leader in the events industry and was last updated in 2015. The event sector has recently experienced a period of unprecedented disruption, presenting a number of challenges and potential opportunities for the sector in Scotland. A refreshed strategy is needed to address these.

The survey seeks views on spreading economic benefits, a just transition to net zero, skilled workforce and fair work practices, the wellbeing benefits of events, and measurability and sharing good practice. Boosting equality, promoting diversity and showcasing Scotland on the international stage also sit at the heart of the strategy review. The review's priorities and the survey paper have been developed with representatives from the event sector, public bodies, local authorities and trade unions.

The survey will be open for 3 months, closing on 30 June 2023, and can be found at found at

https://consult.gov.scot/culture-tourism-and-major-events/national-event-strategy-review-and-refresh . In parallel, VisitScotland and the Scottish Government will be undertaking a number of engagement events with stakeholders around Scotland to explore emerging themes in more detail. It will be essential for this work to draw strongly on the knowledge, expertise and experience of those working in and taking part in events, and I would encourage engagement to the greatest extent possible.

The Scottish Government’s new Hate Crime Strategy for Scotland has been published today. The strategy sets out our vision for a country where everyone lives free from hatred and prejudice and where our communities are empowered, inclusive and safe.

It has been developed in partnership with organisations with expertise in tackling prejudice, building cohesive communities and advancing human rights and sets out our strategic priorities including supporting the implementation of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.

https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781805253709

The Deferral Working Group met on the following dates:

1 March 2021

2 May 2021

3 July 2021

4 November 2021

5 April 2022

30 June 2022

24 October 2022

27 February 2023

The Deferral Working Group last met on 27 February 2023. The minutes of this meeting will be published on the Scottish Government website once they have been approved by members at the next Deferral Working Group which will be in April 2023.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15876 on 24 March 2023. 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 .