Chamber and committees

As with the development of all new trade arrangements, the Scottish Government has sought to engage with the UK Government at Ministerial and official level throughout the negotiations for accession to the CPTPP to ensure that Scottish interests are identified and taken into account.

As part of this process the Scottish Government has raised the issue of increased palm oil production. In my recent letter to the UK Government Minister of State for International Trade, Nigel Huddleston MP, I reiterated our concerns and specifically asked to see the UK’s assessment of the impact of lowering tariffs through accession to CPTPP. I raised the matter again on 1 June when we last met.

All employees of NHS Scotland, including employees of the Scottish Ambulance Service, who have had their C1 licence temporarily revoked due to medical issues would be managed under the Attendance, NHS Scotland Workforce Policy (Once for Scotland).

Each case is considered on an individual basis, according to the nature of the medical issue.

Duties relating to secure transport lie principally with the local authority responsible for the child’s placement. Information is not held centrally on these arrangements or the use of handcuffs.

A sub-group of the National Secure Care Group is developing a service specification that can be used consistently by local authorities and sets out the principles and standards wherever secure transport requires to be commissioned. It covers areas such as data gathering and staff training and prohibits the use of mechanical restraints or handcuffs.

The Scottish Government has a contract with GEOAmey to provide secure transport for children convicted on indictment and given a custodial sentence. GEOAmey must ensure that the child being transported, staff and the general public are protected by robust arrangements throughout each journey, including the prevention of escape. Multi-purpose vehicles are used to escort children, rather than the prison vans used to transport adult prisoners. Because of this, handcuffs are used for each journey.

The New Deal for Business Group will include business leaders, along with representatives from organisations including the Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Tourism Alliance and Fraser of Allander Institute. The membership for the New Deal Business Group has been finalised and agreed by the First Minister.

The New Deal for Business Group has met twice (17 May and 1 June) with representation across a range of business sectors, sizes and locations in both the Group’s membership and members and contributors to the five subgroup’s led by Scottish Government and Business. We have encouraged the business leads to reach out to their networks to ensure as wide a reach as possible and have recently published a mailbox ( [email protected] ) to facilitate contributions from across Scotland’s business community.

Through Creative Scotland we will raise awareness with the creative industries of this facility. The Group is due to report its recommendations to the First Minister at the end of June. After that time, we will review membership aligned with those recommendations.

Given the reserved nature of telecoms legislation, responsibility for ensuring that Project Gigabit creates genuine competition between bidders ultimately sits with the UK Government, who oversee the parameters of the programme and its implementation.

The Scottish Government is, however, working closely with the UK Government and in March 2023, the Scottish Government and Building Digital UK (BDUK) carried out Procurement Area Market Engagement. This engagement sought to determine the level of interest from the broadband supplier market in bidding for new contracts. Feedback from these sessions is being used to help shape the development of potential procurement areas. This process will help ensure that procurements attract bids from as many suppliers as possible, encouraging competition.

We continue to urge the UK Government to be flexible in their approach to funding for Project Gigabit, as there can only be meaningful supplier interest and competition if a sufficient level of funding is available to deliver coverage across all parts of Scotland.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the UK Government on Project Gigabit activity in Scotland.

In March 2023, the Scottish Government and Building Digital UK (BDUK) carried out Procurement Area Market Engagement, engaging with broadband infrastructure suppliers to gauge the level of market interest in bidding for new gigabit-capable broadband contracts in Scotland.

On 23 March 2023, the Scottish Government launched a Scotland-wide Public Review (PR). The PR collected information about suppliers’ delivered and planned gigabit-capable networks across Scotland and will confirm eligible premises for public investment via Project Gigabit.

The PR closed on 24 April 2023 and the responses are being analysed.

The first Project Gigabit procurements in Scotland are expected to launch later in 2023.

Support from the Circular Textiles Fund is available without capital expenditure requirements.Applicants from the first round are currently being supported to develop their proposals further, to make best use of the funding.Further information on support for applicants to the Circular Textiles Fund is available at: - https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/circular-textiles-fund 

The Scottish Government carried out a consultation on the Future of Gaelic and Scots from August to December 2022 and these responses will help shape any future legislation. The responses have been independently analysed and it is hope that these will be published by the Scottish Government on 7 June.

A decision on the timing of the Bill’s introduction to Parliament will be taken by Cabinet in the context of setting the content of future legislative programmes.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, to discuss areas of mutual interest.

The Scottish Government is aware of the importance of protecting the welfare of fish at the time of slaughter and takes this very seriously.

We will carefully consider any recommendations made by the Animal Welfare Committee concerning the welfare of fish at the time of slaughter. However, due to a lack of clear communication from the UK Government, we do not yet have a timescale for when the report will be published.