Chamber and committees

Circularity Scotland set out the requirement to use a GS1 compliant barcode in 2021 and this has not changed – it is an international standard. The ability to use a UK-wide EAN barcode within Scotland’s DRS was confirmed by SEPA in summer 2022. Guidance on the use of barcode stickers, to support smaller producers who don’t currently use them on their products, will be published shortly by the Scheme Administrator.

SEPA is the scheme regulator but cannot prosecute retailers as this responsibility rests with Police Scotland and their counterparts elsewhere in the UK. As such, they have not been allocated funding for this purpose.

The works at each of the ports as part of the Skye Triangle Infrastructure programme (Tarbert, Lochmaddy & Uig) are aimed at replacing life expired infrastructure, improving resilience and increasing the range of vessels that can use the ports. The Tarbert (Harris) project is estimated to cost £23million. Our response to the Freedom of Information Request 2022-00297832 published in July 2022 outlined that we have offered a capital funding contribution of up to £19.599million with the remaining contribution to be met by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) as statutory harbour authority.

No expressions of interest have been received by the Scottish Government as the Community Bus Fund has not launched. Officials have engaged with local authority representatives ATCO and CoSLA, who have indicated the general feedback from local authorities on the Community Bus Fund has been positive.

The Scottish Government published the Changing Places Toilets: Planning Guide and an accompanying easy read in November 2022. This guide details practical considerations when considering installing a Changing Places Toilet in both existing and new buildings.

The Scottish Government works closely with Promoting a More Inclusive Society (PAMIS) who are co-chairs and co-founders of the Changing Places Consortium and offer expert advice on Changing Places Toilets to a range of organisations in Scotland. From this work, and drawing on the lived experience that PAMIS brings, we know that there is significant demand for increased provision of Changing Places Toilets across the country.

The Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) (most recently published in 2021) ( The Scottish Government's Medium Term Financial Strategy - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ) sets out the range of funding available to the Scottish Government to invest in infrastructure, including revenue finance models. As part of the National Infrastructure Mission commitment, the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) were commissioned to examine new privately financed profit-sharing schemes. SFT assessed different funding models (such as evolved Private Finance Initiatives, financial transactions and MIM variations) against their ability to deliver additional investment, value for money, affordability, investor interest and financial risk. More information on the analysis performed by SFT can be found here: sftoptionsappraisalreportlowres.pdf (scottishfuturestrust.org.uk) .

The Scottish Futures Trust also supports the Scottish Government in considering the range of sources of finance and their relative merits for different types of infrastructure investment– a summary of which can be found in Appendix 5, here:

NPF4_Draft_3.QXP_Layout 1 (scottishfuturestrust.org.uk)

The School Libraries Improvement Fund (SLIF) is distributed via the Scottish Library and Information Council (as is the Public Libraries Improvement Fund). £200,000 has been allocated in 2022/23 to SLIF which has supported a total of 18 initiatives across Scotland. In this year’s funding round, priority was given to applications which focused on supporting anti-racism and racial equality, supporting the aims of the Scottish Government’s Anti-Racism in Education Programme.

In 2022-23 the Scottish Government has also provided funding of £450,000 to the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) for the Public Library Improvement Fund (PLIF), which enables libraries to undertake a wide range of pioneering projects within communities. Eight initiatives were selected to receive grants from the 2022-23 PLIF, supporting sustainable development and innovation within Scotland’s public libraries.

Ensuring the development and availability of sector-specific skills is central to a just transition towards reaching our net-zero targets.

We will be taking forward work on sector-specific skills needs for the renewable energy sector as we finalise the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan and the refresh of the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan.

In addition, through our work on oil and gas analysis, which will be published in due course, we are developing our understanding of the opportunities in sectors across the energy economy, and we will use that to inform future skills work.

Thrombectomy services are run on a regional basis with North, East and West of Scotland hubs. Prior to making funding allocations to regions for the 2023-24 financial year, the Scottish Government has asked that each region provides detailed workforce resourcing plans and can demonstrate how these plans will increase the provision of thrombectomy procedures. This is in line with our aim of further expanding the national thrombectomy service and maximising the number of patients able to benefit from this treatment.

Applications for the 2022-23 School Libraries Improvement Fund were accepted from 29 August 2022 to 29 September 2022.

We are engaging with the Scottish Library and Information Council and will set out future plans in due course.