Chamber and committees

Once we report on the 2021 and 2022 fishing seasons, we will undertake discussions with stakeholders via our Regional Inshore Fisheries Group network in order to help determine the effectiveness of existing management measures, and what if any improvements could be made.

There are already a range of measures in place to protect fish stocks and their habitats, including a network of Marine Protected Areas, controls on fishing gear and catch limits. Work is already underway to develop fisheries management measures for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and protection for the 11 Priority Marine Features most vulnerable to mobile bottom-contacting fishing gears outside of MPAs.

Stakeholder engagement is being undertaken at the moment prior to full public consultation next year. All proposals to manage the MPA network and Priority Marine Features are evidence-led, based on Sustainability Appraisals and underpinned by stakeholder engagement at all stages.

The Scottish Government will continue to encourage creative industry tax reliefs, delivered by the UK Government, which includes the Video Games Tax Relief.

The Scottish Government is disappointed that the UK Government will be reducing the rates of Corporation Tax Relief for the culture sector, in particular the Theatre Tax Relief and Orchestra Tax Relief from 1 April 2023. We support calls for the higher rate of tax support to be extended, given the ongoing impact of the Cost Crisis which is hampering the Culture sector’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Angus Robertson, raised this issue when meeting with DCMS Secretary of State Michelle Donelan on Tuesday 13 th December.

Funding allocations for ventilation upgrades and maintenance will be at the discretion of each individual local authority or public body, on the basis of local needs and priorities whilst also fulfilling any statutory obligations where applicable.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12739 on 13 December 2022. 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

Ministers remain committed to exploring the benefits of a four-day working week, which is why the 2022-23 Programme for Government included a commitment to undertake research and advice to improve workplace productivity and wellbeing, including on the delivery of a four-day working week pilot. This work will continue to be informed by experience drawn from similar projects in other countries, and elsewhere in the UK.

As is reflected in the response to question S6W-12758 on 13 December 2022, The Scottish Government will consult on our proposals to apply an activity cap on fishing activity in inshore waters, in due course.

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

I am pleased to confirm the publication today of the Scottish Government’s fourth thematic report on implementation progress following Dame Elish Angiolini’s Final Report. This not only includes a narrative, context and additional information about key recommendations but, importantly, also has a tracker showing what progress has been made.

This shows that 55 of the non-legislative recommendations are now complete leaving only 16 non-legislative recommendations still in progress and one to be kept under review.

Through their leadership and commitment, policing partners have delivered major business transformation and service redesign to improve how complaints are handled, bringing greater transparency, fairness and accessibility to systems, policies and processes.

Building on this and as announced in the Programme for Government, the Scottish Government will introduce a Police Complaints and Misconduct Handling Bill in this Parliamentary year to further strengthen public confidence in policing in Scotland.

I commend Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland for their dedication to this important work.

The report can be accessed here: http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781805252610

Ministerial engagements and expenses, including those for overseas travel, are proactively published by the Scottish Government three months in arrears in line with the Ministerial Code. This can be accessed via the Scottish Government website .

Travelling to other countries allows Ministers to promote Scotland, build relationships and boost investment - including emphasising the Scottish Government's role in working with partners to support Scottish companies.

The cost of flights for those accompanying me, up to and including trips proactively published on the SG website, are listed below.

Ministerial engagements and expenses, including those for overseas travel, are proactively published by the Scottish Government. This can be accessed via the Scottish Government website .

I made no international trips as a Minister between my appointment in May 2021 and 31 December 2021.

The New Scots refugee integration strategy is built on partnership and collaboration, led by the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, and involves a wide range of partners across different sectors.

The New Scots Core Group brings together key stakeholders and is responsible for monitoring and reviewing progress against the overarching outcomes of the strategy. The Core Group is chaired by Professor Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts at the University of Glasgow.

The Core Group usually meets four times a year. This year, the group undertook a two-part workshop in January and February, as part of the New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project. The Core Group then met in June and in October, with the final meeting of the year set to take place in December.

The workshops in January and February were run by our external evaluator and looked at the Theory of Change for the New Scots strategy as part of the external evaluation. Details of these workshops will be made available in a wider ScotCen evaluation report which is due to be published in March 2023.

We will publish the minutes from the Core Group’s June meeting shortly.

There have been a number of significant changes to Public Health policies in relation to Covid over the summer, resulting in the profile of Covid spend reducing significantly compared to when funding was provided to IJBs.

In response to this, surplus Covid reserves will be redistributed across the sector to meet current Covid priorities, including Test and Protect and PPE provisions.