Chamber and committees

The following table shows how many devices have been distributed by councils to school aged children using the £25m digital inclusion funding made available by Scottish Government in 2020/21.

Building on a rich shipbuilding heritage, the future for Scottish shipbuilding, marine engineering and fabrication is very strong. The latest official statistics show Scottish shipbuilding generated £408 million of gross value added in 2019 – a 45% increase from 2018 – and Scotland contributed 19% of the total UK shipbuilding output. The sector supports direct employment of approximately 7,500 highly skilled people in Scotland with many thousands more supported through the supply chain.

The major shipbuilding yards in Rosyth and on the Clyde continue to deliver substantial programmes of work for defence and ferries programmes, whilst a host of smaller facilities throughout Scotland service the ship repair, fabrication, fishing and aquaculture sectors. And, through our ownership of Ferguson Marine, Scottish Ministers are working to ensure the Port Glasgow yard has a secure and sustainable future.

The broader Scottish marine engineering sector continues to service offshore oil and gas markets both in the North Sea and across the globe, while the sector gears up for the truly transformational opportunities that will come through ScotWind – the world’s largest commercial round for floating offshore wind – putting Scotland at the forefront of offshore wind development globally.

Lease agreements with all 17 successful ScotWind applicants have now been signed and we welcome the commitment of developers to invest an average projection of £1.5 billion in Scotland per project, equating to more than £25 billion across all projects. Through these initial awards, ScotWind will not only deliver c.£700 million in revenues to the public purse, but also wider economic supply chain benefits to help power Scotland’s green recovery in communities across Scotland.

The Scottish Government has also committed to invest £580 million over 5 years in vessels and ports, as part of our Infrastructure Investment Plan. This substantial funding will improve Scotland’s ferry services by delivering greater resilience to the network and will allow a wider range of vessels to be used. The Islands Connectivity Plan (ICP) will replace the current Ferries Plan from January 2023 and, as part of the ICP, we will produce and maintain a long-term plan and investment programme for new ferries and development at ports.

The R100 programme is a combination of the following three strands of activity – the £600 million R100 contracts, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme and continued commercial coverage.

As of 21 July 2022, 1,472 properties in Stirling and 280 properties in Clackmannanshire are eligible for a main voucher worth up to £5,000 through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme.

We’re working closely with Openreach to address the delays being experienced in R100 contract build, which is impacting a small number of properties that will now receive their superfast broadband connections later than indicated by our online address checker.

While the checker aims to provide the most up to date information available, details may change from time to time due to a number of factors including engineering and planning constraints and ongoing updates by commercial broadband providers.

Like many other services, we’re doing our best to minimise disruption caused by the impact of COVID-19 and associated global supply chain issues, and will continue to work with suppliers and ensure that the checker is updated as further information is supplied.

The Scottish Government has allocated funding to support the work of Scotland’s Makar in each year since the position was created in 2004, as follows:

The specifics of the Islands Bond are still being carefully considered in light of the strong feedback we have received from island residents, and within the new context of the current energy crisis and rising living costs which are being experienced by many islanders.

We are committed to publishing a national framework for schools on addressing gender based violence. This work is being delivered by the Gender Based Violence in Schools Working Group who will also review existing resources and develop new resources where needed. We have also established the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning to identify ways in which systemic gender inequality in education can be eradicated. In accordance with the Bute House Agreement, in September 2021 the Gender Based Violence in Schools Working Group and the Harmful Sexual Behaviour Delivery Group met to consider existing work on addressing gender based violence in education settings and identify any gaps in the current approach. The minutes of this meeting can be found here . The Scottish Government have committed to commissioning an independent review following the completion of the work of both groups, which will consider the impact of the work, establish positive practice, and any further areas for improvement. In addition, we are taking forward a range of actions in schools such as teaching our children and young people about safe and healthy relationships through relationships, sexual health and parenthood education; and funding programmes, such as Mentors in Violence Prevention, aimed at reducing and preventing sexual harassment and violence in schools. Further and Higher Institutions are expected to adopt and adapt the Equally Safe in Higher Education Toolkit, assessing their own policies and practices against the Toolkit.

A new forensic laboratory based at Junction 24 Business Park in Glasgow is being prepared for the handover of the Post Mortem Toxicology Service from the University of Glasgow to Scottish Police Authority (SPA) Forensic Services.

In July 2022, I visited the laboratory which is now fully-fitted out and being set up for the transfer of the service which is due to take place on 1 December 2022.

SPA Forensic Services are also working closely with the University of Glasgow and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to ensure continuity of the Post Mortem Toxicology Service throughout this transfer period.

The following table provides an overview of P1 learners who have undertaken (a) one or (b) both parts of the Scottish National Standardised Assessments since 20 September 2018, broken down by (i) school year and (ii) local authority.

Please note that figures less than five have been suppressed to prevent the potential identification of individuals.

The row "n/a" denotes publicly-funded schools outwith local authority control.

Table 1 - Number of P1 Children undertaking SNSA since 20 September 2018 - by year and local authority

British Transport Police (BTP) is a reserved matter and as such the Scottish Government has no locus in their operations. I have recently had meetings with BTPs Chief Constable and the Chief Superintendent of D Division (Scotland) and discussed this very matter with them.

In addition officials are undertaking research on women and girls’ personal safety across and around public transport. This includes engagement with national and local organisations representing the interests of a cross-section of women, as well as Trade Union groups who represent female staff working on the public transport network.

This engagement work with women and girls, which is currently underway, is expected to capture views and experiences of accessing and using public transport. The outcomes of this engagement work, alongside our evidence review, will be used to inform our understanding and any future policy development.