Chamber and committees

Tackling poverty and inequality is a key priority for this government. We know that holiday periods can present challenges for families, which is why we have provided local authorities with £21.75 million of funding for alternative holiday food provision for families eligible for free school meals. This support is available to those families on the basis of low income, regardless of the age of their children and is being provided directly to families in the form of vouchers or cash payments. In addition to this, we have invested a further £10 million into a targeted summer holiday programme for 2022, designed to reach those school age children and their families who can benefit most from access to free holiday childcare, activities and nutritious food.

The Scottish Government has engaged with a wide range of drinks businesses throughout the policy development and implementation stages for our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), including through two stages of consultation (running from 25 June 2018 – 25 September 2018 and 10 September 2019 – 10 December 2019) which any business could participate in. We have not carried out any engagement relating to DRS specifically directed at retailers selling hampers, parcels, or gift sets, but many such retailers would have been captured by this wider engagement.

Since July 2021 we have met representatives of small brewers on the following occasions: 5 August 2021, 7 September 2021, and 28 October 2021. This is in addition to small brewers’ representatives participating in wider Scottish Government engagement such as the DRS System-Wide Assurance Group.

Part of the current national conversation about our National Parks is aimed at developing an Evaluation Framework to identify the next areas to be progressed to National Park status. The Scottish Government and NatureScot will shortly be announcing the second phase of this consultation, at which time further details of the process will be published.

As part of the national conversation about our National Parks, we are considering the roles and functions National Park Authorities should have to help them continue delivering the aims set out in the 2000 Act, but also to play a key role in addressing the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. We will consider consultation responses carefully, including any which propose changes to primary legislation.

The recent independent review of the role of incineration found that while there may be a temporary under-capacity of residual waste treatment in Scotland in 2025, when the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste comes into force, there is a risk of long-term overcapacity beginning from 2026 or 2027, if all or most of the incineration capacity in the pipeline is built.

The review noted that export is a feasible short-term option for the treatment of residual waste in order to bridge the expected capacity gap. Scottish Government will continue to work with local authorities and commercial operators to ensure they have solutions in place to manage their residual waste in 2025 and beyond, taking account of the recommendations of the independent review and ongoing assessment of residual waste requirements and available capacity.

Circularity Scotland Ltd as Scheme Administrator meets frequently with Zero Waste Scotland as part of their ongoing work to implement our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), including through the DRS System-Wide Assurance Group which is responsible for assessing system-wide readiness, as well as the monitoring and addressing of risks to delivery for Scotland’s DRS.

On 8 July 2022, the First Minister and I represented the Scottish Government at the summit meeting of the British-Irish Council hosted by the Government of Guernsey in St Peter Port. The meeting was attended by Ministers from all eight of the BIC Member Administrations and was chaired by the Chief Minister of Guernsey, Deputy Peter Ferbrache.

The Summit focussed on Collaborative Spatial Planning: The revitalisation of Towns, and included a site visit to a regeneration area of St Peter Port which I attended with fellow Planning Ministers from the BIC member Administrations. I also participated in a meeting of Planning Ministers on the CSP theme ahead of the main summit to discuss the work being carried out in this area in our own jurisdictions.

During the main Summit meeting the Council reflected on the latest political developments, with the First Minister communicating views on the cost of living crisis, the Northern Ireland Protocol and the war in Ukraine.

The Communiqué that was issued by the British-Irish Council after the meeting can be found on its website at: britishirishcouncil.org.

37th British-Irish Council Summit, Government of Guernsey

08 July 2022

Communiqué

The British-Irish Council (BIC) held its 37th Summit meeting today hosted by the Government of Guernsey. The heads of delegation were welcomed by the Chief Minister of the Government of Guernsey, Deputy Peter Ferbrache. Deputy Ferbrache extended a particular welcome to Alfred Cannan MHK who attended his first British-Irish Council Summit as Chief Minister of the Isle of Man. A full list of Ministerial participants is attached.

Latest Political Developments

The Council reflected on the latest political developments across their administrations, and took the opportunity to engage on a number of topics of mutual interest. These included the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the impact of the rising cost of living particularly in the areas of fuel and housing, shared climate and decarbonisation objectives, ongoing relations with the EU, and the continuing challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cooperation on matters of mutual interest

In advance of the Summit meeting, Ministers with responsibility for collaborative spatial planning met to share best practice across BIC administrations on the contribution of spatial planning to town revitalisation and the decarbonisation agenda. The Council held a further discussion on this topic during the Summit meeting, noting that an opportunity exists to revitalise our towns and make them places where people want to live, do business and spend their leisure time, while delivering on a range of wider outcomes including inclusive development, addressing climate change, supporting green recovery and promoting active and sustainable travel.

The Council also welcomed the recent Ministerial Meeting of the BIC Energy work sector, which considered shared challenges including the threat of climate change, the desire to make greater progress in energy efficiency, and the need to ensure energy security.

The Council took the opportunity to discuss the recent work of the Council across all of its Work Sectors and to take note of the ongoing collaborative work across all administrations. This work includes recent symposia on the topics of “Social Value as a Driver for Social Enterprise” organised by the Social Inclusion work sector, and “Working together to meet the health needs of people experiencing homelessness and substance use issues”, jointly organised by the Housing and Drugs & Alcohol work sectors.

Next Summit Meeting

The Council noted that the next BIC Summit will be hosted by the UK Government.

BIC Secretariat

08 July 2022

The additional revenue funding provided to local authorities under the Bellwin Scheme in each year since 1998-99 is set out in a document that has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, Bib number 63530.

Responsibility for the management of the police estate sits with the Scottish Police Authority and the Chief Constable.and as such are the holders of this information. The SPA’s Chief Executive, Lynn Brown, can be contacted at The Scottish Police Authority, 1 Pacific Quay, Glasgow, G51 1DZ.

The Police Scotland Estate Strategy, approved by the SPA in May 2019, provides a framework for planning the future of the police estate to support the long term vision of policing which includes enhanced partnership working, and seeks to respond to the changing needs of communities while maintaining public visibility and confidence.