Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has consulted on the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) report recommendations and draft Bill on Judicial factors. The provisions of the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017 (“2017 Act”) was raised in the consultation along with a question asking consultees whether any provisions of the 2017 Act could be usefully replicated in any Scottish Legislation.

The consultation responses suggest that some aspects of the 2017 Act could be considered: Judicial factors: consultation analysis - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . The issues brought to light in the consultation responses will be explored further when work to consider a programme of the implementation of SLC Reports during this Parliament - which includes Judicial Factors - is commenced.

CalMac Ferries Ltd negotiated the time charter of the MV Arrow with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, in line with the industry standard practice. Responsibility for crewing, repairs & maintenance and regulatory compliance rests with the Seatruck, as the owner of the vessel. CalMac Ferries Ltd did not pay a charter fee for to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for the MV Arrow when the vessel was not available for deployment as a result of mechanical failure.

The commitment to investing at least £500m over the life of this Parliament to create a Whole Family Wellbeing Fund is significant. This will enable transformational change through the building of universal, holistic support services available in communities across Scotland giving families access to help when and where they need it, and help Scotland keep the Promise.

We will work closely with The Promise Scotland and partners across local government, social justice, health, the third sector, and with children and families to design and deliver the Fund. Further details will be provided in due course.

Negotiations are a matter for ScotRail and staff representatives through established collective bargaining arrangements. That being said, I have had discussions with Abellio ScotRail and the trade unions, and have encouraged every constructive effort to resolve the situation.

Through the pandemic we have supported rail operators, including ScotRail, with funding of around £1bn, of which over £450m is additional funding, to maintain services and full employment and salaries for rail staff. Any pay rise, including payments for rest day working, would need to be funded by efficiencies agreed by both sides.

The amount spent on the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry to date is just over £12 million.

The discretionary power to set up workplace parking licensing (WPL) schemes is intended as a tool for local authorities to use among a suite of measures when developing their local transport strategies. Depending on local circumstances, WPL schemes have the potential to encourage the use of more sustainable travel modes, reducing congestion, improving air quality and reducing emissions. The Scottish Government has recently concluded a consultation on the regulatory framework and supporting guidance which will underpin local authorities’ WPL schemes, with a view to this being in force in 2022. Once these are in place, it will be for local authorities to decide whether they wish to implement WPL locally and to shape proposals to suit local circumstances.

City of Edinburgh Council has included plans to take forward a WPL scheme as part of its published City Mobility Plan 2021-2030.

Local authorities will be required to undertake a public consultation and impact assessments before implementing a WPL scheme.

The Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) and Northern Isles ferry Service (NIFS) operators will always try to ensure that fresh produce freight is moved quickly and effectively. At times of disruption and cancellation they seek to prioritise or move freight hauliers onto alternative sailings or on other routes where possible.

Where feasible on networks, additional or alternative sailings can provide extra capacity on disrupted routes and vessels are often redeployed from around the network to maximise overall resilience. Consideration of appropriate responses to cancellations and disruption on other ferry routes, such as the Irish Sea crossings, are a matter for the operators of these services.

Section 35B of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 sets out the statutory basis for annual reporting on progress to implementation of Climate Change Plans.

The Scottish Government’s update to the 2018 Climate Change Plan, which was finalised earlier this year, includes a refreshed monitoring framework to underpin the statutory annual reporting. In May 2021, the first set of monitoring reports prepared on this basis was laid in the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people with additional support needs are supported. Under the Additional Support for Learning Act education authorities are responsible for identifying and meeting the additional support needs of their pupils. This includes the employment and provision of appropriate resources, including teaching and support staff, to meet children’s needs.

The Scottish Government remains committed to maintaining teacher numbers nationally and ensuring we have the right number of teachers, with the right skills, in the right places to educate our children and young people.

Figures published in December 2020 show that teacher numbers increased for the fifth year in a row – rising to 53,400 in 2020, an increase of 1,153 on the previous year. There are now more teachers than at any time since 2008, and the ratio of pupils to teachers is at its lowest since 2010.

We also continue to provide additional support to education authorities through investment of £15 million per year to further enhance capacity in education authorities and schools to respond effectively to the individual needs of children and young people, through the provision of support staff.

The Scottish Government has also established a Pupil Support Staff Working Group to explore how best we can empower and support pupil support staff, including taking action in response to the recommendations of the additional support for learning review. As part of this a Professional Learning Framework for Pupil Support Staff was launched at the Scottish Learning Festival, on 22 September 2021 .

As part of the Reaching 100% (R100) North lot contract, 16 subsea cables will be delivered to 15 Scottish islands - Colonsay, Iona and Lismore in the Argyll & Bute local authority area; Eigg in the Highland local authority area; Eday, Flotta, Hoy, Rousay, Sanday, Shapinsay and Stronsay in the Orkney Islands local authority area and Fair Isle, Unst, Whalsey and Yell in the Shetland Islands local authority area.

Initial survey work is now complete and we expect all cables to be laid by the end of 2022, subject to favourable weather conditions.