Chamber and committees

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (“The 2014 Act”) first introduced and defined the term ‘early learning and childcare’ (ELC). Prior to the 2014 Act, there was no statutory duty to provide pre-school education to 2 year olds.

The 2014 Act increased the number of funded ELC hours for all 3 and 4 year olds and introduced the statutory duty to provide access to funded ELC for eligible 2 year olds.

Since 2014, data on the number of registrations of 2 year olds receiving funded ELC has been collected for the annual census of ELC [1] . Prior to 2014, data was collected on registrations for funded pre-school education . Prior to 2012, data was not collected on registrations for children aged 2.

confirmed on 11 June 2021 that all international students in Scotland will be included in the national coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination programme. Universities and colleges are already encouraging students to get vaccinated as soon as possible so they will be fully vaccinated before arriving on campus. We have also agreed with Health Boards, universities and colleges to appoint single points of contact in universities and colleges who will support the delivery of the vaccination to students, including international students across Scotland, including through the use of on-campus vaccination clinics.

All vaccinations will take place in line with guidelines from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). We have provided information on vaccines for international students on the NHS Inform website and have published an FAQ document on vaccines for international students on the Student Information Scotland website.

Scottish Government support for film production since 2007 has been included in grant-in-aid channelled, and not disaggregated, through Creative Scotland and, prior to the establishment of Creative Scotland in 2011, through one of its predecessor bodies, Scottish Screen. Creative Scotland includes the dedicated screen partnership, Screen Scotland, since it was launched in August 2018. Creative Scotland operates on an arms-length principle whereby Ministers do not intervene in individual funding decisions. Since Scottish Government does not hold the detailed information requested I asked Creative Scotland to provide me with the detail required for me to respond fully.

Screen Scotland currently supports the production in Scotland of films intended for theatrical release through two funds, the Film Development and Production Fund and the Production Growth Fund. Funding awarded via Screen Scotland through these funds comes from both the Scottish Government and National Lottery funding

The Film Development and Production Fund aims to support the production of distinctive and high-quality feature films that promote Scotland’s culture, creativity and diversity, and that have the potential to engage and entertain audiences in Scotland, the UK and internationally”. It offers development and production funding for feature length films and documentaries being made by filmmakers based in Scotland. Its 2021/22 budget is £4 million.

The Production Growth Fund aims to help grow Scotland’s screen production sector, creating employment opportunities for Scottish crews, encouraging the use of production facilities, providing significant opportunities for the professional development of producers and freelance crew based in Scotland and delivering a direct and significant economic benefit to Scotland. It seeks to do this by attracting large scale productions into the country, and maximising spend in Scotland. Its 2021/22 budget is £2 million.

As almost all films produced in the UK are produced via a “special project vehicle” or SPV, a company formed in the UK as the legal entity responsible for the film’s production, including the making of applications to Screen Scotland, the most efficient way to distinguish between domestic UK productions and those made for international production companies in Scotland is to look at the two distinct funding routes.

The Production Growth Fund awards funding to high-end TV productions as well as film production companies. The fund has been running since 2015 and £9.9 million in total has been awarded, which is estimated to have generated an economic benefit to Scotland of more than £140 million. Of the total awarded, £5.8 million has been to film production companies with an estimated economic benefit to Scotland in excess of £75 million.

Since 2012, the Film Development and Production Fund, together with its precursors operated by Creative Scotland, has awarded £37 million in aggregate towards the development and production of feature films (including feature length documentaries) by production companies and filmmakers based in Scotland. Before 2012, the systems used were those of Creative Scotland's predecessor bodies Scottish Screen and the Scottish Arts Council and data regarding the origin of applicants is not currently available. However, £19.4 million was awarded via equivalent production and content funding routes between 2007 and 2011.

Screen Scotland’s Screen Commission also offers specialist support to a wider range of international productions than those that secure funding, for instance with recce funding, which helps projects understand the quality and range of locations, infrastructure and crew available in Scotland.

The Scottish Government currently only allows travellers returning from green and amber list countries to use NHS tests, arranged through the CTM booking portal, as they are the highest quality with established data flows into NHS boards and samples are sequenced to ensure early detection of variants of concern.

Travellers arriving in other parts of the UK can access the NHS tests, however those arriving in England and Northern Ireland are also able to access private test providers who charge a range of prices.

The Scottish Government is exploring ways to allow private testing for travellers coming to Scotland provided we are confident in the flow of data into contact tracing services and that all positive test results are analysed to identify any variants of concern.

The Covid-19 test kits are home PCR kits provided by NHS Test & Trace. The cost of the kits is set by the UK Government and the process managed through its contract with the travel management company CTM.

Currently, the Scottish Government does not allow use of private test providers for international travellers arriving into Scotland from green and amber list countries.

We are having on-going discussions with the UK government on using private test providers and exploring ways to allow private testing for travellers coming to Scotland provided we are confident in the flow of data into contact tracing services and that all positive test results are analysed to identify any variants of concern.

There were 5,902 tonnes of plastic waste produced from the construction and demolition sector in 2018 in Scotland. Waste (from all sources) (sepa.org.uk)

UK official waste figures for Construction and Demolition show that plastic waste is around 0.05% of the total waste stream. The percentage is similar in Scotland.

Zero Waste Scotland has taken a variety of actions to tackle waste in the construction and demolition sector. In 2020-2021, Zero Waste Scotland undertook a packaging project with national housebuilders to drive down the consumption of packaging waste, including plastics, on site.

In 2020-2021, Zero Waste Scotland also commissioned the development of a methodology to measure the true cost of waste on a construction site. Testing this methodology on a new build housing site, 14% of the waste was identified as plastics.

Zero Waste Scotland provides a range of support and advice to help the Construction and Demolition sector to be more circular Circular Construction | Zero Waste Scotland . In 2021-2022 Zero Waste Scotland will be working with the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA) on the development of a national Onsite Best Practice Guide.

The Scottish Government currently only allows travellers returning from green and amber list countries to use NHS tests, delivered through the UK Government’s contract with the travel management company CTM. These tests are the highest quality with established data flows into NHS boards and samples are sequenced to ensure early detection of variants of concern.

On 2 July 2021 Scottish Government officials met with two representatives of the Society of Independent Brewers to discuss Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). We will consider their views alongside the findings of the Gateway Review into DRS.

As set out in our update to the Climate Change Plan, we will take steps to improve waste data by working with the UK Government, other devolved governments, and agencies such as SEPA, to develop and implement the electronic waste tracking system. This step change in the quality and timeliness of waste data will support decision-making and underpin the key building blocks required to reduce emissions and drive delivery on existing waste and recycling targets.

A joint consultation is being planned for this summer on behalf of all four nations of the UK. This consultation will seek views on how and when mandatory digital waste tracking should be implemented.

Housing to 2040 is Scotland’s first ever long-term national housing strategy and makes clear our ambition to deliver 100,000 affordable homes by
‎ 2031-32, 70% of which will be for social rent.

Local authorities have a statutory function to assess local housing requirements and to set out in their Local Housing Strategy (LHS) how this will be met.

Priorities and outcomes identified in the LHS inform local authority Strategic Housing Investment Plans (SHIPs) which are prepared annually and which set out affordable housing investment priorities over a five year period. These are expected to be publicly available.