Chamber and committees

The procurement timelines of the project are subject to completion of appropriate business case processes, availability of funding, and approvals from Scottish Ministers. The construction timelines are subject to successful completion of procurement and agreement of programmes with the contractor for the works.

Subject to approvals, procurement and construction, the Islands Connectivity Plan has scheduled the completion of the majority of the projects which commenced during Phase 1 by 2026-2031.

Section 57(2B) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 provides that once a flood protection scheme is confirmed (whether by the local authority or the Scottish Ministers), the Scottish Ministers are to direct that planning permission for the development is deemed to be granted, subject to any planning conditions which Ministers may specify.

The implementation of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 is primarily a matter for local planning authorities.

The Scottish Government is grateful for all of the detailed work conducted by the Chair and Review Group members to produce this important independent report. We are giving careful consideration to all of the recommendations, including the suggestion of establishing an Economic Democracy Group, and will publish a formal response in due course.

It is a local authority responsibility to develop and deliver flood protection schemes and we would expect them to engage with their local communities on relevant design considerations throughout the development process.

The Scottish Government will publish a Flood Resilience Strategy by the end of this year, which will set out our vision on creating flood resilient places and recognise the important contribution people and communities make to their own flood resilience.

The Flood Risk Management Act promotes a catchment wide approach to managing flood risk. The Scottish Government recognise that Natural Flood Management (NFM) can provide multiple benefits, including reducing flood risks, enhancing biodiversity, and contributing to climate resilience.

It is a local authority responsibility to develop and deliver flood protection schemes. This includes the selection of an appropriate standard of protection. This is because each place is unique and bespoke solutions are required.

We would expect local authorities to engage with their local communities on relevant design considerations including the level of protection throughout the development process.

It is a local authority responsibility to develop and deliver flood protection schemes, ensuring that it complies with all relevant legislation, policy and guidance.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all employees are fully supported and are empowered to carry out their role to their maximum potential. Where staff experience migraines, lighting and desk location can be altered to mitigate symptoms. In addition, the Scottish Government has a dedicated workplace adjustments team who can arrange for more specialist equipment, with input from health and safety colleagues and our external occupational health provider as appropriate.

Available support can include anti-glare monitors and coloured overlays to reduce strain from reading documents. Assistive software can be installed to enable staff to dictate work or have documents read to them, potentially reducing eye strain. Staff are also encouraged to take regular micro-breaks to ensure they have time away from laptops or other screens, and to use flexible working to help manage symptoms/triggers. The flexibility provided by hybrid working, where available, can also be helpful.

Scottish Government staff can use an employee passport to set out the workplace adjustments needed to support them at work. The passport provides a framework to help discussions with managers and improve understanding of the impact of health conditions, including migraines.

Staff from the Scottish Government’s workplace adjustments team regularly attend the civil service Workplace Adjustments Network to ensure we share good practise around migraines and other health conditions. Alongside assisting staff experiencing Migraines, the workplace adjustments team will advise line managers and business areas on available adjustments and good practise around this, to ensure staff are fully supported. Peer support and advice can also be found through the Scottish Government’s staff networks including the Disabled Staff Network.

Please note this information pertains to all core Scottish Government Directorates and associated agencies who receive an HR service from core SG.

The Scottish Parliament agreed the general principles of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill in April. In advance of the dates for Stage 2 of the Parliamentary process being agreed, I am proposing to make some amendments to the Bill.

On 9 October the Scottish Government published its response to the independent review of the Victim Notification Scheme (VNS), which signalled our intention to use the Bill to deliver reforms to the VNS that require primary legislation, to ensure we reform the VNS as quickly as possible.

I have already made clear my willingness to amend the provisions that enable a time-limited pilot of single judge rape trials. I recognise, however, that there is not enough cross-party support at this time for such a pilot, irrespective of the model. In the interests of building as much consensus as possible, I will no longer pursue this policy and bring forward relevant amendments to remove it from the Bill. I remain committed to exploring the impact of rape myths and improving access to justice for rape victims. As part of this work, I will bring forward amendments to allow for research to be carried out into jury deliberations, which is currently heavily restricted by the Contempt of Court Act 1981.

I also intend to bring forward amendments at Stage 2 so that Scotland retains a 15 person jury in criminal trials. After reflecting carefully on the Criminal Justice Committee’s recommendations, and on the evidence, I believe that the most prudent approach to jury reform, including the abolition of the not proven verdict, is to seek support for a model with two verdicts (guilty and not guilty), 15 jurors, and a two-thirds majority requirement for conviction.

I have written to the Criminal Justice Committee to provide further detail about the planned amendments.

I am pleased to announce that the third Annual Report on our progress towards implementing Scotland’s Vision for Trade is being published today and is available at: www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836019084

The Report sets out how the Scottish Government has applied its principles to international trade policy matters, covering the period from July 2023 – October 2024.

Since our last Annual Report, published in Summer 2023, we have taken a range of actions to improve the international trading environment for businesses in Scotland, including stepping up our direct engagement with the business community, supporting the resolution of individual market access barriers and using standards and regulation to support businesses. For example, we collaborated with the British Standards Institution on the introduction of a new voluntary whisky standard which empowers distillers in Scotland to trade internationally.

We are using our principles-based approach to trade to create more opportunities for people to participate in our economy, for example by gaining a better understanding of the cause, impact and potential measures to address the a clear gender export gap, whereby businesses led by women are less likely to export than those led by men.

The tragic events unfolding globally demonstrate why taking such a principles-based approach, with concern for human rights at its core, is so important.

Many trade levers sit with the UK Government, and we are committed to working constructively with the newly-elected UK Government in furthering our shared trade interests.