Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises that a diverse and successful ports sector contributes significantly to national, regional and local economies. We continue to work with the ports sector to explore avenues of funding for diversifying and reducing the carbon impact of port operations.

Scotland’s ongoing programme of planning reform is refocusing planning on improving the quality of our places. We are undertaking a review of National Planning Policy in Scotland with a view to publishing National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) in 2022. This will be Scotland’s long-term development strategy, the direction of travel for which is set out in the NPF4 Position Statement published in November 2020. Permitted development rights (PDR) refer to those types of development for which planning permission is granted by national legislation, meaning they can be carried out without needing to submit a planning application. Port operators in Scotland already have broad PDR under Part 13 of Schedule 1 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992. As we noted in the draft Green Port Applicant Prospectus published in March 2021, the Scottish Government will consider whether port operators’ existing PDR remain fit-for-purpose.

Despite its forthcoming launch, there has been little detail shared or dialogue with Scotland on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It remains unclear how much Scotland will receive or on what basis our allocation will be decided. It is extremely disappointing that the UK Government has again decided to use the powers it has given itself in the Internal Market Act to introduce a scheme which bypasses the Scottish Government and stakeholders.

The Advisory Sub-group for Education and Children’s issues have carefully considered their advice on nursery graduations this week. They confirmed that groups of parents and carers should not attend end-of-year events in Early Learning settings or schools in this academic year.

The COVID-19 safety guidance seeks to minimise the number of contacts that children and staff have, to keep them safe and to reduce the risk that children and staff need to self-isolate in the event of someone in the setting testing positive.

Our guidance is also in place to keep children in learning, and essential childcare settings open to support families now and over the summer. This has been a difficult decision that carefully weighed up the risks against the benefits.

I understand that families are disappointed that they cannot be present to mark these transitions from ELC to primary school. I am grateful to settings that have found safe ways to allow children to celebrate with their friends and key workers and found creative ways to share this with parents and carers.

Our approach is for people to have access to the support they need for assessment, diagnosis, care and rehabilitation in a setting that is as close to their home as possible.

NHS Boards across Scotland are co-ordinating and providing local pathways from primary, community care and third sector services to ensure a multidisciplinary and person-centred approach in their area.

Whilst long COVID clinics are one model that NHS Boards may explore in doing so, we recognise that no one single approach is likely to fit all areas and circumstances.

It is crucial that the decisions we take are based on the latest available evidence and are aligned to clinical guidance.

Our approach is for people to have access to the support they need for assessment, diagnosis, care and rehabilitation in a setting that is as close to their home as possible.

NHS Boards across Scotland are co-ordinating and providing local pathways to ensure a multidisciplinary and person-centred approach in their area.

Additionally, we invested over £460,000 in Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland to enable them to deliver their ‘Long COVID support service’ which complements the support being provided by NHS Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office has also committed around £2.5 million to fund nine projects to improve our understanding of the long term effects of COVID-19 on physical and mental health and wellbeing in Scotland, and help with developing effective clinical interventions to support recovery and rehabilitation.

City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) is benefitting from over £2.39 million of funding for its “Edinburgh EV Infrastructure Network Project” through Transport Scotland’s Switched on Towns and Cities challenge fund. Due to the scale of Switched on Towns and Cities projects the programme is delivered as a multi-annual funding stream, with work on-going across all 5 successful projects. City of Edinburgh Council is due to deliver 66 charge points of varying types (equating to 132 parking bays) at various locations across the city for use by residents, the public and also taxis. The project is due to complete later in 2021.

Whilst we work towards our net-zero transport targets, the Scottish Government will continue to align support with the vision and priorities set out in the National Transport Strategy 2 and Sustainable Transport Hierarchy. This represents a strong presumption towards enabling and promoting the use of active, sustainable and public transport modes over the use of private cars, regardless of their fuel type. Reflecting on the varied transport challenges and opportunities across Scotland’s urban and rural communities, this means we would expect to see car use in our largest cities reduce.

The Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 made it an offence to charge or receive any premium or require the making of any loan in addition to rent and a refundable deposit of no more than two months’ rent as a condition of the grant, renewal or continuance of a tenancy. This was further amended in 2011 to place beyond any doubt that such fees were illegal premiums. This position is reiterated in the statutory Letting Agent Code of Practice which came into force on 31 January 2018.

Prospective tenants who think they have been charged an illegal premium can refuse to pay, where tenants think they have paid an illegal premium they can raise an action to recover any fee paid through the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber), there is no charge for this, or report the matter to Police Scotland.

In addition, where the person charging a fee is a letting agent, tenants can make an application to the Tribunal in relation to a breach of the Code of Practice. Where an agent is found to have breached the Code of Practice the Tribunal can issue a Letting Agent Enforcement Order that could include provision for the return of any prohibited fee.

Letting agents are required to be registered and to comply with the Letting Agents Code of Practice, which sets out the standards on how they manage their business and provide their services. This includes complying with relevant legislation and to have in place a complaints procedure. Concerns about a letting agent can be raised with the Letting Agent Registration team at the Scottish Government.

We have invested over £45 million into electric vehicle infrastructure across Scotland. And through our funding programmes we have awarded £3.6 million to Edinburgh City Council to invest in EV infrastructure. The UK Government recently published data that demonstrates Scotland is well ahead of the rest of the UK with 43 chargers per 100,000 of population, compared to around 30 in England.

In addition, we have now made available additional funding to match the UK Government Office for Zero Emission Vehicles On-Street and Residential Charging Scheme, which has the potential to enhance the availability of charging for those without access to off-street parking. Once completed, EV infrastructure projects that are currently approved will see the number of chargers per 100,000 of population in Edinburgh City increase by over 50%.

We are also aware that vehicle registration data can be influenced by centralised registration of company car fleets and may not be a true reflection of where vehicles are ultimately located and used. In addition, fleet vehicles will be included in vehicle registration data but charger numbers relate only to publicly available charge points and do not reflect domestic or business charging units.

Whilst we work towards our net-zero transport targets, we will continue to align support with the vision and priorities set out in the National Transport Strategy 2 and Sustainable Transport Hierarchy. This represents a strong presumption towards enabling and promoting the use of active, sustainable and public transport modes over the use of private cars, regardless of their fuel type. Reflecting on the varied transport challenges and opportunities across Scotland’s urban and rural communities this means we would expect to see car use in our largest cities reduce.

We welcome the WWF’s Feeling the Heat report and the focus it brings to the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. We are already taking world-leading action at home and abroad, with action on these issues central to our green recovery from COVID-19.

In 2019 we scaled up the ambition of our climate targets; to reducing emissions by 75% by 2030 and to reaching net-zero by 2045. Our Climate Change Plan update, published in December, strengthens Scotland’s pathway to meeting these world-leading targets over the next decade, with nearly 150 policies driving delivery. This includes investments of more than £250 million over 10 years for peatland restoration and an additional £150 million over five years in forestry.

Protection of Scotland’s biodiversity is a key priority and we are committed to doing more to safeguard our species and habitats. Our high level Statement of Intent on biodiversity, published in December 2020, signalled our ambitions for biodiversity in Scotland, our international action and the development of a new post-2020 biodiversity strategy. We have committed £7 million to date to the Biodiversity Challenge Fund, and our latest budget included a further £10 million for a new Nature Restoration Fund in 2021-22.

Furthermore, in response to independent scientific advice on the main climate risks facing Scotland, including to our biodiversity, we are implementing Scotland’s second statutory Climate Change Adaptation Programme, setting out over 170 policies and proposals across Scotland, within an outcomes-based framework aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

These global challenges require a global response, and as European co-chair of the Under2 Coalition, we are committed to working in partnership with governments around the world to support efforts to reach net zero in a way that is fair and just. Since 2012, our world-first Climate Justice Fund has delivered over £21 million to support our key partner nations of Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda, supporting communities to build resilience against the worst effects of climate change. We are also looking forward to the opportunity presented by COP26 to demonstrate our collective ambitions to address both climate action and biodiversity.

The Scottish Government’s Fisheries Management Strategy, published in December 2020, sets out a clear vision for delivering accountability and confidence in our sea fishing activities, and in ensuring that we have the right data and knowledge available on which to base management decisions.

Our approach to sea fisheries compliance and science is already world-class. The introduction of Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) to key fishing fleet segments will enhance our capabilities, building on the solid foundation we already have in place.

In relation to the inshore fishing fleet, 30-40% of Scottish scallop dredge vessels are currently fitted with REM systems, including cameras. Voluntary installations are ongoing around Scotland and our intention is to lay legislation this year, making the technology mandatory for scallop dredge vessels. In addition, to inform the wider deployment of REM technology across inshore vessels, around 40 creel boats have been equipped with a low-cost device as part of our Outer Hebrides Inshore Fisheries Pilot. The REM device reports vessel position and provides feedback that assesses fishing activity, testing our ability to manage creel fishing effort within a significant area of sea. The Pilot project reflects the aspirations of our Fisheries Management Strategy for the network of Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups to take a lead role in proposing and developing fisheries improvement projects that will benefit communities while fulfilling our environmental obligations.

We will shortly consult on mandatory rollout to the scallop and pelagic sectors, along with consideration of further rollout to other fleet segments using a proportionate and risk-based approach. It is important to have a level playing field and we will ensure this is delivered through legislation, meaning that any vessels fishing in Scottish waters must also comply with these rules. We are tailoring the deployment of REM across our fishing sectors to reflect the varied nature of fishing activity, a blanket approach is not appropriate. Hence, we do not have a fixed timescale for delivering REM, given the complexities of installation and lead in time needed, particularly for the international fleet. However, it remains a key priority as part of our 10 year delivery plan under the wider Fisheries Management Strategy.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19): early learning and childcare (ELC) services was updated on 21 May to include a new section with guidance on transitions to primary school . This guidance is aimed at ELC settings and local authorities. Similar guidance has also been issued to schools.The guidance states that where this minimises the number of adults visiting schools, children should be accompanied to transition visits by ELC staff rather than by parents. The guidance explains that this should also ensure that the visit is undertaken by someone who is familiar with and used to applying the COVID risk mitigations in education settings.

Schools will be able to explain what alternative provisions they have in place to engage with parents remotely to support their child’s transition to school.

The guidance also explains that schools should be able to proceed with enhanced in person transition visits to support children who need it most. This allows children with additional support needs to become familiar with the primary school before they attend in August, in line with responsibilities under the Additional Support for Learning Act. This may involve the attendance of parents but this will be decided on a case by case basis through dialogue between the ELC setting and the school and should be supported by a bespoke risk assessment.