Chamber and committees

The Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award is run by the Outward Bound Trust. The Scottish Government worked in partnership with the Outward Bound Trust to agree a package of funding for the award between 2012-15. As part of this agreement the funding was structured to reduce annually over the three year period while still enabling the Outward Bound Trust to expand the award in line with the business plan they had submitted to the Scottish Government.

Through discussions with the Scottish Government, it was agreed that £100,000 in 2015-16 would enable the trust to continue to deliver, maintain the expansion and meet the costs of the award detailed in their business plan. The Scottish Government is fully committed to supporting young people to fulfil their potential and I am delighted to confirm, based upon information provided to the Scottish Government, that the Outward Bound Trust is on track to meet its agreed objectives.

I recognise and agree the importance of keeping Parliament informed on negotiations. As I have explained to Parliament previously, there is a need to strike a balance between satisfying the legitimate need for parliamentary scrutiny whilst leaving space for a negotiation that will protect Scottish interests.

The Joint Exchequer Committee (JEC) is a forum for intergovernmental discussion. I have undertaken to write to the Convenor of the Finance Committee after each JEC to provide him with a communique which sets out the issues discussed. This has been done on all occasions.

The Scottish Government has received no reply from the Prime Minister on this matter to date.

The Health and Safety Executive, a UK agency, is the lead for safety in the workplace and has responsibility for enforcement of the related asbestos legislation and regulations.

The latest available Scottish court statistics cover the last five years from 2009-10 to 2013-14. During this time there was one prosecution which resulted in a conviction in 2013-14, where the main offence was under Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 regulation 4(10)(A).

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings Database

Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, responsibility for the control and management of asbestos in local authority schools rests with the local authority.

This information is not held centrally.

However, under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, local authorities are required to make and keep an up to date record of the location of all schools which contain, or are presumed to contain, asbestos.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Courts Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing within 20 days.

Since 2007, the Scottish Government has invested heavily in projects that have supported tourism in Scotland either directly or indirectly including transport projects such as the Border railway and A9 improvements, digital connectivity and the Step Change programme, promoting Scotland’s unique food and drink produce, support for nature through Scotland’s Forest and National Parks. Scotland’s marine environment is being protected by Marine Scotland and Scottish Canals is managing our canal network and delivering projects such as the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies. Heritage projects are being delivered all over Scotland by Historic Scotland who are investing in Scotland’s flagship castles at Edinburgh and Stirling, Elgin Cathedral and Iona Abbey. The Scottish Government has provided support for major events such as the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup.

VisitScotland produced a Tourism Development Framework, which was published in July 2013. The Framework document sets out the role of the planning system in delivering the visitor economy and supports the national tourism strategy Tourism Scotland 2020. The document provides detail on tourism related projects that have been undertaken since 2007. The attachment List of Action Plan Projects at September 2014 also provides information on projects that will be undertaken between 2014 and 2020 to promote growth in Scotland’s visitor economy. The report can be found on VisitScotland’ s web site using the link below:

http://www.visitscotland.org/what_we_do/tourism_development_plan.aspx

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the lead agency for safety in the workplace and has responsibility for enforcement of the related asbestos legislation and regulations. A report published in 2014 by the HSE titled Mesothelioma in Great Britain 2014: Mesothelioma mortality in Great Britain 1968-2013 analysed statistics on mesothelioma mortality in the UK between 1968 and 2013. This considered the overall scale of disease including trends in case numbers and deaths. It also includes an estimate of the future burden of mesothelioma deaths to 2030.

NHS National Services Scotland collects statistics on the detailed incidence, mortality and prevalence data for mesothelioma patients in Scotland. These are published on the Information Services Division Scotland website.

In relation specifically to exposure in schools, the Institute of Cancer Research and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine undertook a case control study for the Health and Safety Executive in 2009. Titled Occupational, domestic and environmental mesothelioma risks in Britain: A case-control study, this study was the largest global study of its kind, funded by Cancer Research UK and the HSE, and involved more than 600 patients with mesothelioma who were interviewed to examine UK rates of the disease linked to different occupations. It found there was little or no evidence of increased risk in non-industrial workplaces such as schools.

As part of the Joint Exchequer Committee (JEC), I have met the Chief Secretary to the Treasury twice to take forward our discussions on a fiscal framework for Scotland with the aim of completing the negotiations during the autumn.

I have undertaken to write to the Convener of the Finance Committee after each JEC to provide him with a communique which sets out the issues discussed.