Chamber and committees

On 28 June the Scottish Government published the Purpose and Principles for post-school education, research and skills . The Initial Priorities paper that was published alongside makes it clear that we agree that significant system reform is required if we are to achieve the long-term vision and outcomes.

The commitments on skills planning, employer engagement, funding, post-school pathways, the need for meaningful parity of esteem and consistency of language, clearly accept the basis of several recommendations made by James Withers in the Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape.

Our work, with partners, to take forward these actions will further inform our response to the detail of Withers’ recommendations, which we will set out in the context of lifelong education and skills reform in the coming months.

The aim of the Green Growth Accelerator model is to unlock investment over the medium term in low carbon infrastructure. This unlocking would be supported by payments from the Scottish Government to the local authority which are tied to delivery of a set of pre-defined and agreed outcomes.

It takes time to develop infrastructure projects, so to support the initial pilot phase the Scottish Government has provided £720k in resource funding from the 2021-22 budget for six pathfinder projects (£120k per project) to develop business cases to pilot the GGA model across a range of geographical areas and project types. The six pathfinder pilots were selected following an open call for proposals from local authorities.

The Scottish Government provided a further £832k in resource funding through the GGA in 2022-23 to support local authorities with developing their pipeline of low carbon infrastructure projects.

A range of policy documents were shared with the Scottish Government by Circularity Scotland (CSL) during the application process for the scheme administrator role for the Deposit Return Scheme. Documents which supported the scheme administrator application by CSL were the subject of an Environmental Information Request and subsequent review, details of which are published on our website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202200298347/.

I refer the member to the answer to S6W-20272 on 17 August 2023. In addition, the EIR response referenced alludes to comments made by the Scottish Government regarding the logistics and infrastructure sections within the application documentation.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government is providing £4.3m of funding in 2023-2024 to expand the network of Climate Action Hubs across the country. The Hubs empower communities to engage in collective climate action, supporting peer-to-peer learning and helping groups to take advantage of funding opportunities. The network has now been expanded with Climate Action Hubs in Highland, Orkney and Shetland (Highlands & Islands Climate Hub), Fife, Moray and the Outer Hebrides in addition to Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire (NESCAN). In most other areas of Scotland, hubs are expected to launch by the end of the financial year, ensuring wide coverage of the country.

The Scottish Government is also committed to supporting the growth of community energy through CARES, which aims to help communities engage in and benefit from the energy transition to net zero. The scheme has advised over 900 organisations and offered £60 million in funding to over 680 projects. It has supported the installation of 57.9MW of renewable energy, and has supported a wide range of projects from community owned wind and hydro to decarbonising community buildings and installing solar PV on faith buildings.

The Scottish Government also supports communities through other initiatives, for example the Investing in Communities Fund (ICF), a multiyear communities fund that is delivered as part of the Empowering Communities Programme. The fund targets the most disadvantaged communities to deliver projects, services and activities that address poverty and disadvantage on their own terms.

In July 2023, in accordance with Regulation 17(1)(c) of the Deposit and Return Scheme Regulations 2020, Scottish Ministers decided to withdraw scheme administrator approval for Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL) following notification that they had entered administration. If CSL's representatives do not ask for a review of this decision, the company ceases to be scheme administrator with effect from 17 August 2023.

Biffa, a former contractor of Circularity Scotland, attended a Deposit Return Scheme Four Nations Interoperability Workshop in Edinburgh on 27 June 2023 following Circularity Scotland going into administration to provide insight into their experience in Scotland. Throughout the period Scottish Government has continued to work closely with staff acting for Circularity Scotland, administrators and partners.

Former employees of Circularity Scotland attended a Deposit Return Scheme Four Nations Interoperability Workshop in Edinburgh on 27 June 2023 following the organisation going into administration to provide insight into their experience of DRS in Scotland. Scottish Government officials have continued to work with staff acting for Circularity Scotland, administrators and partners.

I refer the Member to the response to S6W-20057. Additionally, following the UK Government letter on IMA exclusion late on 26 May, I , on 27 May 2023, and the First Minister, on 2 June 2023, wrote to the UK Government outlining the impact of the decision. Officials have also been in regular contact across administrations around the Deposit Return Scheme and the impact of Circularity Scotland going in to administration.

In response to the Just Transition Commission’s letter providing further advice on the Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan (ESJTP) published on 17 April 2023, the Scottish Government issued a reply on 9 May 2023. This can be found online: Just Transition: letter to Just Transition Commission 9 May 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

We are currently awaiting independent analysis of the large volume of responses received from the public consultation held on the draft ESJTP. We are fully considering stakeholder views including those of the Just Transition Commission and will engage with them further as we finalise the ESJTP.