Chamber and committees

The Scottish Supplementary Review on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is planned to be published by this Spring, as I confirmed to Parliament during the Members Debate on SDGs (16th January 2020).

The Scottish Government has been engaging widely with civic society in taking forward the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and we have worked closely with Scotland’s Sustainable Development Goals Network in the production of this report. We have taken an open and transparent approach, with the review co-produced with co-drafters from the Network and shared on an open platform for feedback from the Network members (the latest available draft is available from the SDG Network website https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TyWg74l00xGgfF8g2oC_1YwQu3saaYq6/view ).

I have written to Simon Hodge, Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland who has responded as follows: Crown Estate Scotland is currently in the process of finalising the details on the information requirements for the Supply Chain Development Statement and will make a further announcement on that in due course.

I have written to Simon Hodge, Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland, who has responded as follows: The work being carried out by Arup is helping Crown Estate Scotland to finalise and then implement the process by which applications to ScotWind Leasing will be assessed. While applications to ScotWind Leasing will be required to include a Supply Chain Development Statement, it will not form part of any scoring relating to the selection of winning applications, and therefore falls outside of Arup’s scope of work. Successful applicants will be monitored for compliance with their Supply Chain Development Statements.

Transport Scotland provided the initial data snapshot to support the anniversary news release which highlights that the AWPR is making progress towards achieving one of its objectives which is:

- To provide traffic relief (including the removal of long distance heavy goods vehicle traffic) on the existing congested A90 route through, and to the south of, Aberdeen

It is the intention to publish the Initial Evaluation in the coming weeks. It will present further information and data, giving an early indication on how the AWPR Project is performing.

Transport Scotland will always consider requests for transport data and respond as appropriate.

I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-27500 on 2 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-27500 on 2 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-27500 on 2 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The Scottish Government is undertaking contingency planning in relation to a range of potential outcomes relating to EU Exit. The options for Scotland to continue accessing EU funds after the current EU budget round or to secure equivalent replacement funding depend in the first instance on the terms of the future relationship with the EU which is being negotiated by the UK Government.

EU funding, including the LIFE programme, provides vital support to deliver the Scottish Government’s environmental and climate change ambitions.

As part of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK is eligible to access LIFE funding for the duration of the current EU budget round.

We understand that the UK is negotiating access to EU programmes as part of the future relationship but the details are uncertain.

We have been clear that there must not be any reduction in funding for environmental outcomes in Scotland as a result of EU Exit.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The additional initiatives which have been undertaken to address the particular recruitment and retention issues at HMP and YOI Grampian are as follows:

• Enhanced reward and remuneration for Prison Officers, particularly those on a lower salary working in Grampian.
• The employment of a dedicated Learning and Development Manager leading on a staff mentoring system and a Recruitment Manager focusing on Prison Officer recruitment.
• Changes to the Prison Officer recruitment application and selection process, with the introduction on online testing, to attract more applicants and speed up the recruitment process.
• An increase in the number of experienced Prison Officers from other prisons working at HMP and YOI Grampian on a temporary basis.