- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-03945 by Humza Yousaf on 19 December 2019 (Official Report, c. 6), what additional initiatives have been undertaken to address the particular recruitment and retention issues at HMP and YOI Grampian.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-03945 by Humza Yousaf on 19 December 2019 (Official Report, c. 6), when online testing and application processes were introduced for Scottish Prison Service applicants, and how many people have been recruited as a result of the introduction of these processes at each prison and YOI.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
A revised application process and online testing were introduced in June 2019 for recruitment to HMP and YOI Grampian and 23 Prison Officers have been recruited to this establishment since then. In December 2019 this was extended to all SPS sites however no appointments have been made yet, as the campaign and process is ongoing.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 January 2020
To ask the Scottish Government when the phase 2 reports of the Third UK Review of Special Protection Areas for birds in Scotland will be published, and whether it will set out a timetable for implementation of the findings.
Answer
Publication of the Third UK Review of Special Protection Areas phase 2 report is a matter for agreement by the 4 Country Administrations across the UK under the auspices of the Review's Executive Steering Group. I am advised that a summary report is nearing completion.
Consideration of the recommendations of the review as regards Scotland is ongoing however an indicative timetable has yet to be drawn up.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 December 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 16 January 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, what discussions it has had with (a) EDF Renewables and (b) ESB regarding the number of jobs that will be (i) directly and (ii) indirectly created in Scotland during the construction, installation and operational life of the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm.
Answer
The Scottish Government continues to engage extensively, at both official and Ministerial level, with EDF, the operator of Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm, regarding the benefit to Scottish economy arising from their project and they have an announcement of the award of contracts to Scottish businesses for aspects of the construction phase and their preferred location for an operations and maintenance facility.
While there have been Ministerial discussions with ESB, in their capacity as an inward investor, and I have visited their office in Glasgow, we have not, as yet, had the opportunity to discuss their new role in the Neart na Gaoithe project.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 December 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 16 January 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to ensure that Tier 1 contractors for the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm carry out these contracts in a way that results in jobs in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government is doing everything within our existing, limited devolved powers to retain and boost job numbers and increase Scottish content in offshore wind projects, including efforts to support the local supply chain to improve its competitiveness in winning work for the construction phase of projects and to maximise the economic impact of operations and maintenance activities over the lifetime of the project as well.
Renewable energy developments are a vital part of Scotland’s transition to a low carbon economy which is why earlier this year we convened an offshore wind summit with unions, companies and other interested parties who agreed to take urgent action to ensure more companies benefit from the awarding of contracts for offshore wind projects. We are reconvening that summit in January and have invited representatives from across the industry. On 18th December I published our draft plan for offshore wind which outlines how the Scottish Government proposes to maximise the opportunities that offshore wind presents. We have also formed the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council, which I co-Chair, with work progressing well to engage both of Scotland’s offshore wind clusters to engage in the Sector Deal.
Ultimately, though, the all-important financial support mechanisms are controlled by UK Ministers and it is those mechanisms that are driving costs down and making it more difficult for domestic fabricators. I have continued to call on the UK Government to amend the Contract for Difference auction process, currently solely awarded on price, to better reflect value added to the economy when determining the developers that are awarded contracts, and to ensure there is improved use of the UK supply chain.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 January 2020
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in resolving the outstanding issues in relation to the AWPR.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2020
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2019
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect open ground habitats, such as peatlands and grasslands, which are critical to the conservation of curlew.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2020
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 6 December 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Red Rock Power regarding the number of (a) manufacturing and (b) maritime supply chain jobs that will be created in Scotland by the Inch Cape Offshore wind farm project.
Answer
Scottish Ministers and officials engage regularly with all energy developers to stress the importance of utilising the Scottish supply chain wherever possible. Guy Madgwick, Chief Executive Officer of Red Rock Power is a member of the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC), which I co-chair with industry representatives, and leads the Developer Group and associated workstream within SOWEC. Mr Madgwick also participated in a Supply Chain Summit which took place earlier this year, and which we intend to follow-up with a second Summit in the New Year.
I last formally met formally with Mr Madgwick, to discuss Red Rock Power’s activities in Scotland, on 9 May 2019, where I encouraged Red Rock Power to engage with the Scottish Government and our enterprise agencies to ensure that we are kept well-informed of developments in the sector and opportunities for the supply chain to compete for contracts associated with Red Rock’s welcome investment in Scotland.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 8 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-21068 by Paul Wheelhouse on 31 January 2019, how many of the (a) respondents and (b) recipients of training had previously worked offshore.
Answer
When the fund was set up it did not differentiate between offshore and onshore applicants, so this detail was not captured as it was not relevant to the funding. Therefore SDS do not hold this information.
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 8 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what progress the Oil and Gas Leadership Group has made on strategic issues relating to the future employment prospects for offshore oil and gas workers in the context of transition to a net-zero carbon economy.
Answer
The Oil and Gas Leadership Group plays an important role for engagement between sector, Government and the wider public sector. We recognise that the actions needed to become net-zero by 2045 will transform all sectors of our economy and society. This was the main agenda item during the last two ILG meetings which took place on the 7th May and the 17th September 2019.
As the pace of our transition increases, the need to ensure our transition is just and fair becomes ever more important. We have established an independent Just Transition Commission to provide practical advice on how best we can make the transition to a net-zero economy in a way that is fair for all.
The Commission started its work in January 2019 and has already held a meeting and an associated stakeholder event focused on the Oil and Gas sector. The commission will engage with businesses, workers and communities across the country in the lead up to providing practical recommendations to Scottish Ministers by early 2021.
