Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises the achievements of all the winners at the Scottish FA Grassroots Awards 2017, which were held at Hampden on 21 September.

This annual event celebrates the success and achievements of the unsung heroes across Scotland who bring football to their local communities.

I’d like to congratulate Drumchapel United, on winning its Best Community Football Club award recognising the role the club plays in the area.

Further to this, on the same evening, Drumchapel won the Community Hub/School/Club of the Year Award at the Team Scotland Awards sponsored by sportscotland.

I would be delighted to liaise with the Member to identify an opportunity for me to visit the club and congratulate the dedicated club volunteers in person.

In accordance with the Sewel Convention and Scotland Act 2016, the UK Parliament does not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters in Scotland without the consent of the Scottish Parliament. The Convention covers legislation for devolved purposes (that is matters within the legislative competence of the Parliament), and changes to the competence of the Parliament or the Scottish Ministers (in line with the safeguards to competence set out in equivalent statutory procedures under the Scotland Act.).

The formal consent of the Scottish Parliament is required in relation to all proposals for Westminster primary legislation with regard to devolved matters, including alterations to devolved competence, in accordance with Chapter 9B of Standing Orders.

The Sewel Convention, in all its elements, is crucial to the devolution settlement, acknowledging the special constitutional position of the Scottish Parliament and the democratic mandate conferred on this Parliament by the people of Scotland. In the view of the Scottish Government, the Sewel Convention will remain an essential part of the constitution of the UK for as long as the Westminster Parliament retains its current powers and functions in relation to Scotland.

In the normal course of business, legislation for devolved purposes should be scrutinised and determined in the Scottish Parliament. There may however be situations in which it is helpful and appropriate for legislation for devolved purposes to be taken forward at Westminster.

The Scottish Government is committed to assessing opportunities of this kind on their merits and to working closely and constructively with the UK Government, on a case by case basis, to deliver legislation which best meets Scotland’s needs. The Scottish Government is equally committed to working with the UK Government to pursue opportunities to extend devolved competence of both this Parliament and Scottish Ministers, accountable to this Parliament.

Within the legislative programme announced today by the UK Government, we have identified potential opportunities to legislate for the benefit of Scotland on matters that are within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament or which alter legislative or executive competence.

The UK bills which we currently expect to give rise to Legislative Consent Motions in the Scottish Parliament are the:

Financial Guidance and Claims Bill

Repeal Bill

The Scottish Government will consider the content of these Bills before deciding its recommendation to the Parliament on legislative consent. It will then be for the Scottish Parliament to determine whether to give or withhold consent.

It is possible that further opportunities to legislate for Scotland by means of Legislative Consent Motion may occur in connection with other UK bills, including Private Member’s bills. Any additional proposals of this kind, together with any relevant amendments to the UK Government bills listed above, will be drawn to the attention of the Parliament as they arise, in line with the requirements of Standing Orders.

In 2014, the shipbuilding sector accounted for £512 million in Gross Value Added (GVA) in Scotland. It is not possible to provide separate figures for Glasgow, and the rest of Scotland, due to confidentiality constraints.

Note that shipbuilding GVA figures for Scotland are sourced from the Annual Business Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics. Shipbuilding GVA figures for Scotland are published on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Business/SABS/ShipProfile. Data for 2015 will be published in August 2017.

Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a Special Adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers.

There are currently 12 Special Advisers in post and their specific responsibilities are as follows:

The Special Adviser Pay Bands and Ranges and the number of Special Advisers within each Pay Band currently in place are:

The estimated total cost of the current team of the 12 Special Advisers employed for a full 12 month period is £895,135. This includes all salary costs, ERNIC and employer pension contributions and the estimate can be broken down as follows:

ESTIMATED 12 MONTH COST OF CURRENT SPECIAL ADVISER TEAM

* The level of the employer ERNIC and pension contributions is not a matter for the Scottish Government.

Special advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a special adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers.

The *total cost of the team of 14 special advisers employed during the financial year 2015-16 was £1,140,104.

There are currently 10 special advisers in post and a further one will be appointed with effect from 1 July 2016. From 1 July 2016 the 11 special advisers and their specific responsibilities will be as follows:

The special adviser pay bands and ranges and the number of special advisers within each pay band currently in place are:

*Total cost includes all salary costs, earnings-related national insurance contributions and employer pension contributions.

The First Minister has appointed 13 parliamentary liaison officers (PLOs), listed as follows, to assist in developing and maintaining a positive and constructive relationship between the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government and to take account of the views of the Parliament and of Scotland as a whole. PLOs are unpaid, are not members of the government and are not, therefore, bound by collective responsibility.

The Scottish independence referendum resulted in an encouraging increase in interest in political issues among young people. Over 109,000 young people aged 16 and 17 in Scotland were registered to vote at the referendum and 75% of those surveyed after the poll said they had voted. In addition, 97% of those 16-17 year olds who reported having voted said that they would vote again in future elections and referendums.

Building on the example of the independence referendum, The Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Bill will extend the right to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections to all 16 and 17 year olds. The legislation is expected to be in force in time to allow young people to register for the May 2016 Scottish election.

The Scottish Government has been following analysis conducted by a range of academics to understand the impact and experience of the extended franchise for the 2014 independence referendum. Findings to date support the view that those 16 and 17 year olds who voted in the referendum do intend to continue to exercise their right to vote in future elections. Research indicates that young people in Scotland were more politically engaged after the referendum than their counterparts in the rest of the UK. Scottish Government analysts will continue to follow and distil findings from academic research examining a range of impacts from the extended franchise, and the referendum itself.