Chamber and committees

On 19 June 2015, the twenty fourth meeting of the British-Irish Council was held in Dublin, Ireland. The Summit was attended by Ministers from all eight Member Administrations. The Scottish Government was represented by the First Minister and the Minister for Public Health.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the British Irish Council as a forum for Members to develop relationships and to learn from shared experience.

The meeting began with a significant discussion on the economy where the First Minister informed the Council that Scotland’s economy has seen the fastest economic growth since 2006. There has also been further progress in youth employment, and Scotland has the highest female employment rate in these islands. The First Minister also stressed that while progress has been made, we continue to face challenges in our intertwined economies. Many Scottish jobs depend upon our membership of the EU and the uncertainty of a possible EU exit is causing widespread concern. The First Minister also expressed deep disquiet about the UK Government’s decision to end public financial support for onshore wind projects.

The Council also had a discussion on the misuse of alcohol, during which all Members agreed the importance of supporting those negatively impacted by alcohol misuse. Ms Watt informed the Council about Scotland’s Framework for Action, which includes a comprehensive package of measures to help reduce the negative impact of alcohol. These include the passing of minimum unit pricing legislation and the introduction of the lower drink-drive limit.

The Communiqué that was issued by the British-Irish Council, after the meeting, can be found on the website at http://www.britishirishcouncil.org/. I am also arranging for a copy the document to be placed in SPICe (BIB number 57014).

When I announced in January 2015 my decision not to proceed with HMP Inverclyde as a large national prison for women, I said that it did not fit with my vision of how a modern and progressive country should be addressing female offending and that we needed a bolder, more radical and ambitious approach in Scotland.

Following a period of dialogue with national and international experts and local engagement, the Scottish Government has decided that there will be a new small national prison for women on the current site of HMP Cornton Vale, accommodating around 80 women, and five small community-based custodial units across Scotland which will each provide around 20 places. The new units will provide accommodation and support appropriate to the needs of women offenders and help them maintain links with their communities.

This will deliver 180 new high quality gender specific places for women in addition to the 50 we already have at the recently opened HMP Grampian. Alongside this, elements of the existing female estate will be adapted or decommissioned over time. These proposals offer greater flexibility in seeking to shift from custodial to community-based solutions and are closer to the spirit of the recommendations of the Angiolini Commission on Women Offenders (2012).

Whilst providing these new gender specific custodial facilities for women, I am also determined to reduce the use of custody in line with the principles set out in the report of the Scottish Prisons Commission (2008) that we should “target the use of prison where it can be most effective – in punishing serious crime and protecting the public”.

We will work with partners to increase the use of community disposals such as electronic monitoring with enhanced support provided in the community. We will increase investment in community based services both for those diverted from prosecution and serving community sentences – this includes the £1.5 million investment in services for women announced earlier in 2015.

We will consult on proposals to further strengthen the presumption against ineffective short-term prison sentences.

The Scottish Government is determined to reduce the number of receptions into custody each year for men and women. Using improvement methodology and working with a small number of pathfinder sites, we will work closely with local partners to test the most effective ways of reducing the use of remand and short-term sentences.

This ambitious vision offers the best potential to turn around the growth over the past decade in the female prison population, to offer effective alternatives to custody and to further reduce rates of reoffending.

<>The Scottish Government published Financial Impacts of Welfare Reform on Disabled People in Scotland on 8 August 2014. In this we estimated that by 2015 there would be a net reduction in caseload of carers allowance claimants of around 450, each of whom would lose over £3,000 per year, in Scotland as a result of the move from disability living allowance to personal independence payment (PIP).

However, this estimate was based on a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) impact assessment which was published in 2013, at the start of the PIP implementation. Since then, the rollout has been subject to delays and so we do not have a clear position as to the real impact on carers in Scotland.

We continue to push DWP for clarity on the matter and are also calling for the UK Government to transfer the full budget for those benefits to be fully devolved, before the cuts take effect.

The Public Bodies (Joint Working)(Scotland) Act 2014 will put in place arrangements for integrating health and social care in order to improve outcomes for people with a neurological condition, carers, their families and service users. The Act requires health boards and local authorities to work together effectively to deliver quality sustainable care services.

The Act will ensure a consistent provision of quality, sustainable care services for the increasing numbers of people in Scotland who need joined up, integrated support and care, this includes people with a neurological condition.

We are working closely with our stakeholders, including the National Neurological Advisory Group, the third sector, clinicians, and specialist nurses to ensure that people in Scotland living with a neurological condition have access to high quality person centred safe and effective healthcare services.

Scotland Week 2015 ran from 4 to 11 April, during which time the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities and I undertook extensive ministerial engagements in Toronto, Los Angeles and New York City.

The overall purpose of this year’s Scotland Week was to encourage further investment in Scotland’s creative industries, including meetings with film studios; business and tourism meetings designed to drive jobs, investment and visits to Scotland; numerous events promoting Scotland’s cultural and food and drink sectors, demonstrating that Scotland is open for business, and promoting strength and competitiveness of Scotland’s key sectors.

My engagements in New York and Los Angeles focused on strengthening our existing strong relationships and encouraging further investment in Scotland’s creative industries. This included high level meetings with representatives from two studios behind some of the most well-known films ever made, Warner Brothers and Lionsgate Entertainment. I also promoted emerging Scottish film talent at a Royal Conservatoire short film event which showcased original films by Scottish students studying in Los Angeles as part of the BA Digital Film and Television programme in Glasgow.

Business engagements during my visit included meetings with Edrington Americas and Dupont Teijin Films in New York and with Majestic Hospitality in Los Angeles. These meetings helped reaffirm government support of expanding investment in Scotland and of further developing relationships between American companies and Scottish businesses.

I also met members of the GlobalScots network in New York and Los Angeles to gain their insights into opportunities for Scotland in the US market and to identify where this influential group can support the government’s economic strategy.

In New York I provided a welcome address at a VisitScotland media reception, which promoted 2016 as the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design through the use of food and drink. This resulted in significant media coverage of Scotland’s tourism product.

My visit included several cultural engagements, including a visit to the Scots Who Built New York exhibition which celebrated the iconic buildings in New York built by Scots. In New York I also hosted the launch of the Gerard Burns Portrait Exhibition, which promoted and raised the profile of Scottish art with the unveiling of 15 portraits of prominent Scots. In Los Angeles I was a guest of honour at an event with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which showcased Scottish arts, Scotland’s cultural impact internationally and food and drink. I was also guest of honour at the Los Angeles St Andrew’s Society Tartan Day Celebration – our first engagement with diaspora in Los Angeles.

I conducted a courtesy meeting with New York City’s Commissioner on Cultural Affairs, Tom Finkelpearl, and discussed current links between Scotland and New York City as well as identifying further areas of mutually beneficial collaboration.

In addition, I provided a keynote address in Los Angeles to students and faculty of the University of Southern California on Scottish politics, Scotland’s role within the UK’s devolution and the importance of public diplomacy. In New York I also engaged with Glasgow University alumni at a reception at Carnegie Hall, where I spoke about the importance of the role of alumni as ambassadors to help spread the message about our modern Scotland.

The Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities’ programme included engagements which highlighted existing and recently enhanced transatlantic routes which played a key role in the success of the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup as well as promoting talks to develop new links, focusing on business and tourism markets.

In Toronto, the Cabinet Secretary’s visit began with a speaking role at an event celebrating the bicentenary of the birth in Glasgow of Sir John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada. His speech highlighted the role of Scots in the history of Canada and the strong existing relationship of mutual investment, tourism and cultural exchange. The Cabinet Secretary also demonstrated the support for links between Scotland and Canada’s military at a veterans event at the Royal Canadian Military Institute. A bilateral meeting with Ontario Provincial Minister Brad Duguid involved discussion of policy areas and explored examples of where Scotland and Ontario can share examples of best practice, and work together for mutual benefit.

To raise the profile of Scotland and showcase our food and drink sector, the Cabinet Secretary delivered a speech at George Brown College in Toronto. This event, attended by key decision makers in the food and drink and retail sectors in Ontario, promoted the Year of Food and Drink, describing Scotland’s premium products and highlighting trade opportunities in the sector. The Cabinet Secretary further promoted the Scottish food and drink sector at a meeting with Cooke Aquaculture, a leading aquaculture company, with an operational presence in Scotland since 2014.

A meeting with Air Canada Rouge helped to progress discussions on a potential extension of the route service into Edinburgh to all year round. Other business engagements in Toronto included meetings with companies ComDev, Fengate and CGI. In New York, business meetings were held with Cognizant, Oceana and Aberdeen Asset Management, to reinforce the importance of the companies’ operations and future plans for Scotland.

The Cabinet Secretary hosted a reception for Scottish University alumni in New York and spoke on the importance of building a strong Scottish Alumni network and spreading the message about modern Scotland.

Culturally, the Cabinet Secretary attended a number of events in New York and Toronto which promoted Scotland. He spoke at two diaspora focused events, highlighting the success of 2014 and engagement opportunities with the diaspora to encourage visits to Scotland and promoted the Scottish creative sector at a Scottish Music Festival in Bryant Park in New York. He also attended the St Andrew’s Society of New York’s Kirkin’ ‘O the Tartan, followed by the Tartan Day Parade – one of the longest running events of Scotland Week. In addition, the Cabinet Secretary demonstrated his support for the fundraising effort of the National Trust for Scotland USA Foundation at their 8th Annual Gala Dinner and honoured Billy Connolly with the Great Scot Award.

Scottish Ministers hold regular meetings with the banks to discuss the Scottish Government’s economic priorities, and use every opportunity to reaffirm the importance of investment to continued economic growth. The Scottish Government is working with the banks to improve the supply of lending and other relevant support, including improving demand from viable Scottish businesses, as well as providing advisory support through our enterprise agencies and Business Gateway to improve their chances of securing finance.