Chamber and committees

As set out in the Programme for Government, we plan to expand our electric charging infrastructure between now and 2022. This is one of a number of actions to meet the target to phase out the need for petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032. Over the coming months we will set out our future plans to support and encourage EV installations. This will include considering charging options for EV drivers who do not have access to home charging, which could include lamp post charging. As project partners in the Ruggedised smart cities project ( www.ruggedised.eu ), Transport Scotland and Glasgow City Council are already looking at intelligent LED street lights with integrated electric charging functionality to solve the on-street charging issue.

Transport Scotland supported the UK Government's Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) workshop in Edinburgh on 20th March, which aimed to encourage local authorities to use UK government funding to install electric car charging facilities. Transport Scotland officials promoted the workshop to all Scottish Local Authorities, and presented at the workshop on complementary Scottish Government funding.

As detailed in the latest Programme for Government, in order to lead the way on electric vehicles, we plan to expand our electric vehicle charging infrastructure between now and 2022, whether in rural, urban or domestic settings. We will continue to build on the actions set out in the “Switched on Scotland Action Plan” launched last June. As part of this we will continue to promote the funding available from the UK Government to complement Scottish Government initiatives. We do this through meetings and workshops with Scottish Local Authorities and through our promotional work with the Energy Saving Trust, for example at the Greenfleet and Evolution events at Ingliston in May.

The Scottish Government will work with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to gather and publish the data required under the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016 as soon as practicable after the conclusion of the financial year.

The Scottish Business Pledge is a voluntary commitment by business, and while a standard question in the invitation to tender asks suppliers to confirm if they have made a commitment to the Pledge, this has no direct bearing on contract awards.

Whilst conditionality was considered before the Pledge was launched in May 2015 but not pursued on legal grounds, elements that comprise the Pledge, such as Fair Work practices, paying of the Living Wage and no inappropriate use of Zero Hours Contracts, can, where it is relevant and proportionate to the contract in question, form part of the tender evaluation process leading to the contract award.

Victim statements allow victims and close relatives to tell the court about the physical, emotional and financial impact of a crime on them. The effectiveness of schemes piloting the use of these statements was evaluated and the findings are published ( http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2007/03/27152727/13 ). The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has provided its staff with clear guidelines and processes to ensure that victims in all relevant cases are provided with the opportunity to give a statement. When victims complete and return Victim Impact Statements these are brought to the attention of the prosecutor and then the Judge or Sheriff prior to sentencing. We continue to work closely with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and victim support organisations to ensure victims can exercise their right to provide an impact statement and are given appropriate support and information in doing so.

In determining sentence, the court is obliged to have regard to the statement insofar as it is relevant to the offence. This is one amongst a range of factors which the judge will consider in coming to an independent view as to the most appropriate sentence. Victims have the right to request information as to the reasons for sentencing.

The Scottish Government highlights the values promoted by the Scottish Business Pledge by including a standard question in the invitation to tender, requesting that potential suppliers confirm whether they have made a commitment to the Pledge. So far 8 companies have responded to the letter by making a Pledge submission. We wrote to all suppliers who were not yet Pledge companies.

Network Rail has confirmed that the Carillion transition period is expected to conclude by the end of March 2018. I will write to the member with an update once this transition period has concluded and the details of Carillion staff being employed by other contractors is known.

Statistics on the number of enterprises operating in Scotland are included in the Businesses in Scotland 2017 publication, which is available on-line at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Business/Corporate . The latest figures show that, as at March 2017, there were an estimated 365,600 private sector enterprises operating in Scotland - the estimate includes all enterprises (those registered for VAT/PAYE and those that are not).

The number of businesses account-managed fluctuates during the year as businesses enter and leave the portfolio, but on average approximately 2,000 businesses are account-managed by Scottish Enterprise (SE) and 600 businesses/social enterprises are account-managed by Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE).

Therefore, on average, SE and HIE account-managed enterprises (approximately 2,600) represent 0.7% of Scotland's business base (of 365,600 enterprises).

Note that, aside from account-management, SE and HIE assist a wider group of enterprises every year (for example, via events to more in-depth business support interventions).

Business Gateway, delivered through our local authority partners, offers nationally consistent business support for people starting up, or running and growing a business, and tailored local services to address local economic or business needs. Business Gateway supports around 10,000 business a year to start up, over 5,000 businesses benefit from intensive growth support, and a further 12,000 existing businesses receive local advisor and expert help support.

As confirmed in our response to question S5W-14498 on ‎27 February 2018, Carer’s Allowance is a taxable benefit and therefore Carer’s Allowance Supplement will be taxable, as the legal definition of income for tax purposes remains reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government does not have the power to change this as set out in the Fiscal Framework.

As a result, carers who pay income tax on their Carer’s Allowance will also have their Carer’s Allowance Supplement subject to tax.