Chamber and committees

Under our proposals, a combined economic and competition regulator would carry out the functions of Ofcom, Ofgem, the Office of the Rail Regulator, and the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, as well as the functions of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission.

An independent Scotland would have to deliver the functions of the existing bodies and will ensure it has the additional resources to do so, including the necessary staff. The details of that will depend on a number of factors which are currently under active consideration, including the final composition and remit of the proposed combined Economic and Competition Regulator for Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S4W-15173 on 3 June 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government will publish a range of material to inform the choice that the people of Scotland will make between now and September 2014.

The Flexible Training Opportunities programme gives Scottish businesses with up to 100 employees the opportunity to apply for up to £5,000 towards employee training costs. Funding is available for up to 10 employees per business with Skills Development Scotland refunding 50% of each episode of employee training up to a maximum of £500 for each training episode. We have asked SDS to provide 7,000 individual training opportunities in 2013-14 through the Flexible Training Opportunities programme.

In addition, to support the transition to a low carbon economy, the Low Carbon Skills Fund gives Scottish businesses with up to 250 employees the opportunity to apply for up to £12,500 towards employee training costs. Funding is available for up to 25 episodes of training per business with SDS refunding 50% of eligible training costs up to a maximum of £500 per episode. Eligible training includes:

Renewable energy, low carbon technologies and microgeneration

Energy efficiency, environmental and clean technologies

Waste management and re-use

Reducing carbon in supply and energy management.

We have asked SDS to provide at least 500 episodes of training in 2013-14 through the Low Carbon Skills Fund Programme.

During the financial year 1 April 2012 - 31 March 2013 the Scottish Government delivered 196 opportunities for unemployed young people which included the employment of 64 new Modern Apprentices, 7 Get Ready for Work Training Placements, 105 student placements and mentoring* of 20 disadvantaged young people as follows:

* unable to breakdown by area

Modern Apprentices are employed to permanent roles as vacancies arise and the distribution across the organisation will change year on year.

I can confirm that in year one there were 6,985 claims for payment made through the targeted ERI scheme.

Please note the distinction between claims for payment and individual starts. Some of those claims Skills Development Scotland received in 2011-12 will have been for young people who started on the programme later in 2010-11. The claims by employers on behalf of those recruited through the scheme can often be made some time after the individual has started work.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13575 on 23 March 2013 where I stated that Skills Development Scotland are unable to share a disaggregated figure as the overall number of individuals supported within these groups is small. I can confirm that in 2011-2012, the number of individuals who were supported through the Employer Recruitment Incentive was 6,985. The ERI in 2011-12 was not an incentive targeted at these groups specifically. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Over the spending review period (2012-13 to 2014-15) the Scottish Government will support investment of more than £10 billion through the capital budget, revenue-financed investment through the Non Profit Distributing pipeline, Regulatory Asset Base rail enhancements, capital receipts and switching more than £700 million from resource into capital budget.

Projects that will provide opportunities for young people include:

• The Forth Replacement Crossing which, at its peak, will directly support 1,200 jobs. Each year this will deliver 45 vocational training positions, 21 professional body training places and 46 positions for the long term unemployed, as well as providing further scope to maximise Modern Apprenticeship opportunities once onsite construction begins. To date, 110 places for training and the long-term unemployed have been generated by the construction.

• The New South Glasgow Hospitals which, at its peak, will support 1,500 jobs on site. This project incorporated a number of key economic targets into the project delivery, with a particular focus on targeted training and recruitment. The project set a target of 250 new recruits, including 88 apprentices. To date, the project has delivered 190 new entrants, including 54 apprenticeships. The project has also supported over 140 work placements for young people and has dedicated engagement programmes with local primary and secondary schools.

• The Scottish Futures Trust promotes a consistent community benefits approach across the £2.5 billion Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) projects pipeline and hub programme. Each standalone NPD procurement includes a community benefit clause seeking commitment to training and development. The Scotland-wide hub programme includes firm requirements and key performance indicators for delivering training opportunities in each of the five hub territories. Using construction industry guidance, the NPD and hub programme should deliver 713 work placements for teenagers aged between 16 to 19, and 327 new apprentice starts.

• Scotland’s Schools for the Future Building Programme is estimated to support around 1,500 jobs at any one time throughout the duration of the programme. The schools will provide significant employment opportunities across Scotland both during the building phase and throughout their lifetime.

During 2012-13, the revolving loan fund distributed a total of £1,387,294 to 482 young people. This supported 402 businesses to start or grow across Scotland.

The Energy Skills Partnership has supported the following training opportunities at participating colleges: