Chamber and committees

Statistics relating to people convicted of offences under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 are available on page 79 of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2012-13 statistical bulletin. This is available via the following web link:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/11/2711

Information held centrally does not enable these convictions to be broken down by club.

Comparable information for 2013-14 will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2013-14 statistical bulletin. This is due to be published in December 2014.

The dates of all Scottish Government official and national statistics publications are pre-announced, and the up to date list of future publications can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/03/18798

Detailed information on charges under the Act, including the sporting affiliation of those charged (where known), is included in Charges reported under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 for 2012-13 (including the one month of 2011-12 for which the Act was in force) and 2013-14. Both reports are available via the following web links:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/06/4590

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/06/8566/0

The Scottish Government is committed to maximising the benefits and creating a lasting legacy for the whole of Scotland from Glasgow hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games. These Games have provided the entire country with an excellent opportunity for regeneration, innovation and sustainable economic growth.

As part of the Games legacy evaluation, we are working with Games partners to deliver a robust economic assessment of the Games. This report will be available for Glasgow and Scotland in spring 2015, however early indications from the pre-Games report, published on 28 April 2014, show that:

Construction and refurbishment of the venues and Athletes’ Village, over the six years leading to 2014, has contributed (on average) £52 million to Scotland’s gross value added, and supported 1,000 jobs each year.

As of the end of June 2014, Scottish companies had been awarded 484 Games-related contracts, worth £290 million.

To date, 37 national and international events have been secured using the Games venues, with an estimated economic impact of over £14 million.

By the time of the opening ceremony, over 50 national Legacy 2014 programmes and over 80 Supporting Legacy 2014 projects were already in place, benefitting people, communities and organisations across Scotland, including the West of Scotland. For example, in the West of Scotland, over 100 trainees have taken up employment through the Legacy 2014 Employer Recruitment Incentive programme, and more than 150 young people have received training and volunteering opportunities through the Legacy 2014 Scotland’s Best programme. Additionally, businesses in the West of Scotland were awarded 66 of the contracts associated with the Games.

An XX Commonwealth Games Highlight Report was published on 14 August 2014. We also expect to produce a post-Games report in 2015, an interim legacy report in 2017 and a final legacy report in 2019, detailing the benefit of these Games to Glasgow and the whole of Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-22752 on 28 October 2014. 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

Glasgow City Council, like all local authorities, has a statutory duty to secure early learning and childcare (ELC) for eligible children whose parents wish it. All eligible children are now entitled to a minimum of 600 hours per year.

When a child becomes eligible for their early learning and childcare place, local authorities will do their best to meet the needs of each parent, and can offer places through their own settings or through private and third sector providers. However, this cannot always be guaranteed to be at a parent or carer’s first choice of nursery.

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 also puts flexibility on a statutory footing for the first time. Local authorities are now required to consult with groups of parents at least once every two years on patterns of ELC provision. This will increase parental choice and better meet the needs of families.

Official statistics on household waste are published annually by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). Its annual household waste summary reports, which include the recycling rate for each local authority, can be viewed on SEPA’s website at:

http://www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_data/waste_data_reports/lacw_reporting/household_waste_reporting.aspx

These SEPA reports give an overview of local authority household waste management performance, showing that:

Nine local authorities recycled/composted more than 50% of household waste in 2013 - the same authorities that achieved this in 2012 (Stirling, Perth and Kinross, North Ayrshire, Moray, Inverclyde, Fife, Falkirk, East Renfrewshire, Clackmannanshire).

20 local authorities improved on their 2012 rates. The biggest increases were: Orkney, up 8.3% (to 30.8%); East Dunbartonshire, up 6.2% (to 44.9%); Renfrewshire, up 5.4% (to 44.3%); Inverclyde, up 4.8% (to 55.5%); Argyll & Bute, up 4.6% (to 36.1%).

Variation between councils is a big factor in overall performance – five of the eight with biggest waste volumes are recycling under 40%, as follows: South Lanarkshire 39.1% (up 1.7%); Edinburgh 38.1% (up 1.4%); Aberdeen City 37.1% (down 0.2%); Aberdeenshire 35.9% (up 0.3%); Dundee 31.1% (up 1.4%); Glasgow 26.9% (down 2.6%).

Waste landfilled in Scotland went down from 55.5% in 2012 to 53.5% in 2013. The biggest local decreases were: East Dunbartonshire, down 12.6% (to 48.7%); Angus, down 7.4% (to 46.6%); East Ayrshire, down 6.6% (to 49%); Argyll and Bute, down 5.9% (to 51.1%); Dundee, down 5.8% (to 43.6%)

Official statistics on household waste are published annually by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). As from 2012, SEPA started publishing household waste data information on an annual calendar year basis rather than a financial year basis. This aligns household waste data reporting with other European waste data reporting, and allows comparison and aggregation of the information on household waste data with commercial and industrial waste data. The data in the household waste reports are obtained from WasteDataFlow (the web based system for waste data reporting by UK local authorities to government).

I met with all councils at COSLA’s Development, Economy and Sustainability Executive Group in September 2013 to discuss the importance of the zero waste agenda and hear feedback from councils on progress and the issues they are facing. Earlier this year, I, along with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth, convened the first meeting of the Zero Waste Taskforce with COSLA. The taskforce’s work aims to support all councils to collaborate, drive up recycling rates, and create economic opportunities.

Scottish Government officials and Zero Waste Scotland last met with Glasgow City Council in late 2012 to discuss their approach to waste and recycling. Following that meeting, Zero Waste Scotland has provided the council with considerable support for a variety of activities to help review its approach to collections, including piloting food waste collection and assessing waste collection issues in tenements.

<>The Public Sector Climate Leaders Forum (PSCLF) provides a formal means of discussing climate change action with both COSLA and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. I chair the forum which meets quarterly and Councillor Stephen Hagan, COSLA Spokesperson on Development, Economy and Sustainability is deputy chair. Minutes and papers for the meetings are available at www.scotland.gov.uk.

The Climate Leaders Officers Group provides operational support to PSCLF and is the main delivery vehicle for the actions arising from PSCLF.

I have also had several bilateral meetings over the last year with Councillor Hagan, to discuss climate change and also biodiversity, and the Scottish Government funds a policy manager post within COSLA to provide liaison between the government and COSLA on climate change and waste issues.