Chamber and committees

On 22 July 2016, the Welsh Government hosted an extraordinary meeting of the British-Irish Council in Cardiff. The Summit was attended by Ministers from all eight Member Administrations and was chaired by the Welsh First Minister. The Scottish Government was represented by the First Minister and myself.

The extraordinary meeting was called in light of the outcome of the UK Government’s referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union and provided a first opportunity, since the vote, for BIC Members to meet.

The First Minister took the opportunity to express the concerns felt by many in Scotland. Scotland voted to remain in the EU in every local authority area and every area will be affected by the UK’s decision to leave.

The First Minister advised the Council that given the consequences of being removed from the EU, the Scottish Government will explore every option to protect Scotland's interests.

Along with the representatives of the other devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies, she stressed the importance of being fully involved in the development of the UK approach and objectives and the subsequent negotiations.

The Communiqué that was issued by the British-Irish Council, after the meeting, can be found here:

https://www.britishirishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/communiqu%C3%A9s/Cardiff%20Communique%20FINAL.pdf

Scotland Week 2016 ran from April 2 to 9 April, during which time Ms Margaret Burgess, the then Minister for Housing and Welfare, undertook ministerial engagements in New York City between 6 and 9 April 2016.

The overall purpose of Scotland Week 2016 was to showcase Scotland’s cultural contribution to the world, and especially the United States, as well as strengthening the relationships we have created with key US contacts.

Over the course of the week, the minister participated in a number of engagements to show government support of the relationships the Scottish Affairs Office, Scottish Development International and VisitScotland have fostered.

The minister addressed the VisitScotland Diaspora breakfast which was attended by representatives from the key ancestral and diaspora societies and associations based in the New York area. This provided an opportunity to update this key audience on the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design and to introduce the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.

The minister hosted a lunch for Scottish Development International in New York with key members of the GlobalScots network. The event presented an opportunity to recognise the valuable contribution made by this influential group to the Scottish business economy and hear at first-hand about future plans for engagement.

The minister’s visit included several cultural engagements: a visit to the ‘Scots Who Built New York’ exhibition which celebrates the iconic and historic buildings of New York built by Scottish architects; the promotion of the Scottish creative sector at a Scottish Music Festival in Bryant Park and attendance at the opening ceremony of the John Muir Exhibit on Ellis Island. The exhibit celebrates the life and legacy of Scots-born naturalist, John Muir, who founded the US National Park Service, which marks its 100^th anniversary in 2016.

The minister was the guest of honour at the St Andrew’s Society of New York’s Tartan Day celebration where she made a speech to congratulate and thank the Society for their tremendous philanthropic efforts both in the USA and in Scotland.

On behalf of the Scottish Government the minister hosted an event with the National Theatre of Scotland, which included a performance of “The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart”. This provided a great opportunity to promote Scottish arts and showcase Scotland’s international cultural impact.

The Minister also hosted a reception for Scottish University alumni in the US and spoke on the importance of building a strong Scottish Alumni network across North America. Alumni are advocates, not just for the Scottish higher education sector, but for Scotland as a whole and can help develop key networks.

The minister met with the Executive Director of New York Centre for Economic Opportunity, Matt Klein, and discussed respective efforts to combat poverty and foster new opportunities for economic prosperity, as well as further areas of mutually beneficial collaboration. She also met with Paul Heckler from the High Line to discuss urban regeneration projects and the fostering public-private partnerships for community restoration in New York and Scotland.

During the week the minister also laid a wreath in memory of all those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attack, which of course included a number of Scots. She then toured the 9/11 Museum and Memorial.

The week ended with the St Andrew’s Society of New York’s Kirkin’ ‘O the Tartan, followed by the Tartan Day Parade down 6^th Avenue, one of the longest running Scotland Week events.

On 17 June 2016, the Scottish Government hosted the twenty sixth meeting of the British-Irish Council in Glasgow. The summit was attended by ministers from all eight Member Administrations and was chaired by the First Minister. Also attending for the Scottish Government was the Minister for Public Health and Sport and myself.

Coming the day after the tragic death of MP Jo Cox, the Council observed a minute silence and offered condolences to her family.

Recognising that a number of administrations have had elections this year Council Members took the opportunity to discuss their governments’ priorities. The First Minister highlighted the outcome of the EU Referendum as the most important issue facing Scotland, reiterating the Scottish Government’s position of wanting to remain within the EU and stressed the detrimental impact a leave vote would have on the Scottish economy. [As the First Minister said in her statement on 28 June, she remains closely in touch with the heads of other administrations in the British-Irish Council.]

The First Minister went on to advise the Council of Scotland’s continued economic recovery and the importance of sustaining and growing that strong economy to underpin the investment we are making in Scotland’s public services. In particular the First Minister mentioned education and the Scottish Government’s commitment to close the gap in educational outcomes; updating the Council on our new National Improvement Framework and the positive findings from the OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) review of Scotland’s approach to curriculum development and education policy and practice.

The Council agreed that there was merit in examining whether there were common themes emerging from respective Programmes for Government on issues where Members could work together to share information and ideas. The Council also approved a measure to move the current work sectors towards a task and finish approach to ensure that the subjects remain focused on the Council’s priorities.

A paper prepared by the Social Inclusion work sector on carers was discussed and future priorities agreed at meeting of Ministers with responsibility for unpaid carers, (chaired earlier in the day by the Minister for Public Health and Sport). The Council further discussed how best Administrations can support carers by looking at best practice, new and creative policy responses and community actions; particular regard will be paid to young carers, carers of older people and older carers, carer identity and telehealth, telecare and assistive technologies.

The Communiqué and paper on Carers that was issued by the British-Irish Council, after the meeting, can be found on their website at https://www.britishirishcouncil.org/

Under this government the number of staff working in Scotland’s NHS has risen to a record high.

As at March 2016, 19,968.7 whole time equivalent staff were employed in NHS Lothian – this is an increase of 10.8 per cent since September 2006, and a record high.

*Source: Information Services Division Scotland (September 2006 to March 2016)

Information on the gender pay gap in Scotland is published by the Scottish Government in Table 4 of Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings – Scottish Government Analysis on the Scottish Government web site. This is available at the following link: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Labour-Market/AnalyticalPapers/ASHESGAnalysis

Information for the gender pay gap for the UK is published by office for national statistics in the publication Annual Survey of Hours and Earning 2015: Provisional Results. This is available at the following link: http://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2015provisionalresults

Provisional estimates, sourced from these publications, show that:

For Scotland, in 2015, the gender pay gap for median full-time hourly earnings (excluding overtime) was 7.3%.

For the UK, in 2015, the gender pay gap for median full-time hourly earnings (excluding overtime) was 9.4%.

Scotland has led the way since 1999 in narrowing the gender pay gap, which at 7.3% is currently the lowest in the UK and one of the lowest in the EU. However, that there is any pay gap at all in 2016 is unacceptable.

We know that there are many factors which influence the pay gap and we are providing practical support to businesses such as: funding the Close the Gap toolkit for small businesses on the benefits of improving gender diversity; funding initiatives to encourage businesses to adopt family friendly policies; and providing support to carers. These types of employer practices help women to enter and progress in the labour market and contribute towards narrowing the pay gap.

As of 2 June 2016, 180 organisations from across Scotland's public, private and third sector have signed up to the Partnership for Change pledge.