Chamber and committees

The last Disability Summit was held in December 2020 to evaluate the impact of A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Delivery Plan 2016-2021. Over 100 people attended online and the voices of disabled people with lived and living experience were heard.

The Scottish Government’s current priority is co-designing the Disability Equality strategy with Disabled People’s Organisations. This work has involved analysing research and reports which incorporate the lived and living experience of disabled people in Scotland and agreeing on the priorities for the strategy.

We will engage with disabled people, third sector organisations and delivery partners when the strategy is drafted to gather views and feedback. We expect this to take the form of a fully accessible consultation and engagement activities.

We are working with Disabled People’s organisations and their members to develop a new Disability Equality Strategy. Our focus is on listening to what disabled people have told us are the challenges and obstacles they face, and finding solutions that we can deliver.

The steering group has met 5 times to identify priorities for the strategy and specific actions. Work is ongoing and the strategy will be consulted on with wider stakeholders and partners when the actions are defined.

The level of funding invested each year by the Bank since it was established is as follows:

2020-21 (November to March): £23,097,000

2021-22: £130,414,000

2022-23: The Bank’s final outturn is still being finalised and it is too early to provide a provisional figure to Parliament. The Bank will lay its audited Annual Accounts in Parliament before the end of September.

The Bank’s most recent Annual Accounts are published on its website: https://www.thebank.scot/sites/default/files/2022-10/the-bank-annual-report-2022.pdf .

The portfolio page on the Bank’s website also provides details of the deals they have completed: https://www.thebank.scot/portfolio .

Vice-President of the European Parliament Katarina Barley MEP and I held a positive meeting in August last year, in which we spoke about Scottish Government's draft hydrogen action plan.

The subject of Scottish independence was not an agenda item in discussions, however Scottish ministers will always be polite enough during international meetings to answer any questions put to them about the Scottish Government's stated policies, including a legal, constitutionally sound referendum, as set out in our Programme for Government.

Urmas Paet MEP and I held a positive meeting in June last year, in which we spoke about Scotland maintaining close relationships with Northern European neighbours on a range of issues such as energy, innovation and cohesion.

The subject of Scottish independence was not an agenda item in discussions, however Scottish ministers will always be polite enough during international meetings to answer any questions put to them about the Scottish Government's stated policies, including a legal, constitutionally sound referendum, as set out in our Programme for Government.

Nathalie Loiseau MEP and I held a positive meeting in June last year, in which we spoke about the work of the Scottish Government's Brussels office and areas of potential future cooperation with Europe such as energy.

The subject of Scottish independence was not an agenda item in discussions, however Scottish ministers will always be polite enough during international meetings to answer any questions put to them about the Scottish Government's stated policies, including a legal, constitutionally sound referendum, as set out in our Programme for Government.

Seamus Boland of the European Economic and Social Committee and I held a positive meeting in June last year, in which we spoke about Scottish civic society's involvement in the EU’s Domestic Advisory Group.

The subject of Scottish independence was not an agenda item in discussions, however Scottish ministers will always be polite enough during international meetings to answer any questions put to them about the Scottish Government's stated policies, including a legal, constitutionally sound referendum, as set out in our Programme for Government.

Danuta Hübner MEP and I held a positive meeting in May last year, in which we spoke about the Scottish Government's EU alignment and Energy policies.

The subject of Scottish independence was not an agenda item in discussions, however Scottish ministers will always be polite enough during international meetings to answer any questions put to them about the Scottish Government's stated policies, including a legal, constitutionally sound referendum, as set out in our Programme for Government.

Delivery of medium-term improvements along with a permanent and resilient solution to the landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful is a priority and we continue to seek ways to achieve these as quickly as possible, noting that all of the options require complex civil engineering. Budget has been allocated for the 2023-24 financial year, through the annual Scottish Budget exercise, and this will fund commencing the delivery of the medium-term improvements, which are expected to start later this year in a phased manner, along with taking forward preparatory work on the long-term solution.

The Scottish Government remains committed to providing a resilient infrastructure solution to address the landslip risk at the Rest and Be Thankful. The preferred option for a medium-term solution was announced on 23 December 2022. A detailed programme for the proposed improvements is now being developed and it is expected that these works will be carried out on a phased basis starting later this year.

At the same time, Transport Scotland continues to take forward the necessary design and assessment work at pace with a view to announcing a preferred route option for the long-term solution this Spring.

I absolutely share the urgency communities and businesses place in maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route, and remain absolutely committed to ensuring continuity of access to Argyll and Bute so that the region remains open for business.