Chamber and committees

The costs of temporary traffic lights on the A76 are not recorded as a separate cost but included within the overall cost of each individual maintenance and improvement scheme delivered by Transport Scotland’s Operating Company on the route.

Local Goose Management Groups report annually on the delivery of their goose management schemes. These annual reports are reviewed by the National Goose Management Review Group (NGMRG) which is chaired by the Scottish Government. The annual report for the 2016-17 Solway Goose Management Scheme is currently being considered by the NGMRG.

The Scottish Government made a commitment in 2016 to maintain its funding support to the five local goose management schemes until spring 2020, when the funding will again be reviewed. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) manages these schemes on behalf of the Scottish Government and regularly reviews the individual payment rates for the schemes. The last payment rate review was completed in spring 2016.

A review of goose policy is undertaken every 5 years. In 2015, the Scottish Government commissioned the latest review of goose policy, including of the support offered to farmers to manage geese in Scotland through goose management schemes. The review has been undertaken by SNH and is currently being considered by an external quality assurance panel. Scottish Ministers will consider the findings of the review when it is completed later this year.

It is the responsibility of employers to ensure they employ enough suitable skilled staff to provide appropriate care for people using their services.

We have taken action to protect and grow our social care services by investing £250 million to health and social care partnerships, including introducing the Living Wage for adult care workers and in 2017-18 a further £100 million has been transferred to support the continued delivery of the Living Wage commitment and sustainability in the sector.

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), a Non Departmental Public Body established by the Government to regulate the social services workforce in Scotland and their education and training, has produced a number of different resources to support those looking to recruit staff and for those looking at a career in the care sector. The resources are also of use for others such as career advisers and Jobcentre Plus.

A key resource is the SSSC's Ambassadors for Careers in Care scheme. This is staff currently working in the sector who attend events, visit schools and careers fairs to promote careers in the sector.

The information referred to is not held centrally.

It is the responsibility of employers to ensure they employ enough suitable skilled staff to provide care for those using their services.

The building standards system under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 allows suitably qualified and experienced people to certify aspects of building design or construction as compliant with building regulations.

Scottish Ministers have approved certification of design schemes for building structures and energy. They have also approved certification of construction schemes for drainage, heating and plumbing installations, and electrical installations. Approved certifiers operate under these schemes and can issue certificates for work for any type of building or tenure that requires a building warrant.

There are no current plans to change the system of building standards certification under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. However the Scottish Government is reviewing appropriate action in respect of the recommendations in the “Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Construction of Edinburgh Schools” by Professor John Cole published in February 2017. The role of certification will be considered as part of that process.

Safeguarding Scotland’s rural environment and rural economy is a key priority. However, due to the failure of the UK Government to negotiate a decent Pillar 2 budget, Scotland has been left at the bottom of the pile in terms of EU rural development funding.

Farming in our uplands is an important part of our rural landscape and this Government values very highly the contribution that Scotland's sheep farmers make in these remote and challenging areas. That is why this Government chose to support upland sheep farmers through a number of CAP schemes. Under Pillar 1 of the CAP, the Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme provides support to upland sheep producers in Scotland's rough grazing areas. Hill farmers are also supported through the Basic Payment Scheme.

Hill farmers are given a high priority under Pillar 2 of the CAP (SRDP 2014-2020) to ensure rural communities remain sustainable for future generations. Over £65.5m is paid annually through the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) to provide vital support to around 11,500 farmers and crofters who operate in rural and remote areas of Scotland. Unlike the UK Government, which has ended their equivalent scheme, we have committed to continue it in Scotland.

In addition, further support is available through other SRDP schemes such as the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme (CAGS) and Agri-Environment-Climate Scheme (AECS).

Unfortunately I am unable to give farmers and crofters assurance on LFASS from 2019 as, despite repeated requests, the UK Government has still not guaranteed that the scheme will be funded in 2019. I have continued to press the UK Government on this issue, seeking assurance over LFASS 2019 and also the full £190 million in CAP convergence uplift, but to date we have had no reply.

It is only fair that we receive swift confirmation on LFASS 2019 and that the full convergence monies are repatriated to Scotland so that we can provide certainty to our farmers and crofters, and afford to pay them a rate that ensure the economic viability and sustainability of these remote areas.

The Scottish Government is committed to helping communities across Scotland realise their growth ambitions, including Langholm. As part of this commitment, I held a roundtable in Langholm that drew together community and business representatives, local politicians, and key public sector agencies to discuss the community's ambitions for future growth in their town.

The actions taken forward from that meeting include:

• Additional information on the Community Empowerment Act 2015 circulated to attendees by email on the 24 February;
• An engagement event for local businesses was hosted by Dumfries & Galloway Council on 19 April following the roundtable’s request for more information on potential public section businesses support; and
• Further information provided to the Langholm Initiative on the A7 improvements and an explanation of how decisions are taken on trunk road signage and the potential for local signage.

Those attending the meeting also committed to taking forward work to set out their agreed vision for economic growth and share it with the Scottish Government. I agreed that once shared we would explore how we could support the community in delivering that vision.

We are also taking forward our commitment to establish a new vehicle to meet the enterprise and skills needs of the South of Scotland area which will be of benefit to communities, including Langholm. The second phase of the Review has been exploring options for the new vehicle which will be set out in the Phase Two report, which I expect to be published after the General Election.

The Scottish Government has been working with our national skills agency, Skills Development Scotland (SDS), on the skills shortage in the haulage industry.

SDS worked with key partners including RHA and commissioned a review of the Labour Market conditions related to the shortage of drivers within the Scottish Transport Network. The report made recommendations, aimed at tackling the current skills supply and demand issues relating to HGV drivers.

One of the recommendations was to set up a stakeholder group aimed at addressing skills shortages in this area. An initial meeting of this group took place on 11 May, with the first official meeting taking place in June 2017.

The Road Haulage Association have developed a pilot project aimed at tackling the HGV driver skills shortage. The RHA were successful in securing funding for 250 job starts through the Transition Training Fund (TTF) set up to support those who have worked in the oil and gas sector.