Chamber and committees

The trunk road section of A7 in Scotland runs from the Scottish Border to Galashiels. The A7 to the north of Galashiels is not trunk road and is the responsibility of local authorities. Following the fatal accident on the trunk road section of the A7 on 7 August at Kirkton Bridge, a site meeting was attended by Transport Scotland, Amey, the A7 operating company and Police Scotland. At this meeting it was agreed that no road issues were identified as a contributory factor in the accident.

Works carried out this year to improve the safety of the A7 route include the construction of pedestrian improvements and crossing facilities to the north of Hawick at Guthrie Drive and new carriageway construction to improve the road surface on the section of the A7 to the south of Hawick. Other safety measures include the A7 Route Accident Reduction Plan which is programmed for construction in October/November 2017 and comprises the introduction of safety improvement measures at a number of bends along the route. These measures will provide a consistent message along the route which will alert drivers to the different layouts of each of the bends and will include signage, road markings and surfacing as appropriate

Transport Scotland will continue to monitor the A7 as part of the Annual Safety Review process and implement measures where necessary.

Information on the number of acid attacks over the last five years is not held centrally. Where someone uses acid or other corrosive substances to attack another person, a range of general criminal offences can be used to prosecute including the common law of assault. The statistics for assault held do not differentiate when corrosive substances have or have not been used.

The Scottish Government is committed to doing whatever it can within our powers to ensure our communities are safe from harm. This includes any steps that can be taken in relation to the availability of corrosive substances that can have such real and lasting harm if used against another person or property.

The UK Government has announced plans to prepare an action plan to tackle the use of acid or other corrosive substances in violent attacks. This follows a spate of such incidents in London. The action plan focuses on:

Effective law enforcement;

Ensuring legislation covering the use of acid and other corrosives in attacks is understood and consistently applied;

Working with retailers to restrict access to acids and other very harmful products; and

Ensuring effective support for victims through both the Criminal Justice System and health services.

Along with considering the operation of the criminal law of Scotland in this area, I can advise that the Scottish Government will be working closely with the UK Government on such issues as the online sales of corrosive substances as it is apparent that effective steps in that specific area will need to be taken on a consistent basis across the whole of the UK if possible.

In legislative terms we intend to introduce primary legislation in this Parliament to bring into effect a new public body, the South of Scotland Enterprise Agency. Recognising the time required for the parliamentary passage of a Bill, which is, of course, dependent on the will of Parliament, we are planning for the new Agency to become effective from 1 April 2020. In advance, we want to ensure that the South of Scotland benefits from a new approach and are working with stakeholders to put interim arrangements into place.

Latest figures show that 78.9% premises in the Scottish Borders have access to fibre broadband, with 76.4% capable of receiving superfast speeds. These percentages assume that commercial rollout is completed on time and in line with plans submitted to the Scottish Government through the 2012 Open Market Review (OMR). Without the programme’s investment, commercial coverage in Scottish Borders would have reached only 39.3%.

The Highlands and Islands represent some of the most remote and rural areas in Scotland. Latest figures show that across the Highlands and Islands region 75.8% of premises have access to fibre broadband, 70.3% with access to superfast speeds. Without this investment, Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles would have no access to fibre broadband at all, and access in the Highlands would only be at 21%.

The Scottish Government’s commitment to deliver 100% superfast broadband access by 2021 is the only one of its kind in the UK. Yearly coverage targets have not yet been set. Deployment timescales and related targets will be determined through the procurement process, which will launch later this year.

The Scottish Government has never committed to delivering 100% superfast broadband by 2020.

An online Reporting Framework has been developed to provide easily accessible information on the progress being made with the delivery of the Land Use Strategy 2016 – 2021. This framework will be available on the Scottish Government website this summer.

The Land Use Strategy 2016 – 2021 is a high-level strategic document and does not contain proposals for specific areas of Scotland. However, the Scottish Borders Council participated in a Land Use Pilot from 2013 – 2015 which explored the development of a regional land use framework for the area. Since then, further related work has been undertaken by Scottish Borders Council and the Tweed Forum.

On 23^rd March 2017 we published our Blueprint for 2020 Action Plan. This sets out 31 key steps we will take in 2017-18 to progress delivery on our commitment to nearly double funded early learning and childcare entitlement to 1140 hours a year by 2020, for eligible 2 year olds and all 3 and 4 year olds in Scotland. This will ensure that the expansion of early learning and childcare is rooted in a high quality experience for our children and will support our delivery partners in building additional capacity. We are on track to deliver these actions and we are working closely with local authorities to produce ELC Expansion Plans, due for submission in September 2017.

The Blueprint is clear about the key role childminders and community childminders have to play in delivering the expanded entitlement, especially for younger children. This could be through, for example, increased use of ‘blended models’ which involve children spending time in both a nursery setting and with a childminder.

A key part of this policy framework will be the introduction of a new funding follows the child model, which is built upon a ‘provider neutral’ approach, by 2020. This will be built upon a national standard which will create a more open, proportionate, and consistent process for providers (including childminders) to deliver the funded entitlement.

We are currently supporting a programme of delivery model trials which will provide helpful learning on making optimum use of childminders in delivering the funded entitlement. 10 of the 14 trials in the programme, which is running during 2017-18, involve childminders. The learning from these trials will be shared with local authorities on an on-going basis and will be embedded within an evaluation framework for the expansion to 1140 hours.

We are committed to delivering a new standard of best practice for childminders. As part of this we will work with the Care Inspectorate and other partners to launch a new Learning and Development Pathway for childminders in September 2017.

A range of benefits are being devolved to Scotland through the Scotland Act 2016, though at present the Scottish Government does not deliver any benefits specifically for deaf people. The Scottish Government has committed to putting dignity and respect back into the heart of the social security system in Scotland. We will continue to engage with deaf people and the organisations who represent them to ensure that our system is as accessible as possible. The Scottish Government is currently looking for people to take part in Experience Panels which will ensure that people with lived experience of the system help to shape Scotland's future social security system.

The Scottish Government provides funding to a range of public services and third sector organisations which offer support to people who are deaf, and is committed to improving the services, support and care available through its long term strategy ‘See Hear’. The Strategy was jointly endorsed by COSLA and is being implemented through local partnerships of statutory and third sector partners.

The Scottish Government want all children and young people to be free from discrimination so that they can learn and reach their full potential. That is why education in Scotland is underpinned by polices and legislation which have equality and diversity at their hearts, such as Curriculum for Excellence, Additional Support for Learning, GIRFEC and the Equality Act. In this way we help schools and local authorities work towards eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations.

We recognise too that pupil safety and wellbeing begins with a whole-school ethos which is founded on positive relationships. Authorities and schools have available to them a range of strategies and approaches for promoting positive relationships and behaviour. Support and training in these approaches is provided by Education Scotland’s Rights, Support and Wellbeing Team.

The safety of school staff and school staff’s responsibilities under equality legislation are matters for individual local authorities as their employers. In terms of teacher responsibilities to pupils, the Standards for Registration set by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) require teachers to commit to the principles of democracy and social justice through fair, transparent, inclusive and sustainable policies and practices in relation to the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010. The GTCS's Code of Professionalism and Conduct on Equality and Diversity require teachers to engage and work positively with pupils, help pupils understand different views, perspectives and experiences and develop positive relationships as well as recognise that they are role models.

The Scottish Government's Skills Agency, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) has been proactive in promoting the opportunities available for Modern Apprenticeships (MA) in the agricultural sector through a number of initiatives including the following:

SDS has worked with key partners and stakeholders to refresh the food and drink Skills Investment Plan (SIP)

One of the key themes within the SIP is to raise the attractiveness of the sector to new entrants, and in particular increasing apprenticeship opportunities.

Actions taken to encourage apprenticeships in the agriculture sector include:

Development of a communications plan to highlight the career and employment opportunities within the sector

Review of existing careers materials

Refresh of the content of My World of Work and updating case studies for the agricultural sector

Exploring opportunities with industry partners for a shared apprenticeship model in the agricultural sector

SDS has also been working with the National Farmers Union and SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) to ensure the MA Frameworks meet the needs of the agricultural sector

SDS has provided sponsorship to the Lantra Land Based Learner of the Year Awards a celebration of the success of young people who are embarking on non-traditional careers

Lantra Scotland Chair, Henry Graham, has recently been appointed as the Scottish Government agriculture champion with a remit to review education and training. SDS will help inform this process with information around apprenticeships and careers activity

The launch of the Rural Skills Modern Apprenticeship at the Royal Highland Show in 2016

Widening access for rural communities from April 2017, with the introduction of a rural supplement for training providers

The number of people starting and completing an apprenticeship in the agricultural sector over the last five years is as follows: