Chamber and committees

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:

The Scottish Government recognises the valuable contribution that all business make, including social enterprise, to creating a more successful economy with opportunities for all to flourish. We will continue to support inclusive growth, consistent with Scotland’s Economy Strategy and Scotland’s Social Enterprise Strategy, published in December 2016.

From Robert Owen in the 1800s to the growth of co-operatives in the 1970s, Scotland has a long history in socially responsible business. Today, ‘Can Do’ and ‘Scottish Business Pledge’ initiatives recognise and celebrate the commitment of both private and third sector organisations to shared values around entrepreneurship, innovation, community value and fair work. We are committed to working with, and through, partners to ensure that growth and innovation go hand-in-hand with a commitment to delivering wider benefit to all of society.

In contrast, the UK Government’s apparent desire for a hard Brexit risks doing permanent damage to Scotland’s economy, and will in turn have profound implications for our ability to invest in Scotland’s public finances.

The Government Economic Strategy identifies tourism as a key growth sector and the Scottish Government is therefore assisting public bodies to support the tourism sector, right across Scotland, via the industry-led Scottish Tourism Alliance “Tourism Scotland 2020”. This assistance is delivering, collectively, across the public agencies, especially VisitScotland, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Development International, and the relevant local authorities.

“Enhancing the Quality of the Visitor Experience” is one of the four priorities for the Tourism Strategy 2020 and customer excellence initiatives, such as the WorldHost Destination initiative not only helps individual businesses to upskill their workforce but also enables participating destinations to improve the overall quality of the visitor experience.

The WorldHost customer service training programme has been delivered with Skills Development Scotland support in 12 regions of Scotland. To date World Host has trained over 26,000 individuals across Scotland and engaged with 1,286 tourism businesses of which 641 have so far achieved WorldHost recognition.

A wide range of public bodies, including representatives from local authorities, promote mountain biking through Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland (DMBiS). DMBiS is a partnership project which is hosted within Scottish Cycling, the recognised governing body for the sport in Scotland, and is responsible for overseeing the delivery of the national strategic framework for mountain biking in Scotland. The framework is the key driver for DMBiS and its partners in developing the sport and delivering against key initiatives, including increased participation, during the period 2016-18.

Assistance to partners is being delivered by the Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland at Glentress. Launched in June 2014, the Centre is a joint initiative headed by Edinburgh Napier University and DMBiS, with project partner Scottish Enterprise. The project is funded by the Scottish Funding Council and Edinburgh Napier University.

In addition, over the last 10 years, sportscotland has invested almost £850,000 in key mountain bike facilities, and EventScotland have invested almost £1 million in 18 events across 4 Local Authorities. In terms of participation, the number of clubs registered with Scottish Cycling has risen from 122 in 2008 to 190 in 2017, and the Active Schools Programme saw 4,753 participation sessions in mountain biking during the 2015-16 academic year.

The industry-led “Tourism Strategy 2020” identifies events (including sporting events) and festivals as a key growth opportunity.

The Scottish Government, together with its agencies and bodies (including SportScotland) and with VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, EventScotland, playing a lead role, is strongly committed to supporting the further development of Scotland’s wide and diverse events portfolio and the events industry.

To further enhance our international profile as a world class events destination and build upon these achievements, our recently revised national events strategy, "Scotland the Perfect Stage" (launched on 15 September 2015) reaffirms our commitment to the delivery of a One Scotland approach to building a strong and dynamic events industry producing a portfolio of events and festivals that deliver sustainable impact and international profile for Scotland; and further enhance Scotland’s reputation both nationally and internationally as a leader and innovator of best practice in sporting event planning and delivery.

VisitScotland invests around £1.5m annually into supporting sports events and also manages Scottish Government investment in events such as 2019 Solheim Cup and 2019 European Indoor Athletics Championships. These, together with a range of other events, not only deliver economic and profile benefits but also provide direct economic and social benefits in the communities where they take place.

In addition to these larger, organised, events VisitScotland also promotes Scotland as a destination for a wide range of sporting activities, right across Scotland. The Scottish Government is therefore assisting public bodies to support the tourism sector, right across Scotland, via “Tourism Strategy 2020” collectively across the public agencies, especially VisitScotland, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Development International, and the relevant local authorities.

The Scottish Government fully recognises the importance of tourism to the economy of our rural areas. Its development is supported through the work of a range of public bodies, for example, VisitScotland's national and international marketing campaigns; business and destination support from Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, training and development through Skills Development Scotland; promotion and enhancement of the natural environment through Scottish Natural Heritage.

The rural economy hub is an early stage internal mechanism to strengthen these links across government and to coordinate Scottish Government policy interventions into a single coherent framework that maximises impact on the rural economy.