Chamber and committees

Scotland’s Population 2017: the Registrar General’s Annual Review of Demographic Trends will be published at 9:30 am on 1 August 2018. The Report contains information about births, deaths and marriages during the year, together with other demographic information. A copy of the report is available at www.nrscotland.gov.uk.

On 22 June 2018, the Guernsey Government hosted a summit meeting of the British-Irish Council. The meeting was attended by Ministers from seven of the Member Administrations and was chaired by the Guernsey Chief Minister. The First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform and the Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe represented the Scottish Government.

Although ministers from the Northern Ireland Executive were not in attendance, officials from the Northern Ireland administration were present.

The meeting focused on the challenges facing the Marine Environment. Following a discussion by Environment Ministers where the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change represented the Scottish Government, the First Minister informed the Council of the actions the Scottish Government is taking to tackle marine litter and the protection of Scottish waters, include the designation of 75 Marine Protection Areas covering over 20% of Scottish Waters and targets to reduce all waste by 15% by 2025.

Latest political developments were also discussed, including the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. The First Minister stressed the impact uncertainty was continuing to have on businesses in Scotland and voiced concern over the erosion of respect for the constitutional conventions underpinning devolution.

The Communiqué that was issued by the British-Irish Council after the meeting can be found on its website at:

https://www.britishirishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/communiqu%C3%A9s/Thirtieth%20Summit%20Comminique%20-%20Guernsey_3.pdf

The Scottish Government continues to hold regular discussions with the UK Government over an array of issues to seek to prepare effective post-Brexit arrangements for goods entering the UK from the EU and goods leaving the UK for the EU.

I urge the UK Government to work more closely with the Scottish Government, sharing information to ensure that together we can minimise the damaging impact that these Brexit-related issues could have on Scottish patients, consumers and businesses.

The China Strategy was published today [13 June 2018] and sets out the context and rationale for the Scottish Government’s engagement with China. It is a high level strategy which flows directly from our recently refreshed International Framework and it sits alongside and complement our other priority country strategies.

 The strategy was developed and informed by a range of events with organisations in Scotland and China which gathered opinions on how we should prioritise and focus our engagement with China. Members of the Chinese community here in Scotland, and representatives of a number of human rights organisations took part in events which informed development of the new strategy. Stakeholders in China were engaged through our Scottish Affairs Office in Beijing.

The Scottish Government will work collaboratively and constructively with China - promoting our values through sharing practical learning and experiences - to encourage an open, honest dialogue. Two key guiding principles which formed the basis of our previous strategy will continue:

 Positive People-to-People and Diplomaticrelations is the foundation of Scotland’s engagement with China. This means a steady flow of high level delegations, including ministers, to and from China, as well as maintaining good relations with the Chinese Government and UK Government partners such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

 Respect for Human Rights and the Rule of Law underpins the Scottish Government’s engagement with China. This means balancing economic development with social justice. Indeed, the premise that increasing growth and tackling inequality are mutually supportive is at the heart of engagement with China.

China’s most recent Five Year Plan outlines ambitious plans for balanced and sustainable economic growth with a focus on science and innovation; improvement of education and health standards; environmental protection; and energy conservation. The Scottish Government’s refreshed strategy for engagement with China complements China’s own plan for growth and sets out a framework in which we can collaborate to develop and deepen our existing links through better partnership working.

The First Minister undertook a successful visit to China (Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong) between 8-13 April 2018, to strengthen the growing business, cultural and educational links between Scotland and the world’s second-largest economy.

The First Minister had a constructive meeting with Chinese Vice Premier (Hu Chunhua), which further strengthened high level relations. In this meeting, the First Minister outlined the business, cultural and educational focus of her programme and promoted equality and respect for human rights and social values as a key part of Scotland and China’s relationship.

The First Minister was accompanied by a delegation of Scottish Universities and witnessed the signing of ten agreements between Scottish businesses and universities and their Chinese counterparts. She met with the Minister of Education, and agreed to strengthen co-operation in areas such as university research partnerships, language learning, and the flow of students between Scotland and China.

At a joint event with UNICEF in Beijing, the First Minister delivered a keynote address to Chinese policy makers on the importance of promoting children’s rights and tackling child poverty, which built upon her messages around gender equality delivered on her visit in 2015. She also delivered a keynote speech at an event arranged by the Economist Network on prosperity through inclusive economic growth and, as part of this, the importance of gender equality and progressive work practices. She also launched Social Enterprise Academy China – a partnership which will enable specialist expertise from Scotland to grow and sustain social enterprises in China.

The First Minister undertook a series of business meetings and events to encourage more trade and investment between Scotland and China and at least 25 Scottish business interests were supported by the visit programme.

The First Minister visited Ctrip, which invested £1.4bn into Skyscanner in 2016 and has recently located its first contact centre outside of China in Edinburgh. She met with the CEO, Jane Sun, and joined her in co-hosting a media roundtable to discuss the investment in Scotland.

The First Minister had an introductory meeting with the Chinese conglomerate Sanpower and discussed business interests in Scotland, including House of Fraser.

The First Minister facilitated a round table discussion on Scotland’s energy sector capability, attended by Scottish and Chinese companies, and met with Chinese companies investing in Scotland’s energy sector.

She witnessed the signing of an agreement between Aberdeen based Triton Marine & Engineering Consultants and China Offshore Oil Engineering Corporation (COOEC). The deal will see COOEC collaborating with Triton over the next 2 years allowing them to grow their team in Aberdeen. FM met with both the China National Petroleum Corporation and the State Development Investment Corporation to discuss their operations and investment in Scotland. She also met China Ocean Engineering Shanghai, where the First Minister was able to confirm their plans to set up a new office in Dundee.

The First Minister delivered a speech alongside senior business and University figures to over 150 senior business leaders as part of a Shanghai - Scotland Business Innovation Forum to promote Scotland as a location for inward investment.

The First Minister attended two Scotland Is Now promotional events, in Beijing and Shanghai respectively. This followed the campaign’s North America launch on
‎ 11 April in New York. The events showcased Scotland as a place for Chinese people to work, study and invest in, and encouraged and forged good relationships with key people from the Chinese business, culture, tourism and education sectors, as well as promoting Scottish businesses in food, drink and creative industries.

Cultural ties and people-to-people links were also strengthened on the visit. A delegation of Scottish cultural leaders participated in a round table discussion which formed part of the First Minister’s meeting with the Minister of Culture. A co-operation agreement between the Edinburgh International Festival and the Shanghai International Festival was signed. The First Minister visited the Forbidden City in Beijing – where skills exchange in innovative digital heritage preservation is taking place between Scotland and China’s UNESCO World Heritage site. She also announced, at a literature event at Fudan University, that a new translated version of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie will be published in China to mark the 100th anniversary of Muriel Spark’s birth. The First Minister also used the event to promote the role of women in writing and publishing more generally.

In Hong Kong, the First Minister delivered a speech to over 80 senior leaders from the Scottish Business Community and at a separate event, addressed over 80 Hong Kong and Chinese businesses as part of a Business Innovation Forum that promoted Scotland as a location for inward investment.

She also met with the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, building on their meeting in 2015. Discussions were focused on ways to develop stronger collaboration in innovation and technology and the possibility of further academic and cultural collaboration between Scotland and Hong Kong.

The Renfrewshire South constituency covers parts of Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire local authority areas. Since 2007, a total of 2,184 affordable homes have been delivered across both local authorities. This includes newly built homes, rehabilitation projects and off-the-shelf projects.