Chamber and committees

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd requested the four bidders at Invitation to Tender stage to provide responses to fair working practices. These were consequently received and fully evaluated by CMAL’s Head of Vessels and Head of Business Support as part of the procurement process.

Across the 4 year period to 2020-21, Scotland has seen an annual average of 15.6 affordable homes delivered per 10,000 population. This is 62% more than the 9.6 homes per 10,000 in England, and 71% more than the 9.1 homes per 10,000 in Wales. Over the same time frame the annual supply of social rented housing per head of population in Scotland has averaged 10.8 homes per 10,000 population, over nine times the 1.1 homes per 10,000 population in England.

Comparator figures for the current financial year 2021-22 are not available yet. The Scottish figures for 2021-22 will be published in June this year but the other UK financial year figures might not be published until later in the year, and as some of these are financial year rather than quarterly, it is not possible to calculate within-year comparisons.

The Scottish Government believes that where appropriate family cases should be resolved outwith court. A number of forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) are available in family cases, including mediation, arbitration, collaborative law and family group decision making.

The Scottish Government provides funding to Relationships Scotland who provide a number of services, including family mediation.

The cost of family mediation may be funded through the Scottish Legal Aid Fund, where a person who is in receipt of legal aid is referred by a court.

Section 23(1) of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 requires the Scottish Ministers to set up a scheme to make assistance available so that individuals can meet the costs of alternative dispute resolution procedures in certain cases such as those dealing with contact and residence for children.

Work has progressed in this area, but the provision will take time to implement. Two reports on the Scottish Ministers’ progress between 1 October 2020 and 31 October 2021 on implementing provisions in the 2020 Act on ADR have been published:

• Scheme for funding for ADR - Children (Scotland) Act 2020 - alternatives to court and funding of alternative dispute resolution pilots: report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Scheme for funding for alternative dispute resolution (section 23 of the 2020 Act) - Children (Scotland) Act 2020 - section 23(1) and section 24(1): second report on the Scottish Ministers’ duties - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

We have drawn extensively on international evidence in the design for our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Where there has been a movement away from glass in other countries, this is usually attributable to a range of factors e.g. a movement towards increased use of refillables. Evidence suggests that where product or format switching has occurred in other countries with DRS, it is rare that this can only be attributed to DRS. As the answer to question S6W-06722 sets out, we do not consider that there will be extensive switching away from glass due to our DRS.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government .

Regulations amending the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 were made today.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Amendment (No.6) Regulations 2022 amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 and will take effect on 4 April 2022.

The Amendment Regulations remove the requirement to wear a face covering for persons who enter or remain indoors within a place of worship, and in any other indoor public place whilst it is being used as a place of worship.

These Regulations also remove the requirement for those at a marriage ceremony, civil partnership registration, funeral or commemorative event related to the end of a person’s life to wear a face covering for the duration of the event. The requirement is removed in respect of such ceremonies and events in all indoor places.

The Regulations have been published at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ssi/2022/123

As outlined in S6W-03519 answered on 5 October 2021, the Scottish Government will continue to take forward our No One Left Behind approach to employability from 1 April 2022.

No One Left Behind is transforming employment support in Scotland to deliver a system that is more tailored and responsive to the needs of people of all ages who want help and support on their journey towards and into work.

The local governance approach within No One Left Behind funds services through Local Employability Partnership’s (LEPs). LEPs bring together a range of partners including Skills Development Scotland, Department for Work and Pensions, Colleges, NHS, the third sector and other partners to design and deliver services that meet both individual and labour market needs in each local area. This type of partnership and collaboration is crucial if we are to tackle poverty and inequalities that impact too many people in Scotland.

Helping families to increase incomes from employment and earnings is central to a balanced and sustained approach to tackling poverty. The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-26: ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’, recognises the value of the No One Left Behind approach and the opportunity to increase investment in services which provide the holistic and connected support parents need to enter and progress in employment.

We are committed to continuing to work collaboratively with our partners in local government, the third sector, the private sector and others to tackle poverty and secure better outcomes for people, employers and communities across Scotland.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

We intend to publish the first phase of this work, the Blue Economy Vision for Scotland, today. This vision sets out the Scottish Government’s long-term ambition for Scotland’s blue economy to 2045, promoting an approach that is consistent with Scotland’s National Performance Framework and our international obligations. It demonstrates how much we value our marine environment and its significance which is captured in the six outcomes that we want to achieve.

The six blue economy outcomes have been identified to respond to major challenges of our time, such as the climate and nature crises, just transition to zero, a blue recovery from Covid-19 and EU withdrawal. The outcomes also recognise our ambition for Scotland to be a global leader in providing healthy, quality and sustainably harvested food. They frame a direction of travel and provide focal points for our long term blue economy aspirations with the overall aim that by 2045, Scotland’s shared stewardship of our marine environment supports ecosystem health, improved livelihoods, economic prosperity, social inclusion and wellbeing.

A blue economy approach will also help us to realise our ambitions for a wellbeing economy in Scotland where the country’s successes are defined and measured beyond economic growth and Gross Domestic Product, and we emphasise the importance of addressing inequality. Human wellbeing is multi-dimensional and nature plays an important part in ensuring a high quality of life for our people. The vision demonstrates the importance of the marine environment and its significance in contributing to Scotland’s economy, well-being climate and biodiversity priorities.

Across the world, there are an increasing number of countries looking to introduce a blue economy approach to better balance their economic, societal and environmental challenges and opportunities in marine environments. This vision puts Scotland at the heart of this international movement to support global ocean governance.

The publication of the Blue Economy Vision for Scotland is consistent with our Programme for Government commitment to develop a Blue Economy Strategy and subsequent delivery plan to support a green recovery and just transition, with sustainable growth of the blue economy underpinned by environmental protection.

The document will be available to view on the Scottish Government website from today:

• The Blue Economy Vision for Scotland: http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/978-1-80435-258-8

The next step is to develop the programmes and policies to deliver these outcomes through a Blue Economy Action Plan.

The Scottish Government with Scotland’s seven cities established the City Centre Recovery Task Force in 2021 to identify innovative actions for city centre recovery. I am pleased to confirm that the Task Force has published its report today, and sets out the areas and the actions that the Task Force has jointly agreed to prioritise.

The Scottish Government has this financial year allocated £6m to our City Centre Recovery Fund, to enable local authorities to take forward local priorities in line with those identified by the Task Force.

Our cities are economic drivers for Scotland and play a key role in our vision of a wellbeing economy. As we focus on recovery from the pandemic, we all want to encourage even more people to return and safely enjoy all that our city centres offer.

The Scottish Government has today published its Heat Networks Delivery Plan which can be accessed at http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781804352366 .

This plan fulfils the requirement of section 93 of the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 to publish and lay before Parliament the first Heat Networks Delivery Plan no later than 1 April 2022. (Laying number SG/2022/46.) The plan outlines how the provisions of the 2021 Act, and any other supporting policies, will contribute to increasing the use of heat networks in Scotland. It sets out the proposed approach that the Scottish Ministers intend to take to increase the use of heat networks in Scotland and how the statutory targets will be met. In addition, it outlines how progress will be measured and the expected contribution that heat networks will make toward meeting the emission reduction targets.

Over this parliamentary term we are investing at least £1.8 billion in heat and energy efficiency in buildings, including investing £400 million to support the development of large-scale heat infrastructure, such as heat networks. Our £300 million Heat Network Fund launched in February 2022 is part of this new suite of delivery schemes. Additionally, our recently announced £1 million Heat in Buildings Development Funding Invitation, which is a forerunner to our Heat Networks Support Unit, provides resource funding to stimulate and accelerate the development of a pipeline of zero emission heat projects for buildings across Scotland.

This plan has developed after taking into consideration views provided during a period of public consultation on the Draft Heat Networks Delivery Plan. Today we are also publishing the analysis of responses to that consultation. The report of the analysis of responses can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781804351918 .

The plan will be reviewed within a 2 year period.

I have also written to the Conveners of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee and Local Government, Housing and Planning committees. The Government looks forward to engaging with interested parties on this issue.