Chamber and committees

As reported on 21 January 2022, Historic Environment Scotland introduced new measures to manage the impact of climate change on Scotland's national heritage sites. Whilst I can confirm that inspections and analysis of some affected sites continue, let me assure you that no properties are being left without care. Historic Environment Scotland is considering all options available to best protect the 336 nationally significant properties in care, and is continuing the vital conservation and protection work which it is internationally recognised for, especially as we seek to build resilience into the heritage sector’s recovery from the pandemic.

It is important however that we recognise that climate change effects have been accelerating, and the increased rainfall and variations in temperature have continuing impacts on both Scotland's natural and built heritage. I will continue discussing future potential approaches with Historic Environment Scotland as we continue our work to make our heritage safe, and accessible to all, so we can better understand our past, to best inform our future.

As the censuses across the UK are taking place at different times, people moving from Scotland to other UK countries before March 2022 will not participate in Scotland’s Census 2022.

However, the primary objective for the census is not to collect a record of specific individuals, households, or addresses but to gather demographic information which government, councils, the NHS and a range of users in the public, private and third sectors need to inform future public services.

We continue to work closely with our colleagues in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) to produce harmonised outputs to meet a range of user needs wherever possible.

Marine Scotland Directorate's– Licensing Operations Team (“MS-LOT”) are currently consulting with NatureScot on the written report by Seagreen Wind Energy Limited in respect of unexploded ordnance clearance activities. MS-LOT intend to publish this report on its website (marine.gov.scot) once the consultation is complete.

Regulation 10(5)(b) (the course of justice) was invoked when this document was requested under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, as the late submission of the report was at that point being investigated as an instance of non-compliance with statutory timelines.

Our aim is to at least halve the disability employment gap (DEG) by 2038. The number of disabled people (16-64 years) in full-time employment in Scotland is estimated to have increased from 180,000 in Jan-Dec 2016 to 217,600 in Jan-Dec 2020; with the number of disabled people in part-time employment increasing from 96,500 in Jan-Dec 2016 to 117,600 in Jan-Dec 2020.

A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan outlined the initial actions we would take to help meet the ambition to at least halve the DEG. The action plan includes commitments that relate to direct delivery of employability support and where data is currently available regarding the number of disabled people supported to achieve employment, this is provided below:

• Fair Start Scotland (FSS) latest statistics (published 23 Feb 22) show that 44% (18,352) of participants reported having a disability and 63% (26,316) reported having a long-term health condition. 31% of disabled people on FSS has so far started a job (4,065);

• No one Left Behind, including the Parental Employment Support fund (PESF) has supported 2,160 parents. 13% of parents reported having a disability (280) (experimental statistics).

The plan also includes a range of other cross cutting measures tackling the structural barriers that prevent many disabled people from entering and/or sustaining fair work, such as:

• supporting young disabled people and transitions delivered through the Young Person’s Guarantee;

• improving and increasing accessibility of public transport delivered through the Accessible Travel Framework;

• supporting employers to improve their recruitment and retention practices for example through the Public Social Partnership Apt; and

• seeking to maximise opportunities to support disabled people’s employment through available regulatory tools and mechanisms, such as the sustainable procurement duty.

When considering the population level disability employment gap clear progress has been made since we set out our ambition. The narrative updates are provided of the impact of these actions in our Year one and two progress reports .

The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 provides local authorities with a discretionary power to set up workplace parking licensing (WPL) schemes.

Under a WPL scheme, a local authority can require a licence to be obtained by employers for each workplace parking place provided. A charge may be levied for such a licence on the basis of the number of parking places specified in the licence. Non-domestic rates (business rates) is a charge for the occupation and use of non-domestic property.

The provisions in the Act were subject to legal and policy scrutiny when the Transport Bill went through the Scottish Parliament in 2019 and I do not consider there to be an issue as regards the imposition of this charge alongside any other charge or tax to which businesses may be subject.

This is a discretionary power already available to local authorities in England and Wales under the Transport Act 2000.

This information is published in tables 6.10, 7.5 and 8.6 of the Pupil Census Supplementary Statistics. The 2021 statistics will be published on 15th March 2022. Statistics for previous years are available at the following link: Pupil census: supplementary statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Town centres are a key part of any local economy. Zero Waste Scotland provides a range of support and advice for community enterprises and businesses that are relevant to building circular economies within town centres. This includes partnering with Social Investment Scotland to deliver the £5m Social Enterprise Net Zero Transition Fund and delivery of the Circular Cities and Regions Programme and a business support programme for organisations exploring circular business models and services.

In addition, the Scottish Government will introduce a Community Wealth Building (CWB) Bill during the term of this parliament. The internationally recognised CWB model is a strategic approach to economic development that seeks to generate, direct and retain wealth in local communities by localising and shortening supply chains, helping local businesses to expand, creating new fair work opportunities, and placing more assets in the hands of local people and communities. CWB is about a systemic rewiring of how a local economy works and who it serves. Working in partnership with local authorities to develop local CWB action plans, we will encourage fostering of local, entrepreneurial businesses committed to reviving assets in our town centres by providing high quality goods, services and employment opportunities.

Scottish Government officials were last in contact with Harland & Wolff, who lease the former BiFab yards of Methil and Arnish in January 2022.

Scottish Transport statistical publications utilise transport data from sources including the UK Government Department for Transport who provide this in kilometres.

We recognise that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events in Scotland are likely to continue to increase due to climate change. As a nation we need to prepare for the associated impacts, including through the resilience of our buildings.

Draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) is clear that new, and alterations to existing buildings, infrastructure and spaces should be designed to be adaptable to future impacts of climate change. The draft acknowledges risks from climate change including those from extreme weather.

The draft NPF4 is currently subject to Scottish Parliamentary scrutiny, alongside a public consultation, prior to a finalised version being presented for Scottish Parliament approval. We are working towards laying a final version of NPF4 in the Parliament for approval this summer, following which it will be adopted by the Scottish Ministers.

Building regulations address a range of topics on the resilience of buildings including structural performance, resistance to wind and rain and flood resilience. These regulations apply to new buildings and new building work and are not applied retrospectively to existing buildings. The standards are periodically reviewed, to give assurance that they remain fit for purpose and consider, where practicable, predicted future climate in Scotland. Review is also underway at present to provide greater assurance that compliance with these standards is achieved.