Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has no immediate plans to introduce such legislation. However our new air quality strategy 'Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 - Towards a Better Place for Everyone' sets out a series of actions intended to deliver further air quality improvements over the period to 2026. Amongst these actions are several which focus on reducing emissions from domestic fuel combustion.

An expert working group, which met for the first time in January 2022, has been established to advise the Government on taking forward these actions. Further information will be made publicly available as this work proceeds.

The Scottish Government welcomed engagement with the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland during the revision of the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland. The Commissioner’s Office provided permission to publish their response to the formal Scottish Government public consultation on Citizen Space .

The Commissioner asked for a comprehensive re-draft of the guidance to ensure that children’s human and statutory rights are threaded throughout; a consistent application of a rights-based approach across health, justice and local authority Children’s Services and Planning Partnerships with greater clarity that children’s rights to protection apply to all those with a duty of care; extending a trauma-informed approach to children in conflict with the law; and a request that Children’s Hearings should be extended to all children under the age of 18.

The Scottish Government met with the Commissioner’s Office to discuss their response and incorporated suggestions into the final published guidance to further strengthen the focus on rights, relationships, collaboration and support for families, building on strengths. It was noted at this meeting that forthcoming Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) support materials will support improved consistency across Scotland in appropriately balancing rights to privacy and family life with rights to be supported and protected. The Commissioner’s Office subsequently reviewed and contributed to the Guidance Supporting Narrative which sets out how our approach to child protection in Scotland aligns with and supports strategic developments including UNCRC implementation.

Some suggestions made in connection with legislation and practice relating to 16 and 17 year olds are beyond the scope of the guidance which reflects the current legislative, policy and practice context. The Scottish Government has committed to review the guidance on an annual basis to ensure that it remains consistent with wider changes.

The Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (the Care Inspectorate) was established on 1 April 2011 following the commencement of the Public Services Reform (Scotland Act) 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) and encompassed other bodies such as the Care Commission. The statutory role and functions of the Care Inspectorate are as set out in the 2010 Act and does not extend to a role in the distribution of public or private funding across care homes.

The Scottish Government is engaging closely with COSLA and Heads of Planning Scotland to make sure we have a common understanding of the pressures faced by the planning service and to promote a highly performing system which can deliver on the ambitions set out in the emerging NPF4.

We have laid regulations in the Scottish Parliament which will bring into effect fee increases, providing substantial additional income to authorities. The new regulations are expected to come into force on 1 April 2022, subject to parliamentary scrutiny. Beyond this we have committed to engaging with the High Level Group on Planning Performance which includes COSLA, Heads of Planning Scotland and other stakeholders, on a work programme to consider how full recovery of the costs of determining applications could be achieved.

Our consideration of capacity and skills in planning has been informed by recent research commissioned by Skills Development Scotland, undertaken by EKOS and published by Partners in Planning, available at https://www.partnersinplanning.scot/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/23623/Skills-in-Planning-Research-Final-February-2021.pdf The research report provides an independent perspective on the challenges faced and a series of proposed actions. Scottish Government is working with the other partner members of Partners in Planning to take forward the proposed actions to help ensure the future pipeline of planners needed to deliver on our ambitions. This includes supporting a short project recently commissioned by Heads of Planning Scotland and the RTPI to explore options and set out proposals to help increase the numbers of people entering the planning profession.

Delivering the NPF4 spatial strategy and implementing its national policy will require collaboration and we will continue to work with stakeholders as we progress towards a finalised NPF4 and beyond.

The Scottish Government has activated the Bellwin Scheme which offers additional revenue support to local authorities to assist with immediate and unforeseen costs that meet the qualifying criteria in the aftermath of emergency incidents such as the storms referenced. However, payments are only made once a local authority has exceeded its Bellwin Threshold which represents 0.2 per cent of their net revenue budget for the year in question, for Aberdeenshire Council this is £1,075,171. This is the amount that all local authorities are deemed to set aside to cover unforeseen emergencies

My officials are in regular contact with Aberdeenshire Council and the Council is aware that any interim Bellwin claim should be submitted to the Scottish Government within 4 months of the date of the incident. I can confirm that, to date, the Scottish Government have not yet received a Bellwin claim from Aberdeenshire Council.

However, in 2021-22, Aberdeenshire Council will receive £479.2 million to support local services, which includes an extra £19 million or 4.1 per cent to support services compared to 2020 21. Further funding of almost £521.3 million will be provided in 2022-23, which includes an extra £44 million or 9.2 per cent for vital day to day services.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-00814 on 3 March 2022 which is available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/ormain.aspx .

The Bank’s recruitment policies and procedures pre-dates development of its gender equality strategy, and please see the answer to question S6W-06789 on 8 March 2022. 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 .

I have also asked the Scottish National Investment Bank how it has utilised its gender equality strategy in Bank recruitment policies and processes, and the Bank has provided the following:

"Recruitment of the Scottish National Investment Bank has been ongoing since prior to the launch of the Bank in November 2020.

“The Bank has established a number of guiding principles within its recruitment policy and process to ensure Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Fair Work practices.

"With regards to gender equality specifically, the Bank worked closely with its Recruitment Partner to ensure all adverts reached the widest available candidate pools with flexibility at the heart of our attraction strategy. Gender balance was a key requirement for the Recruitment Partner to ensure balanced applicant pools (where possible and based on candidate availability).

“The Bank set a gender balance target for candidates shortlisted for interview of 50:50, with a minimum threshold of one third candidates being presented for interview being female. Where applicant pools did not meet the basic threshold, further search was undertaken.

“All interview panels are gender balanced, further helping to ensure that appointments are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.”

The Scottish Government has had a number of discussions with trade unions and other groups on its green ports model since the publication of an illustrative draft prospectus in March 2021. Those discussions built on our earlier consultation on place-based economic development, in November 2021, which sought views on economic development zones around ports and specifically on freeports. These have influenced our approach to the process for Green Freeports that we have agreed with the UK Government.

The Scottish National Investment Bank has provided the following information about who it consulted with and the feedback received during development of its gender equality strategy:

“In developing its Equality Strategy, the Bank sought input from a wide range of organisations. This was facilitated through written feedback and direct discussion. Organisations consulted included:

Women on Boards

Women’s Enterprise Scotland

Abrdn

Engender

Close the Gap

IoD

Black Professionals Scotland

British Business Bank.

Feedback from respondents was considered and incorporated where appropriate.”

Forestry and Land Scotland do not keep central records of the volume of deer fencing erected by year. The data held relates to annual expenditure on deer fencing on Scotland's national forests and land.