Chamber and committees

Official Modern Apprenticeship (MA) statistics are published by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) quarterly, including the number of starts.

The following table shows the number of MA starts over the last five years on the Youth Work Framework:

The Scottish Government is very committed to the delivery of two Greenports in Scotland, which will create new, well-paid jobs, deliver a just transition to net zero and support economic transformation based on fairness.

As an Annex to the Bute House Agreement, freeports is listed as an excluded matter to the Agreement and is therefore a policy which is not subject to co-operation between both our parties.

We plan to proceed with plans to deliver two Greenports in Scotland with the UK Government, working on a partnership basis. All details will be set out in a finalised joint applicant prospectus to be published later this month.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of reports made to Police Scotland of third sector or charity organisations experiencing a cyber-attack. Information is held on crimes recorded under Sections 1 to 3 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990. Sections 1 and 2 relate to unauthorised access to computers, with the intent to commit or facilitate the commissioning of further offences. Section 3 relates to unauthorised acts which impair the operation of computers, including preventing or hindering access to programs, data etc. This is shown in the following table, from 1999-00 to 2020-21. No specific information is held regarding the characteristics of victims, including whether they are private households, businesses, charity organisations etc.

As highlighted in the 2020-21 recorded crime National Statistics, a procedural change was made to the recording of international crime in 2020-21, whereby cases carried out by a perpetrator who was likely to be outside the UK are now included. This may have led to some additional crimes being recorded in the latest year, though more broadly the increase may in part be due to the significant impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including behavioural changes with more people undertaking activities online.

Table: Number of crimes recorded by police in Scotland under Sections 1 to 3 of Computer Misuse Act 1990, 1999-00 to 2020-21.

An application from ScottishPower Renewables was submitted to the Scottish Ministers on 23 December 2021 for the proposed Carrick Windfarm development. Adverts were placed in the local newspapers Ayrshire Post, Ayr Advertiser, Carrick Herald, and national newspapers The Scotsman and Edinburgh Gazette between 25 January and 8 February 2022 to provide notice that the application has been submitted. A consultation was issued to Barr Community Council, Crosshill, Straiton and Kirkmichael Community Council and Dailly Community Council dated 25 January 2022, requesting comments be provided to the Scottish Ministers by 28 February 2022, unless an extension to this date has been agreed. The consultation is currently ongoing and the public can make representations to Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government is committed to finding cancer early. That is why we have established Scotland’s first three Early Cancer Diagnostic Centres in NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Fife and NHS Dumfries & Galloway. These Centres provide primary care with a new referral route for patients with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancers including blood cancer (such as weight loss, fatigue and nausea), which don’t meet Scottish cancer referral guidelines.

Our £44m Detect Cancer Early Programme adopts a whole-systems approach to diagnosing and treating cancer as early as possible – ranging from screening and public awareness campaigns to diagnostics and data. The NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026, published August 2021, commits an additional £20m for the Programme.

As outlined in our NHS Recovery Plan, we will also develop and support the delivery of a new early diagnosis vision for Scotland. Stakeholder engagement will be an important part of its development, with Blood Cancer Alliance included in this. Officials recently met with the Blood Cancer Alliance and committed to working together in future to ensure the experiences of those with blood cancers are reflected in national cancer improvement programmes.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06205 on 4 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 .

This is a matter for Public Health Scotland (PHS). The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The four nations arts councils and agencies are working alongside each other to share information and collaborate on more activity and projects, including international work.

This includes Arts Infopoint UK, led by Wales Arts International in collaboration with Arts Council England, Creative Scotland and Arts Council Northern Ireland, which is a pilot initiative aiming to provide clear information and support to artists seeking to travel to the UK.

The pilot Four Nations International Fund, led by Creative Scotland, was launched in October 2021, with 38 projects across many art forms receiving funding. Each project requires a partner in at least one other of the four nations of the UK, in addition to an international partner. Projects include partnerships between Scotland and Northern Ireland based organisations.

Other activity undertaken together with Northern Ireland, England and Wales includes the Cultural Bridge Pilot Programme which aims to promote more sustainable approaches to international exchange and collaboration opportunities for the cultural sector, and further engagement on FLUXUS, a Franco-British programme for contemporary art run by the Institut Français.

There are also joint conversations around maximising the impact of bilateral funds such as the Cultural Bridge Pilot Programme with German partners Fonds SozioKultur. Creative Scotland’s Cultural Bridge programme supports organisations in the UK and Germany to both deliver programmes of activity in partnership with an organisation in at least one other country, and to develop partnerships as a network across the five countries involved, with the organisations and their communities.

Michael Russell, the then Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs met with Simon Coveney, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs on 14 January 2021 to discuss the Scotland Bilateral Review. Culture was one element of this meeting.

Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture met with Catherine Martin, Irish Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media on 8 March 2022.

Scottish Ministers attended the 36 th British Irish Council (BIC) Summit hosted by Welsh Government which had the theme of Indigenous Minority and Lesser-Used Languages. Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, attended a virtual work sector meeting on 17 November 2021, and Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister and Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy attended the Summit on 19 November, when Ms Forbes gave her update on economic recovery to the pandemic in Gaelic.

Scottish Ministers attended the 36 th British Irish Council (BIC) Summit hosted by Welsh Government which had the theme of Indigenous Minority and Lesser-Used Languages. Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, attended a virtual work sector meeting on 17 November 2021, and Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister and Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy attended the Summit on 19 November, when Ms Forbes gave her update on economic recovery to the pandemic in Gaelic.

Scottish Ministers have taken part in a number of ‘Exit Operations’ meetings with their counterparts across the UK. These meetings have focused on measures to prepare for and address the impacts of the UK’s exit from the EU. The meetings have dealt with a range of issues relevant to the culture and creative sectors, including the international mobility of artists, international trade and exports, and funding.

Scottish Ministers engage with their counterparts across the UK through Four Nations Ministerial Meetings, which have addressed issues of shared concern such as sectoral recovery from the pandemic and the challenges to the culture sector presented by Brexit.