Chamber and committees

The report ‘ How Should Scotland Manage its Scrap Steel?’ is the first in a series of reports being produced by Zero Waste Scotland looking at the circular opportunities for the energy transition in Scotland. I very much welcome the work being done by Zero Waste Scotland in this area and look forward to seeing the follow up reports, which will help inform our policy going forward. The report is very timely given the emphasis from COP26 in helping energy intensive industries like the steel sector as they move towards net zero.

Instrumental music tuition is now available free of charge in all Scottish local authorities following agreement between Scottish Government and local authorities as part of the implementation of the Scottish Government's100-day manifesto commitments.

The Scottish Government has provided funding of over £7m in the 2021-22 academic year to sustain provision at current levels and is committed to working with local authorities to develop a model for a long-term sustainable instrumental music tuition service which includes sustainable funding arrangements.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of Scotch Whisky to the Scottish economy and to wider society. Scottish Ministers meet regularly with the whisky sector and the Scotch Whisky Association to discuss issues of interest, including the economy and industry growth.

The 2020-21 Arts Alive programme received 52 applications and 42 were successful.

The applications comprised of:

• 32 applications for school sessions, from 31 applicants, covering 35 schools. 32 applications were successful.
• 20 applications for school residencies, from 20 applicants, covering 31 schools. 10 were successful.

Broken down by Local Authority Area:

There are currently 146 social enterprises on the list of current members of the Culture and Creative Social Enterprise Network (SEN) on the SEN website .

The number of social enterprises that have made use of the Culture and Creative SEN services over the years is far greater than the current membership for a number of reasons:

• Social enterprises that have delivered cultural/ creative activity (but this is not their primary activity) are linked into the activities of the SEN through other thematic SENs, Local SENs, Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs) and other partners.
• Organisations that do not fall within the Voluntary Code of Practice for Social Enterprise in Scotland and therefore cannot be a member have still tapped into services including events and signposting.
• Partner organisations (e.g. Local SENs, TSI’s, Creative Scotland, Museum Galleries Scotland, Just Enterprise, Culture Counts) that are providing one to one support have tapped into knowledge to ensure that the organisation they are working with is best supported.
• SENs may have also been a member for a period of time and are no longer a current member.

The infection, prevention, and control (IPC) guidance for dentistry is currently being reviewed by Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland are responsible for the Scottish Guidance. This Guidance has a provisional publication date of 29 November.

The Cabinet Secretary recently wrote to NHS dental teams describing the proposals from the Scottish Government on how we recover NHS dental services to normal practice. This letter is attached for reference: Letter from the Cabinet Secretary to NHS dental teams | Scottish Dental.

The next round of allocations will be confirmed and dispersed to local authority areas shortly. We will provide further information once the allocations have been confirmed.

The Scottish Government routinely publishes official labour market statistics for disabled people in Scotland and uses these to analyse how labour market barriers and outcomes for disabled people are changing over time and how they have been impacted by COVID-19.

Latest data are published at:

Labour market monthly briefing: October 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

We know, for example, the disability employment gap in Scotland - the difference between the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people - narrowed over the latest year to July 2020 – June 2021, to 32.0 percentage points.

Analysis is also published as part of the annual progress report of a Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: employment action plan - our plan to at least halve the disability employment gap in Scotland by 2038.

Latest report available here: Fairer Scotland for disabled people - employment action plan: progress report - year 2 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

We are committed to working with Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) to ensure that the refresh of ‘ A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment action plan’ is informed by the lived experience of disabled people.

The short life working group overseeing the development of the refreshed action plan is co-chaired by the Glasgow Disability Alliance (GDA). GDA and other DPOs will engage directly with their members and disabled people for input and views with regards to the refreshed action plan to ensure their views are heard and seen.

More broadly, we are committed to working together with DPOs to ensure disabled people’s input is represented in Scottish Government’s strategic and policy development in relation to achieving a fairer Scotland for disabled people. For example, the direct involvement of disabled people’s organisations and their members has played a key role in shaping the next phase of No One Left Behind, our strategy for placing people at the centre of the design and delivery of employability services.

Over the past decade the Scottish Government has invested over £50 million in ChargePlace Scotland, a publicly available network of electric vehicle charging infrastructure which now consists of over 2,000 charge points across Scotland. This has enabled us to create a comprehensive network ahead of demand. The majority of investment has been delivered through local authorities, who are responsible for planning the roll out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, taking into account local needs and considering existing and projected demand within their area.

Until recently, commercial investment in charge points has been restricted due to factors such as uncertain returns on investment as the market for electric vehicles matures. As a result, any investments will have been limited to locations with unique market characteristics.

Over the summer we published a joint report with the Scottish Futures Trust setting out the opportunities for growth of the electric vehicle public charging market. The report noted that increased levels of commercial investment can now be anticipated in many parts of Scotland, and will indeed be required as demand for electric vehicles increases. The report also explores areas where the commercial market will be slower to mature, and the role of public sector in such circumstances.

Transport Scotland are working with Scottish Futures Trust and industry to consider the most appropriate structures and approach to growing and developing charging infrastructure, lever commercial investment and engaging commercial operators to develop the public electric vehicle charge point network at scale and at speed across all of Scotland.

While the Scottish Government doesn’t hold specific information on where commercial investments are planned across Scotland, the Scottish Transport Statistics that are published annually provide information on the number of ChargePlace Scotland charge points by local authority area.