Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is working with a range of key sector stakeholders and local authorities to meet this commitment and make payments at the earliest opportunity within the first 100 days of the administration.

The outline business case for the public energy company will be published once the new administration has had an opportunity to consider its conclusions and recent changes with the GB energy market.

The process to recruit a new Chief Executive for Scottish Enterprise is continuing. An appointment is expected shortly.

We remain committed to finalising the Fuel Poverty Strategy later this year and an update on the resumption of work to produce it was sent to the Convener of the Local Government and Communities Committee on 22 March 2021. Further information on the work to develop the draft strategy and also on the appointment of the statutory Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel will be provided in due course.

All staff employed to work on the programme are paid in accordance with nationally set terms and conditions and are working to agreed job roles.

A substantive Band 3 vaccinator is paid £20,700 rising to £22,594 (per annum). A Band 5 immunisations nurse is paid £25,100 to £31,649, in line with Agenda for Change rates. Substantive staff from other areas of the health service working overtime and redeployed staff are paid according to their terms and conditions of service. Bank staff who do not also hold contracts of employment with the host health board are paid at the grade and pay band as specified in their bank contract, relating to the role profile pursuant to which they have been deployed.

The Scottish Government has set sessional rates of £230 and £231 for independent contractors (GPs, dentists, optometrists and pharmacists) taking part in the COVID-19 vaccination programme. These rates reflect both the market conditions for hiring these professionals, and the roles being filled in the programme.

The above arrangements have supported the temporary deployment of staff during the initial phases of the vaccination programme, while work is taken forward to build a sustainable vaccination workforce.

Our commitment to becoming a net-zero society by 2045 is unwavering. In 2019, the whole-life carbon impact of Scotland’s household waste reached its lowest level since official recording began.

To further accelerate progress, Scottish Ministers are fully committed to ending the practice of sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill by 2025. This is in line with recommendations previously made by the Committee on Climate Change.

We still need capacity to dispose of residual waste, which cannot be reused or recycled, while we make the transition to a circular economy in Scotland. However, we have committed to review the role that incineration plays in Scotland’s waste hierarchy.

In Scotland, it is illegal to incinerate materials that have been separately collected and are capable of being recycled, and waste incineration is strictly regulated in line with EU standards under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations.

The Scottish National Investment Bank opened for business in November 2020 and has since committed £52.5 million in investments.

To date £22.9 million has been drawn and invested in both debt and equity investments that align with the Bank’s missions.

The Bank will also publish annual accounts each year which will include information on how much it has invested during the financial year. Details of the Bank’s existing investments are published on the portfolio page on the Bank’s website: www.thebank.scot/our-portfolio/ as will details of future investments.

The Scottish Government will consider the nature of any duty on UK Government Ministers that may arise as a result of the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill and recommendations of the Scottish Animal Welfare Committee before making any plans in this area.

The Scottish Government is currently considering the recommendations of the farmer-led groups set up in the last parliament concerning future financial support for farmers. These included recommendations to improve animal health and welfare. The Scottish government is committed to working with farmers, crofters and others as we take this work forward.

Officials are preparing options for Phase 3 of the Learning Estate Investment Programme which will be considered by Ministers. We hope to make an announcement on the timescale for Phase 3 later this year.