Scottish Government
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Monday 21 December 2020 SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT Constitution and External Affairs George Adam (Paisley) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the COVID-19 legislation in place. (S5W-34193) John Swinney: Amending Regulations were made to the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 on 20 December 2020. These Regulations implement the changes that the First Minister announced on 19 December 2020. The Regulations make adjustments to the provisions on festive gatherings and levels to which local authorities are allocated. These Regulations limit the exemptions which allow festive gatherings to apply to 25 December 2020, and removes the ability to form a festive gathering in other parts of the UK and Common Travel Area. This action has been taken urgently given a new strain of coronavirus is circulating widely in some parts of the UK and is already circulating at a lower level in Scotland. Firm and decisive action has been taken now to prevent the new strain from taking hold in Scotland and to avoid our NHS being potentially overwhelmed in the coming weeks. The Regulations have been published at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2020/452/contents/made . Economy Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the publication of its Hydrogen Policy Statement and Scottish Hydrogen Assessment report. (S5W-34163) Paul Wheelhouse: Today the Scottish Government will publish its Hydrogen Policy Statement and the report of the Scottish Hydrogen Assessment. The Policy Statement can be accessed at https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781800045033 The Hydrogen Policy Statement sets out our support for the strategic growth of a strong hydrogen economy in Scotland. In the Statement, we commit to making hydrogen a key element of Scotland’s decarbonisation plans, setting out the potential roles for hydrogen in our energy transition and our ambitions and strategic priorities regarding the various applications of hydrogen in our energy system in light of our net zero commitments. In the statement we commit to providing the supportive policy and regulatory environment required to enable Scotland to take a pioneering role in a growing global industry and support our vision for Scotland to become a leading Hydrogen Nation in the production of reliable, competitive, sustainable hydrogen. We will describe our next steps in our hydrogen journey and set out how we will implement our hydrogen policies when we publish our Hydrogen Action Plan in 2021 which will be supported by £100 million investment to support its delivery over the next five years. The Hydrogen Policy Statement is accompanied by the publication of three supporting research studies, the Scottish Hydrogen Assessment , Scottish Offshore Wind to Green Hydrogen Opportunity Assessment and a Deep Decarbonisation Pathways for Scottish Industries study , which form a robust evidence base on Hydrogen that informed the development of the Policy Statement. Beatrice Wishart (Shetland Islands) (Scottish Liberal Democrats): To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on work to develop a new benchmark standard for new public buildings to ensure that heating systems are renewable or zero carbon, and from which date this benchmark will be set. Holding answer issued: 21 December 2020 (S5W-33885) Paul Wheelhouse: A holding answer was provided. Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33328 by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 December 2020, whether it considers its decision to take no action regarding the unregulated release of non-native gamebirds is consistent with the precautionary principle and the principle that preventative action should be taken to avert environmental damage, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter. (S5W-33920) Roseanna Cunningham: As set out in the response to S5W-33328, there is little evidence to show that released gamebirds are causing damage to European sites in Scotland. However we will consider, with NatureScot, whether any additional monitoring or research into the impact of gamebird releases around protected sites may be required in the future. Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33328 by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 December 2020, how many Habitats Regulations Appraisals have been completed regarding applications for the release of non-native gamebirds in each of the last 10 years; whether Scottish Natural Heritage will publish the environmental reports that informed these appraisals, and how many consents have been (a) issued and (b) denied in response to these. (S5W-33921) Roseanna Cunningham: NatureScot have carried out two Habitats Regulations Appraisals in the last ten years in relation to applications for the release of non-native gamebirds. The appraisals were undertaken using expert advice from NatureScot ornithologists. Both Appraisals concluded that there would be no adverse impact on the integrity of the sites in question and consents were issued in both cases. NatureScot does not routinely publish Habitats Regulations Appraisals. Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33328 by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 December 2020, whether NatureScot will publish its monitoring programme that led it to conclude that “there is little evidence to show that gamebirds are causing damage to European sites in Scotland”. (S5W-33922) Roseanna Cunningham: NatureScot’s Site Condition Monitoring Programme measures the health of the notified features across all of Scotland’s protected areas, including European sites. The Programme also identifies underlying causes for unfavourable condition of features in order to inform management actions. Gamebirds are mentioned in around 0.2% of these assessments and gamebird releases have not been identified as the cause of any features on protected sites being in unfavourable condition. Details of the monitoring programme are available on the NatureScot website: https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/protected-areas-and- species/protected-areas/site-condition-monitoring . Jeremy Balfour (Lothian) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures suggesting that, in the first two years of the Fair Start Scotland programme, only 6,621 of the 34,785 people who were referred to it started in employment. (S5W-33945) Jamie Hepburn: Fair Start Scotland aims to support those further from the labour market towards employment, and provides 12 – 18 months of pre- employment support. As participants join each month, not enough time will have passed to present a complete picture of employment outcomes for many of them. Time must then also be taken into account to allow participants to reach 3, 6 and 12 months employment. Each quarterly release of statistics presents a developing picture of employment outcomes for year two of the service, which will increase as more participants move through the service into work, and sustain that work over time. The most recent statistics published on 25 November 2020 show that, of the 27,076 people who started on Fair Start Scotland, 8,329 participants (33%) went on to start work. The statistics also show that the majority of participants who started a job went on to sustain them for at least 6-12 months: - 71% of people starting work went on to sustain employment for 3 months; - 78% of those who sustained employment for 3 months reached at least 6 months; and - 77% of those who sustained employment for 6 months went on to reach at least 12 months. Jeremy Balfour (Lothian) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures suggesting that 51% of the people who joined the Fair Start Scotland Scheme in Year 2 left it early. (S5W-33946) Jamie Hepburn: Fair Start Scotland is an entirely voluntary service where people are not driven to take part by the fear of benefit sanctions. Participants retain the right to leave at any time as they can face a range of challenges and barriers, due to changes in their circumstances, health or for personal reasons. We know from previous research on the transitional employment services (Work First and Work Able Scotland) that participants often leave as a result of a temporary deterioration in their physical or mental health. As part of our continuous improvement activities over the coming year, we will continue to explore ways to reduce the volume of participants leaving the service early, including improvements to specialist support for those who need it and the introduction of a “right to re-referral” for participants who left early or completed their support without moving into work. Our next FSS evaluation report, due to be published in Autumn 2021 will also include an in depth focus on early leavers and we will ensure that any learning from the results is promptly put into practice throughout the contract extension period. In line with the values of dignity and respect inherent to Fair Start Scotland, participants continue to be positive about their experience of the service. Of those surveyed for the Year 2 evaluation report: - 91% of people who have used the service feel they were treated with dignity and respect; - 80% of people felt the service took account of their individual needs and circumstances; and - 81% of people felt the service offered support to improve their general quality of life and wellbeing. Education, Communities and Justice Beatrice Wishart (Shetland Islands) (Scottish Liberal Democrats): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32307 by Richard Lochhead on 19 October 2020, whether it can now confirm whether this information will be shared with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).