Thursday 21 June 2018

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT

Economy

Gail Ross (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the comment by the Chair of Scottish Natural Heritage that Wester Ross’s UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status will “attract people from all over the world”. (S5W-17087) Roseanna Cunningham: I am delighted that Scottish Natural Heritage has been awarded a certificate from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in recognition of its work with the people of Wester Ross to achieve Biosphere Reserve status.

The area is an important tourist destination with its vast areas of high quality natural landscape, rich cultural heritage (keeping alive traditional activities such as crofting and Gaelic music) and its historical importance which includes Neolithic archaeological sites.

The Scottish Government has committed £33,000 to assist the Biosphere Reserve’s participation in the EU-funded Sustainable Heritage Areas: Partnerships for Ecotourism (‘SHAPE’) project which will run over 3 years. This project enables those in the Biosphere Reserve to develop innovative eco-tourism initiatives in co-operation with other countries in the EU’s Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme.

Rachael Hamilton (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment in the Programme for Government that "we are also doubling the number of people working for Scottish Development International (SDI) in Europe", whether it will confirm how many permanent SDI staff have been based on the continent in each of the last three years. (S5W-17119) Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-11830 on ‎2 November 2017. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Alexander Burnett ( West) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of poaching of protected pearl mussels in Loch , and what plans it has to prevent such poaching taking place. (S5W-17121) Roseanna Cunningham: Within the last two months there have been two reports of illegal pearl fishing incidents in the Assynt area. Both incidents were reported to Police and investigations are continuing. This is an important area for the conservation of freshwater pearl mussels, with a number of rivers designated for their internationally important populations and a significant number of other important populations. We are extremely disappointed by this persecution of this critically endangered species, which is extremely vulnerable to criminal damage and is a UK wildlife crime priority.

The rivers where both incidents took place are the subject of ‘Riverwatch’ schemes, launched by the ‘Pearls in Peril’ project and aimed at increasing awareness of the threat from illegal pearl fishing. The UK Priority Delivery Group for freshwater pearl mussels (which coordinates activity to combat wildlife crime affecting pearl mussels) has discussed these cases and planning is underway to highlight the continued threat from illegal activity across the Highlands in the media. This is planned for later this summer, alongside awareness-raising with ranger services. There are also river patrols in Highland region, led by Police Scotland with partner organisations, to deter and detect potential criminal activity.

Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government how Scottish Natural Heritage ensures that sites that have been delisted as national nature reserves, but remain designated as sites of special scientific interest, special protected areas or special areas of conservation, have management measures in place to conserve their qualifying biodiversity interests. (S5W-17148) Roseanna Cunningham: Prior to approving the de-declaration of a National Nature Reserve (NNR) following a recommendation by Scotland’s NNR Partnership and the approval of the Board of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), SNH requires the assurance of the relevant Director (and ultimately, SNH’s Chief Executive) that any necessary conservation measures are in place, or will replace those provided by NNR-related arrangements. In some cases, where an SNH NNR has been on land leased from another public body, that body assumes management responsibility under the requirements of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004.

Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government which national nature reserves are (a) owned and (b) managed by Scottish Natural Heritage, and how much area they cover. (S5W-17149) Roseanna Cunningham: Details of the National Nature Reserves owned by Scottish Natural Heritage and their area, with information on management responsibility and tenure, are provided in the following table.

Management

Documented NNR NNR name Tenure area (ha) (lead/ secondary/ tertiary)

SNH part owned/ Abernethy 12,754.59 RSPB / SNH NRA/lease; RSPB Ariundle 69.71 SNH SNH owned Oakwood & 4,958 SNH SNH part owned; NTS Islands 2,300.39 SNH SNH owned 108.48 SNH SNH owned Caerlaverock 8,184.78 SNH SNH NRA/lease Cairnsmore of SNH part owned/ 1922 SNH Fleet NRA/lease Clyde Valley SH part owned; SWT; 318.42 SLC / SWT/SNH Woodlands SLC 164 SH SH owned Craigellachie 257 SNH SNH NRA/lease 3,948 SNH SNH owned SNH part owned/ 821.6 SNH NRA/lease SNH part owned/ Forvie 973 SNH NRA/lease 169 SNH SNH owned 388.5 FCS/SNH SNH NRA/lease; FCS SNH part owned/ 1,168.3 SNH NRA/lease SNH/ SNH part owned; Glen Glen Tanar 4,185 estate Tanar Estate 964.4 SNH SNH NRA/lease Invereshie and 3,730.85 SNH/FCS SNH part owned; FCS Inshriach 56.6 SNH SNH owned 22.15 SNH SNH owned 1,057.5 SNH SNH NRA/Lease; SWT SNH part owned/ 1,823 SNH/RSPB NRA/lease; RSPB RSPB/ LLTNPA/ SNH part owned; RSPB; Loch Lomond 428 SNH LLTNPA Moine Mhor 492.5 SNH SNH owned 1,166.17 SNH SNH NRA/lease Noss 313 SNH SNH NRA/lease Rum 10,839.2 SNH SNH owned SNH part owned/ NRA/ St Cyrus 92 SNH Lease SNH part owned/ Taynish 370.3 SNH NRA/lease Tentsmuir 563.84 SNH/FCS SNH NRA / lease; FCS

NRA = Nature Reserve Agreement (SNH managed land).

SNH = Scottish Natural Heritage.

FCS = Forestry Commission Scotland.

LLTNPA = Loch Lomond and the National Park Authority.

NTS = National Trust for Scotland.

RSPB = Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (Scotland).

SLC = South Lanarkshire Council.

SWT=Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government (a) how much and (b) what proportion of Scottish Natural Heritage's budget for national nature reserves has been spent on habitat management and species conservation, excluding for access and other infrastructure projects or promotional events, in each of the last five years. (S5W-17150) Roseanna Cunningham:

Spend on habitat Spend on habitats and species as a SNH NR (incl NNR) spend (from Year and species (£) proportion of NNR spend (%) published Annual Reports (£M)

2017-18 Figures not available 1.612 2016-17 145,774 10 1.510

2015-16 145,635 9 1.603

2014-15 27,222 1 2.058

2013-14 197,556 10 1.889

Notes:

NNR = National Nature Reserve.

SNH = Scottish Natural Heritage.

The figures exclude the cost of nature reserve agreements, management agreements, leases and rents.

The figures are net of related income (e.g. from venison sales and external funding received).

Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government how many Scottish Natural Heritage-owned national nature reserves have received less than £5,000 for habitat management and species conservation, excluding for access and other infrastructure projects and promotional events, in each of the last five years. (S5W-17151) Roseanna Cunningham:

Number of SNH-owned NNRs receiving <£5k for habitat and species Year conservation 2017-18Figures not available 2016-1728 2015-1626 2014-1528 2013-1424

Notes:

NNR = National Nature Reserve.

SNH = Scottish Natural Heritage.

The figures exclude the costs of nature reserve agreements, management agreements, leases and rents; staff time and costs, and volunteer costs. The figures are net of income (e.g. from venison sales and external funding).

Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government (a) how much and (b) what proportion of Scottish Natural Heritage's budget for national nature reserves has come from (i) the Peatland Action Fund and (ii) other similar sources in each of the last five years. (S5W-17152) Roseanna Cunningham:

Proportion of SNH NNR * SNH NNR budget Proportion of SNH NNR SNH NNR Year budget from from other similar funding from other funding from PAF PAF (£) sources (£) similar sources (%) (%) 2017-1812,514 0.8 0 0 2016-170 0 0 0 2015-1616,419 1 0 0 2014-15350,358 17 0 0 2013-140 0 0 0

SNH = Scottish Natural Heritage.

NNR = National Nature Reserve.

PAF = Peatland Action Fund.

Scottish Natural Heritage was not eligible for and did not receive any other Scottish Government sourced funding in addition to its Grant-in-Aid (*). The budget figures used above comprise operational/project spending only, staff costs are excluded.

Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-16040 by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 May 2018, how the loss of the six staff will impact on Scottish Natural Heritage's capacity to deliver biodiversity conservation on its national nature reserves. (S5W-17153) Roseanna Cunningham: In its ‘Making Connections-Year 1’ business plan, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) indicates a planned reduction across the organisation of 1,460 days for its Managing Nature Reserves Activity, which includes the management of its 30 nature reserves with the National Nature Reserve accolade. SNH continues to prioritise the use of its resources in line with its Corporate Plan and business plans. Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government which national nature reserves that have invasive non- native species that are considered to be a risk to other species and habitats (a) have and (b) do not have a fully-resourced plan in place to eradicate or control these, and what criteria Scottish Natural Heritage uses to determine whether to introduce such a plan. (S5W-17154) Roseanna Cunningham: For each of its National Nature Reserves, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has a management plan that describes the site and its interests, the prevailing pressures including any Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS), and outlines SNH’s planned actions for a period of 10 years. SNH generally does not produce specific INNS plans though it may do so for specific projects. Resourcing of reserve management identified in these plans is subject to the setting of annual priorities in line with its Corporate Plan and business plans.

Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government which Scottish National Heritage sites have been delisted as national nature reserves in each of the last 10 years, and for what reason. (S5W-17155) Roseanna Cunningham: ‘De-listed’ is not a formal event recorded by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). Instead, the information in the following table is based on the dates of statutory de-declaration when SNH formally withdrew the National Nature Reserve accolade.

Number of NNRs de- Reasons for de- Year NNRs de-declared declared declaration Poor fit with 2013 Ben Lui criteria Poor fit with 2013 Kirkconnell Flow criteria Poor fit with 2013 Monach Isles criteria 2018-196 Poor fit with 2013 Rona and Sula Sgeir criteria Poor fit with 2013 Silver Flowe criteria Poor fit with 2013 Whitlaw Mosses criteria 2017-180 2016-170 2015-160 2014-150 Fail to meet 2002 2013-141 Rassal Ashwood purposes Fail to meet 2002 Keen of Hamar purposes Fail to meet 2002 2012-133 Cragbank Woods purposes Fail to meet 1995 Den of Airlie purposes Fail to meet 2002 Braehead Moss purposes Fail to meet 1995 Mealdarroch purposes Fail to meet 1995 Nigg and Udale Bays purposes Fail to meet 2002 2011-127 Claish Moss purposes Fail to meet 2002 Glencripesdale purposes Fail to meet 2002 Loch Druidibeg purposes Fail to meet 2002 Rannoch Moor purposes Fail to meet 1995 2010-111 Glen Diomhan purposes Fail to meet 2002 purposes 2009-102 Eilean na Muice Duibhe Fail to meet 1995 (Duich Moss) purposes

Notes:

NNR = National Nature Reserve.

The NNR Partnership’s current criteria for selection of land to be awarded the NNR accolade are available at: https://www.nnr.scot/Partnership .

Copies of earlier criteria/purposes are available on request from SNH [email protected] .

The above excludes de-declaration of NNR which was subsumed and re-declared as Abernethy NNR in 2010-11.

In addition to the reasons given above, in many cases the relevant private owners were unwilling to enter new nature reserve agreements to allow Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to meet the relevant criteria and/or purposes. Relevant sites are not identified as this could identify the individuals involved. The SNH Board has approved a further four SNH nature reserves for de- declaration and these are no longer promoted as NNRs. For various reasons the formal de-declarations have not been progressed.

Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what research it has commissioned regarding air pollution from distilleries. (S5W-17164) Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government has not commissioned any research regarding air pollution from distilleries.

Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what advice it offers to people whose homes are affected by air pollution from distilleries, and what action it is taking to address the issue. (S5W-17165) Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government does not offer specific advice to people whose homes are affected by air pollution from distilleries. General advice to the public regarding air quality is available on the Scottish air quality website: scottishairquality.co.uk

All local authorities in Scotland are required to regularly review air quality in their areas against objectives for several pollutants of concern for human health. If this work indicates that any objectives are not being achieved, the authority concerned must declare an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) and produce an action plan to tackle the issues identified.

To date, no exceedences of any of the objectives have been identified in Scotland relating to air pollution from distilleries.

Michelle Ballantyne (South Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what financial support schemes are available to fund economic projects in coastal communities. (S5W-17185) Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government is providing £6.5m funding to 8 Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs) through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund to deliver economic projects within coastal communities.

The Coastal Communities Fund is currently available to successful applications from the current round of funding. This fund has supported economic growth in Scotland’s deprived coastal communities by funding project. No decision has been made about the future of the Coastal Communities Fund, but a review of the fund is currently underway. In the meantime, I am committed to supporting the current Coastal Communities Fund projects through to completion

The Scottish Government’s Empowering Communities Fund supports community empowerment cross Scotland and, enables disadvantaged communities to tackle poverty and inequality on their own terms and directly supports community priorities. This reflects our commitment to investing in communities so that they can develop the resources and resilience to decide their own priorities and needs; and, develop their own social, economic and environmental solutions in response. We will continue to support various community-led regeneration programmes through our £20 million Empowering Communities Fund in 2018-2019.

Angus MacDonald (Falkirk East) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to promote Clean Air Day 2018 in schools. (S5W-17202) Roseanna Cunningham: Clean Air Day 2018 is being coordinated by Environmental Protection Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Amongst a wide range of resources and information produced for those organising or taking part in events on Clean Air Day is a schools toolkit. Detailed information on all aspects of Clean Air Day 2018 can be found on the Clean Air Day in Scotland website: https://www.cleanairday.org.uk/clean-air- scotland and the Environmental Protection Scotland website: http://www.ep- scotland.org.uk/cleanairday/ .

Education, Communities and Justice

Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the action by Scottish Borders Council at Peebles High and Priorsford Primary schools, what its position is on replacing school librarians with senior pupils or volunteers. (S5O-02266) John Swinney: This Government is clear that a good quality school library service, supported by highly skilled library staff, can make a strong contribution to our ambition to raise attainment for all our young people. That is why I intend to publish a national strategy for school libraries and why we are investing £1 million over three years in improving school libraries.

It is incumbent on local authorities to make best use of the funds available and delivery models across Scotland will vary. There is a role for pupils, parents, and volunteers to play in supporting school library services – indeed, pupils can gain a great deal from getting involved – but they will only add value as part of a managed appropriately staffed service.

Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government how nutritious school meals impact on attainment. (S5O-02267) John Swinney: It is well established that nutrition has a key role to play in children’s health and wellbeing and that the lack of a healthy, nutritious diet and enough to eat can impact on children’s ability to learn.

That is why this Government introduced nutrition standards for school lunches. A working group has recently reviewed those standards and new guidelines have been produced which are now being consulted upon.

Gil Paterson (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is expected to report within four years of its establishment. (S5W-17385) John Swinney: Lady Smith, Chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, wrote to me on 14 June 2018 to request a variation to the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference with respect to its timescale. I have agreed to Lady Smith’s request that the wording is changed to require the Inquiry to report as soon as reasonably practicable. The revised Terms of Reference is now available on the Inquiry's Website . Lady Smith has assured me of her commitment to discharge her duties as efficiently and effectively as possible. It is of the utmost importance that this Inquiry is given the time to investigate its remit thoroughly and properly.

The original Terms of Reference called on the Chair to report to Ministers “within 4 years” of the date of its establishment, which was October 2015, although Lady Smith’s appointment as Chair did not occur until the end of July 2016. It will not be possible to report in that timescale due to the very wide remit of the Inquiry, covering from living memory to 2014, and a very large number of institutions providing child care in the range of settings covered.

It is clear the Inquiry is working hard and good progress is already evident. Evidence has been heard regarding the establishment of a number of providers, research has been undertaken in relation to the nature and prevalence of child abuse, societal attitudes to children, relevant legislative history and inspection systems. The Inquiry’s second case study is drawing near to a close with a third case study commencing in the Autumn. Work continues in preparation of other case studies, research, and analyses of thousands of documents recovered so far. Lady Smith notes that a large number of applicants have come forward and continue to do so. I want to enable the Inquiry to hear from as many survivors as possible. It must take considerable courage for survivors to approach the Inquiry and talk about their experiences of being in care as children.

Separate from the Inquiry, a substantial amount of research, consultation and engagement has taken place on a potential financial redress scheme in Scotland for survivors of in-care abuse, as part of a wider package of reparations. The Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS) and the SHRC InterAction Action Plan Review Group, which includes survivor representatives, have been undertaking this work in partnership. I understand it is now nearing completion and I look forward to receiving the Group’s recommendations when available.

Alison Harris (Central Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government when it last met each local authority to discuss future funding for (a) nursery places and (b) child care provision. (S5W-17126) Maree Todd: The Scottish Government has met, and will continue to meet, regularly with local authorities to discuss the delivery of the Early Learning and Childcare entitlement. These meetings can be through a number of routes, including one-to-one meetings or through engagement and working groups whose membership includes Scottish Government and local authorities.

The Scottish Government’s Early Learning and Childcare Delivery Support Team has been in regular contact with all councils to discuss the development of their Early Learning and Childcare expansion plans. This includes discussions relating to the approach adopted, estimated costs and the allocation of both capital and revenue funding. Over the last year the Delivery Support team has had a number of collaborative workshops and 1-2-1 meetings both to inform the development of future models of delivery and associated cost estimates.

In confirming the multi-year funding agreement local authorities were also offered the on-going support of the ELC Delivery Team to support the refinement of their plans following this funding confirmation.

The Director for Early Learning and Childcare has also held individual meetings with the majority of local authorities over the last 18 months.

The dates of the most recent meetings with individual authorities are set out in Table 1.

Table 1 : Summary of Latest Meetings with Individual Local Authorities Local Authority Date City Council 13-02-2018 Aberdeenshire 22-02-2018 Angus Council 22-02-2018 Argyll & Bute Council 26-02-2018 Clackmannanshire Council 21-02-2018 Dumfries & Galloway Council 12-02-2018 Dundee City Council 16-02-2018 East Ayrshire Council 09-02-2018 East Dunbartonshire Council 28-02-2018 East Lothian Council 22-02-2018 East Renfrewshire Council 26-02-2018 Edinburgh Council 14-02-2018 Eilean Siar 01-03-2018 Falkirk Council 27-02-2018 Fife Council 13-02-2018 Glasgow City Council 16-03-2018 Highland Council 21-02-2018 Inverclyde Council 12-02-2018 Midlothian Council 14-02-2018 Moray Council 20-02-2018 North Ayrshire Council 06-06-2018 North Lanarkshire Council 28-02-2018 Orkney Islands Council 28-02-2018 Perth & Kinross Council 27-02-2018 Renfrewshire Council 23-02-2018 Scottish Borders Council 21-02-2018 Shetland Islands Council 01-03-2018 South Ayrshire Council 16-02-2018 South Lanarkshire Council 16-05-2018 28-02-2018 West Dunbartonshire Council16-02-2018 Council 26-02-2018

The Scottish Government also meets regularly with Local Authorities through involvement in a number of groups, in particular the ELC Leaders Forum, the ELC Finance Working Group and the ADES (Association of Directors of Education in Scotland) Early Years Network.

Table 2: Last Meetings of Early Learning and Childcare Groups

Group Date of last meeting: ELC Leaders Forum 31-05-2018 ELC Finance Working Group13-06-2018 ADES Early Years Network 08-06-2018

Stuart McMillan (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle violence among young men. (S5W-17188) Michael Matheson: Violence is totally unacceptable. Despite the small increase this year, violent crimes have fallen 49% since 2006-07, to one of the lowest levels seen since 1974.

But, we want to see further reductions to this unacceptable behaviour and are taking forward further actions. Alongside tough enforcement, our approach to violent crime is very firmly focused on prevention. We have already invested more than £14 million in violence prevention since 2006-07, including support for the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit and Medics Against Violence, who work to develop and deliver various violence prevention initiatives including the accelerated delivery of the Mentors in Violence Prevention programme which is now being delivered to young people in schools across Scotland.

We also continue to invest in our No Knives Better Lives youth engagement programme. This is now being delivered in 24 local authorities and is on track to be delivered in all 32 local authority areas this year.

Gillian Martin (Aberdeenshire East) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the childcare sector. (S5W-17190) Maree Todd: The Scottish Government is working with partners to take forward a comprehensive programme of action to support the childcare sector and to deliver our ambitious commitment to almost double funded early learning and childcare entitlement to 1140 hours by August 2020.

We reached a ‘landmark agreement’ with COSLA Leaders on 27 April on a multi-year revenue and capital package which will fully fund the expansion in funded entitlement to 1140 hours. This agreement will see annual revenue investment increase by £567 million on 2016-17 levels by 2021-22, whilst £467 million of capital funding will be provided over four years.

This “real partnership working” is further evidenced by our joint consultation with COSLA, launched 29 March, which sets out the details of the National Standard for providing funded early learning and childcare (ELC) that will underpin the new Funding Follows the Child model that will be introduced in 2020. We are working closely with the sector on the development of this new model, and we are currently running a series of provider engagement events across Scotland to support the joint consultation.

Payment of a sustainable rate to providers is a key aspect of our new Funding Follows the Child approach. The multi-year package agreed with COSLA includes funding to pay sustainable rates to providers in the private and third sectors, which reflect the cost of delivery, and which will enable all childcare workers delivering the funded entitlement to be paid at least the Scottish Living Wage from 2020.

On 1 April 2018 we introduced a new 100% rate relief for private properties wholly or mainly used as day nurseries. The relief will remove the burden of rates from up to an estimated 500 businesses to support an inclusive workforce whilst benefitting the economy as a whole.

We are also working with partners to support the expansion of the early year’s workforce. In October 2017 we launched the first phase of our recruitment marketing campaign, targeted at school leavers; with the second phase, to attract career-changers and parental returners to ELC, launching last month.

We are working with the Scottish Funding Council to offer over 1,500 additional places on a one-year HNC course in 2018-19 and over 400 additional places at graduate level. We will continue to invest in increased college places and training provision in 2019 and 2020. In addition Skills Development Scotland are increasing the number of modern apprenticeships in ELC by 10 per cent year-on-year up to 2020.

In addition, over the last year we have:

• published a widely welcomed ELC Quality Action Plan in October 2017, which will act as a driver for improving children's outcomes through the expansion; • worked with the Care Inspectorate to produce Your Childminding Journey, an online learning and development resource for both prospective and registered childminders; • taken forward plans to implement our commitment to provide an additional graduate in nurseries in Scotland's most deprived communities from August 2018, which will see an extra 435 graduates working directly with children; • our new £2 million ELC inclusion fund opened for its first round of applications on 31 May. This fund, which is open to providers across all sectors, will provide an additional source of funding to support specialist training, equipment and adaptions to enable staff to support children with additional support needs or disabilities; • published Space to Grow, a new good practice design guide for ELC, which promotes innovative design for both indoor and outdoor space, and;

? announced over £860,000 funding for Inspiring Scotland to encourage and support greater use of outdoor learning in ELC, including working with eight local authorities to deliver outdoor learning opportunities as part of the expansion of early learning and childcare and producing a 'how to' guide for practitioners, with practical advice on how to access outdoor spaces.

Jamie Greene (West Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the number of people carrying weapons. (S5W-17194) Michael Matheson: Between 2006-07 and 2016-17, the number of police recorded crimes of handling an offensive weapon fell by 68%.

But, we want to see further reductions to this unacceptable behaviour and are taking forward further actions. Alongside tough enforcement, our approach to knife crime is very firmly focused on prevention. We have already invested more than £14 million in violence prevention since 2006-07, including support for the national Violence Reduction Unit and Medics Against Violence, who work to develop and deliver various violence prevention initiatives including the accelerated delivery of the Mentors in Violence Prevention programme which is now being delivered in schools across Scotland.

We also continue to invest in our No Knives Better Lives youth engagement programme which specifically aims to reduce the incidence of violence and knife carrying amongst young people. This is now being delivered in 24 local authorities and is on track to be delivered in all 32 local authority areas this year.

Jamie Greene (West Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce levels of antisocial behaviour. (S5W-17197) Annabelle Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-16983 on ‎18 June 2018. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx . Jamie Greene (West Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the regulations regarding the carrying of knives. (S5W-17198) Michael Matheson: The law criminalises the possession of knives in public places where no reasonable excuse or lawful authority exists by the person in possession. There are also similar offences relating to the possession of knives in schools and in prisons. In 2016, the maximum penalties for these offences were increased from four years in custody to five years in custody.

While the Scottish Government always keeps criminal laws under review, there are no current plans to make changes to these specific offences.

Michelle Ballantyne (South Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government how many parents have asked for their children to be withdrawn from the P1 standardised assessments. (S5W-17207) John Swinney: The Scottish National Standardised Assessments are part of everyday learning and teaching. They provide teachers with diagnostic information on children’s progress in aspects of literacy and numeracy. The Scottish Government has received fewer than 10 requests from parents asking to withdraw their child from the assessments. As with any other area of learning, teaching and assessment parents should discuss their concerns with their child’s teacher.

Michelle Ballantyne (South Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government how much the Scottish National Standardised Assessments IT system has cost to introduce in schools, broken down by (a) initial and (b) annual running cost. (S5W-17209) John Swinney: The Scottish National Standardised Assessments IT system was delivered on time and remains within budget. Costs have been broken down by (a) initial and (b) annual running costs:

SNSA main Notes contract applicable Main suppliers development and SNSA initial costs £1,115,000 initial implementation fee

SNSA running costs Main suppliers management fee and £3,390,509 1 (AY 17-18) assessment fee SNSA running costs Main suppliers management fee and £3,445,915 1 (AY 18-19) assessment fee

SNSA running costs Main suppliers management fee and £862,329 1,2 (AY 19-20) assessment fee

Estimated contract £8,813,753 3 completion cost

Notes

1 . The cost of the assessments is assuming a 100% uptake of assessments for the full school role for P1, P4, P7 and S3 in academic year 17-18. Actual uptake is expected to be less due to absences, children with complex additional support needs etc.

2 . Year 19-20 is a part year as the 3 year contract term currently ends in October 2019. Three months (one quarter) of the full years management and assessment fee is estimated.

3 . Costs are not VAT applicable.

Jackson Carlaw (Eastwood) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what procedures are in place to protect landlords from pursuit of payment by property factors in such cases where documentation exists placing responsibility for factoring fees on the tenant. (S5W-17276) Kevin Stewart: The Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 (the Act) provides protections for homeowners who use the services of a property factor. This includes homeowners who may be landlords. The Act makes provision for a register of property factors, a Code of Conduct, which amongst other things sets minimum standards of practice where factors are recovering debt, and a route of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Housing and Property Chamber (First-tier Tribunal) where disputes arise.

If a tenant has contracted with a landlord to pay factoring fees as part of their tenancy agreement and fails to make those payments, then the landlord can take a case to the First-tier Tribunal to evict the tenant for breach of their tenancy agreement.

Jackson Carlaw (Eastwood) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what protections exist for landlords where the (a) quality and (b) cost of their compulsory building’s insurance coverage is determined in advance by property factoring companies. (S5W-17277) Kevin Stewart: The Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 (the Act) provides protections for homeowners who use the services of a property factor. This includes homeowners who may be landlords. The Act makes provision for a register of property factors, a Code of Conduct, which amongst other things sets minimum standards of practice where factors have an agreement with homeowners to arrange any type of insurance, and a route of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Housing and Property Chamber where disputes arise.

Jackson Carlaw (Eastwood) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that landlords and tenants are not penalised by late payment administration fees by property factors while cost disputes are ongoing. (S5W-17278) Kevin Stewart: The Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 (the Act) provides protections for homeowners who use the services of a property factor. This includes homeowners who may be landlords. The Act makes provision for a register of property factors, a Code of Conduct, which amongst other things sets minimum standards of practice where factors are applying late payment charges, and a route of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Housing and Property Chamber (First-tier Tribunal) where disputes arise. If a case relating to a disputed debt is accepted by the First-tier Tribunal and referred to a tribunal for consideration, the factor must not apply any interest or late payment charges in respect of the disputed items during the period that the tribunal is considering the case.

If a tenant has contracted with a landlord to pay factoring fees as part of their tenancy agreement the obligation to pay such fees will be a separate matter between the tenant and the landlord.

Health and Social Care

Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-16367 by Aileen Campbell on 18 May 2018, in light of it being the practice for women who travel to England for these services, and to reduce the need for overnight stays in hospital, whether it will reconsider its position on whether women from Northern Ireland who receive same-day abortion services in Scotland can be given misoprostol to take at home the next day, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter. (S5W-17123) Aileen Campbell: The Abortion Act 1967 (Place for Treatment for the Termination of Pregnancy)(Approval) 2017 permits women to take misoprostol at home where they are ordinarily resident in Scotland. Women resident in Northern Ireland can receive abortion services in Scotland free of charge, but in the case of medical abortion would need to take misoprostol in an abortion clinic or hospital. Abortion is unlawful in Northern Ireland, except in very limited circumstances.

Organisational Development and Operations

Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13882 by Keith Brown on 31 January 2018, whether it will confirm which of the projects listed were affected by the liquidation of Carillion, also broken down by the financial impact of this (a) to each project overall and (b) on the public purse. (S5W-17108) Keith Brown: The UK Official Receiver is still in the process of liquidating Carillion and so the final impact on the public purse is not yet available.

Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how many people who (a) applied, (b) interviewed and (c) were appointed for positions at the social security agency were carers. (S5W-17177) Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government does not request information from applicants regarding their carer status. We therefore have no figures on this.

Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how many people applied for positions at the social security agency and, of those, how many were (a) interviewed and (b) appointed. (S5W-17178) Derek Mackay: In the period 1 January 2017 to 30 April 2018, 1367 people applied for vacancies in the Social Security Agency, 384 were interviewed and 41 were successful at interview.

Those successful candidates are either now in post or are awaiting appointment.

Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how many people who (a) applied, (b) interviewed and (c) were appointed for positions at the social security agency had a protected characteristic, broken down by characteristic. (S5W-17179) Derek Mackay: Tables have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib number 59809) which provide figures for the number of people who applied, were interviewed and were appointed to the social security agency broken down by protected characteristic.

This relates to the period 1 January 2017 to 30 April 2018.

Fulton MacGregor (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the planned increase in carers allowance. (S5W-17191) Jeane Freeman: Carer’s Allowance Supplement will increase Carer’s Allowance to the level of Jobseeker’s Allowance, through two six month lump sum payments of £221 to eligible carers in 2018-19. It will be paid later this summer and uprated to take into account inflation from 2019-20.

The supplement is an increase of 13% in support to carers in 2018-19 and an investment of over £30 million a year, which will benefit over 70,000 carers. We have agreed with the UK Government that this additional support will not reduce entitlements elsewhere in the benefits system.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government how the implementation of the Public Contracts (Scotland) 2015 regulations is being used to support the delivery of fair work, collective bargaining and effective voice across the engineering construction sector. (S5W-17212) Derek Mackay: Legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament, the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, provides for Scottish Ministers to publish Statutory Guidance on Addressing Fair Work Practices, including the Living Wage, in Procurement. This Guidance published in October 2015, after consultation with Trade Unions, advises public bodies how to address Fair Work practices within their procurement exercises. It states we expect contractors who deliver public contracts to adhere to relevant collective agreements, and that fair work practices include trade union recognition or alternative arrangements to give staff an effective voice. To support the practical application of the Statutory Guidance, we have worked with the Fair Work Convention and are developing best practice guidance which is due to be published in Summer 2018.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements have been put in place throughout the lifetime of the procurement process to ensure that investment into public sector infrastructure delivers on the Public Contracts (Scotland) 2015 regulations in support of workplace matters, including the provision of relevant collective agreements. (S5W-17213) Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has put in place a number of arrangements to address Fair Work practices throughout the public procurement process.

Statutory Guidance published in October 2015 requires public bodies to consider, before they undertake a procurement process whether it is relevant and proportionate to include a question on Fair Work practices, which would be evaluated along with other relevant criteria.

The public procurement Regulations permit a public body to reject a contractor’s tender, which would have otherwise won the competition, where the body has established that the tender does not comply with applicable obligations in the fields of environmental, social and labour or collective agreements. Furthermore, the Scottish Government’s standard terms and conditions of contract contain a clause permitting the contract to be terminated if, in delivering the contractor, the contractor breaches environmental, social or employment laws. We have also published a Scottish Procurement Policy Note 9/2016 which contains model contract conditions.

The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 requires public bodies in Scotland with a significant procurement spend to report on their procurement activity, which must include a review of whether those procurements complied with their policy set out in their procurement strategy on how to promote the Living Wage and progress the Fair Work agenda. The first of these annual Reports are expected to be published over the coming months.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) which companies that have been selected to provide public services (i) have and (ii) do not have collective bargaining arrangements. (S5W-17214) Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government does not routinely collate this level of information from procurement exercises and therefore this information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce transitional protections for procurement contracts that began before the full implementation of the Public Contracts (Scotland) 2015 regulations. (S5W-17216) Derek Mackay: The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 applies to all ‎EU-regulated procurement processes which commenced on or after 18 April 2016. Procurement processes which commenced or were awarded prior to this date should have been awarded within the scope of the previous legislative framework.

Transport Scotland

Jamie Halcro Johnston (Highlands and Islands) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of Northern Isles transport connectivity. (S5O-02268) Humza Yousaf: Transport Scotland commissioned a comprehensive transport appraisal, in line with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance, which involved exploring and assessing the specification of the next Northern Isles Ferry Services contract. The report was published on 25 April 2018.

Transport Scotland, in partnership with key stakeholders, jointly commissioned Inter-Island Transport Studies for Orkney and Shetland. The studies undertook a STAG appraisal across the Councils’ internal air and ferry networks and reports were published in late 2016.

I assigned Highlands and Islands Airports Limited the task of considering what air services in the Highlands and Islands could and should look like in the future. HIAL will shortly carry out a consultation seeking views on what their strategy should look like over the coming period.

Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government when the public engagement phase of the West of Scotland Transport Study will begin, and what action it is taking to promote this to help increase participation. (S5W-17106) Humza Yousaf: The engagement phase will begin this summer and will include a range of formats including a public online survey. Transport Scotland will work with a variety of stakeholders including Dumfries and Galloway Council, The Ayrshire Roads Alliance (comprising East and South Ayrshire Councils) SWestrans and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) to encourage wide participation. This builds on the successful approach to engagement adopted in 2017 in the Borders Transport Corridors study which reached around 3000 people, groups and businesses.

John Scott (Ayr) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the third supplementary to question S5F-02418 by Nicola Sturgeon on 7 June 2018 (Official Report, c. 18), whether it will provide further details of the discussions that it has had with Heathrow Airport regarding its plans to develop a third runway and the potential for this project to base a logistics hub at Prestwick Airport. (S5W-17111) Humza Yousaf: Following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Scottish Government and Heathrow Airport Ltd in October 2016, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work has met with Heathrow Airport's Chief Executive Officer at 6 monthly intervals. The main purpose of these meetings is to talk about progress on the individual components of the MoU including Heathrow's process for selecting a Scottish supply chain hub for the new third runway. The Scottish Government welcomes the interest that this competitive exercise has generated at sites around Scotland including a strong bid from Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

Mike Rumbles (North East Scotland) (Scottish Liberal Democrats): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-16581 by Humza Yousaf on 6 June 2018, whether it will provide an answer to the part of the question regarding when it was advised that it was unlikely that the contractual deadline would be met, and for what reason it did not include this information in its response. (S5W-17124) Humza Yousaf: Abellio ScotRail did not notify Transport Scotland officials until ‎17 May 2018 informing them that WABTEC Rail UK had indicated delays to the HST programme that would result in Abellio ScotRail not achieving the required output dates under Committed Obligation 8.5 in the Franchise Agreement.

Donald Cameron (Highlands and Islands) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government how much was allocated in non-fuel subsidy payments to Argyll Ferries Limited for contract year 6 (July 2016 to June 2017) for the Gourock-Dunoon public service obligation, also broken down by the subsidy cost of the charter for the (a) MV Coruisk and (b) replacement bus service. (S5W-17128) Humza Yousaf: The non-fuel subsidy payment made to Argyll Ferries Limited for the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service public service obligation in contract year 6 (July 2016 to June 2017) was £3,530,421.

That total figure included a sum of £958,000 for the charter of the MV Coruisk, however the net cost to Transport Scotland was £159,000. This is because the majority of the costs are for the commercial charter of the MV Coruisk, fully crewed, from CalMac Ferries Ltd. This represents additional income for CalMac, which reduces the overall grant payment made by Transport Scotland to CalMac under the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract. Financial information in relation to the replacement bus service, again included within the total figure, is commercially sensitive and therefore cannot be released.

Colin Smyth (South Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what steps it takes to monitor the functioning of ferry user groups representing passengers on Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service routes. (S5W-17156) Humza Yousaf: Ferry User Groups, now known as Ferry Stakeholder Groups, are administered by the Highlands & Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS), who hold responsibility for monitoring the functioning of these groups. The Terms of Reference for each of the Groups were recently reviewed and updated by HITRANS. The Scottish Government does not monitor the functioning of the Ferry Stakeholder Groups, but attends and takes a participative role in the meetings.

Colin Smyth (South Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the monitoring of public expenditure on harbour dues at harbours that are not owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd. (S5W-17161) Humza Yousaf: Levying and payment of harbour dues is governed by the Harbours Act 1964 and is a commercial arrangement between harbour authorities and harbour users.

In relation to Scottish Government supported ferry services, the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract with CalMac Ferries Ltd places a requirement on the ferry operator to scrutinise and challenge any increases in harbour dues proposed by harbour authorities.

In addition, through Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, we are progressively entering into long-term arrangements with harbour authorities which ensure that harbour dues paid in relation to Scottish Government supported ferry services are reasonable and reflect the costs of operations, maintenance and planned investment.