Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not support the practice of conversion therapy in the UK. We are clear that this is an abhorrent practice with no place in modern society.

We strongly support the UK Government’s commitment to ban conversion therapy, and are awaiting precise details of the UK Government’s proposals, including in terms of whether they are likely to apply to Scotland.

If the proposed actions do not result in the banning of this discriminatory and harmful practice in Scotland, we will consider our next steps in banning conversion therapy, in so far as is possible within the powers of the Scottish Parliament.

Construction is a core sector of the Scottish economy which supports 143,000 jobs across Scotland. The report shows this is projected to continue to grow and recognises the need for a skilled workforce to support the sector.

Scottish Government is already taking action through:

Apprenticeships

During 2020-21 we supported 5,033 people into modern apprenticeships in the construction sector.

The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with Skills Development Scotland to maximise apprenticeships and prioritise a recovery that protects and creates jobs and supports our young people.

Upskilling and Retraining through NTTF

NTTF will continue in 2021-22 and we will continue to develop the support available to the sector to meet new and emerging skills demands.

We will continue to work with the sector through our Skills agency, Skills Development Scotland, to ensure we’re supporting the sector to address skills shortages.

Supporting Transition to net Zero

A key aspect of future training and skills development will be the support to deliver our net zero ambitions, with heat in buildings a critical element.

The Scottish Government and the Fair Work Convention are taking action to embed Fair Work in the sector to help attract and retain workers and support skills.

We are aware of the current shortages of both labour and materials facing parts of the construction sector. We are working with Construction Scotland and others to understand and address the factors behind this, which include the impacts of Covid and EU Exit.

For the pipeline of future affordable housing supply programme projects, we are continuing to closely monitor any issues around workforce shortages in the housebuilding sector. Through local working arrangements, Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with housing partners and are kept appraised of concerns.

Scottish Government is already taking action through:

Apprenticeships

During 2020-21 we supported 5,033 people into modern apprenticeships in the construction sector.

We have introduced an enhanced Adopt an Apprentice programme, to encourage employers to recruit and retain apprentices supporting the long-term future of work-based learning and the economy.

In December 2020, the Scottish Government introduced a £15 million Apprenticeship Employer Grant (AEG) as a short term, sharp stimulus response to the pandemic.

The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with Skills Development Scotland to maximise apprenticeships and prioritise a recovery that protects and creates jobs and supports our young people.

Upskilling and Retraining through NTTF

In the last year, the National Transition Training Fund (NTTF) has funded a range of support through Scotland’s colleges and universities to provide upskilling and retraining support for both unemployed people and those already in the workforce.

NTTF will continue in 2021-22 and we will continue to develop the support available to the sector to meet new and emerging skills demands.

We will continue to work with the sector through our Skills agency, Skills Development Scotland, to ensure we’re supporting the sector to address skills shortages.

Supporting Transition to net Zero

A key aspect of future training and skills development will be the support to deliver our net zero ambitions, with heat in buildings a critical element.

Training in Energy Efficiency Transition Support and Heat Pump Training alongside training by the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre on Passivhaus construction has been successfully delivered.

The Scottish Government and the Fair Work Convention are taking action to embed Fair Work in the sector to help attract and retain workers and support skills.

The international travel restrictions in Scotland currently apply to people arriving into or returning to Scotland. Anyone travelling to another country should make sure they comply with the relevant procedures where they are visiting. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advice on travel to Spain can be found online at https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain .

The Scottish Government continues to advise caution when it comes to international travel. Given the risk of importing new cases variants, Scottish Government guidance remains that people considering travel to other countries should think carefully if it is essential. Travellers arriving in Scotland must follow the rules that apply depending on whether they have arrived from a Red, Amber or Green country. Spain is currently on the Amber list. The list of countries is kept under review and subject to change. Countries are classified based on analysis by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, according to a methodology agreed by the four UK Chief Medical Officers.

Children under 11 coming to Scotland don’t need to undertake a pre-departure test or mandatory testing on day 2 and 8 after arrival. Children between 11-18 do need to take these tests. Children of all ages are required to self-isolate for 10 days after arriving from an Amber country. Guidance is available online here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-international-travel-quarantine/pages/overview/ .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00986 on 23 June 2021. 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 .

Keeping children safe online is a key priority of the Scottish Government.

Additional funding was made available to Police Scotland for enhanced enforcement activity in direct response to the increase in reporting of online child sexual abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scottish Government continues to support Police Scotland’s response, ensuring that hundreds of children have been safeguarded by police enforcement.

We continue our significant funding commitments to third sector partners such as the NSPCC, Barnardo’s Scotland and Stop It Now! Scotland.

We have strengthened legislation and increased funding to make it easier for victims and survivors to come forward and speak out against abusers. We are also collaborating with third sector and operational partners to engage the public and raise awareness about the dangers of online abuse, including running successful communications campaigns earlier this year which connected with hundreds of thousands of Scots.

The regulation of the internet and online service providers remain a reserved matter, but we continue to work closely with the UK Government and Ofcom in developing proposals to introduce better safety measures online to help protect children and young people – including close liaison with the UK Government on the forthcoming Online Safety Bill.

The Scottish Government has been ready for some time to press ahead with the process to establish green ports. Despite our commitment to moving forward in partnership, the UK Government has failed to engage with us to publish a joint applicant prospectus. We have also yet to receive formal agreement from the UK Government about designating two green ports in Scotland, and that each will be able to access the same amount of seed capital funding as each freeport in England.

As a result, the Scottish Government is now inviting notes of interest from potential green port bidders in Scotland. This exercise will allow us to gauge interest for the development of green port policy in Scotland and will provide an indication of the geography and sectors likely to benefit. The notes of interest invited will be based on the content of the abridged draft applicant prospectus, published on the Scottish Government website in March, which also signposted the reserved offer available to all freeports in England. Further information on the call for notes of interest is available on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/policies/cities-regions/green-ports/

I have written to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to set out the Scottish Government’s proposed next steps for delivering this policy and intend to hold a stakeholder engagement session on the 30 th of June.

Early medical abortion at home, and the changes adopted in March 2020, has been an important measure to ensure abortion services have continued to be delivered throughout the pandemic, without delays. 

The Scottish Government launched a public consultation on the future arrangements for early medical abortion at home on 30 September 2020, which closed on 5 January 2021. An independent analysis of the consultation responses has been published today and can be found at https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781800048560.

The report shows very differing views among respondents, particularly in relation to whether the current approach is sufficiently safe. In order to ensure robust evidence is available, the Scottish Government is taking steps to commission an independent evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the current approach, including in relation to safety. Scottish Ministers will consider future arrangements once this evaluation has been completed.

The current March 2020 approval will remain in place while this evaluation is undertaken. This will continue to allow patients to take both mifepristone and misoprostol at home (following a telephone or video consultation) while coronavirus continues to pose a serious and imminent threat to public health in Scotland and a doctor, or a nurse under the direction of a doctor, considers that it is not advisable or possible for the person to attend a clinic. In line with the Scottish Abortion Care Providers guidelines, both drugs should only be taken at home where it is considered clinically appropriate for the patient, and where the patient wishes to do so.

The Public Interest Conditions for this specific project are a matter for the UK Government.

Vaccines Taskforce, BEIS have provided the following commentary that the UK Government’s investments to fund Valneva’s early clinical trials and upgrade and expand Valneva’s Livingston manufacturing facility were made in line with HM Treasury’s Green Book.

Valneva is an important part of the life science eco-system and supports directly high value jobs directly.

Scottish Government can offer support to companies impacted by a change in projected work and if required, a package of mitigation measures can be delivered by Scottish Government and its agencies.

There is no indication Valneva is in this position, Valneva’s coronavirus vaccine candidate is just one range of speciality vaccines developed at the site to combat a number of infectious diseases.

UK Government Department of Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy (BEiS) commented that Valneva's manufacturing facility in Livingston is a unique facility that establishes permanent UK capability to manufacture inactivated viral vaccines – one of the most proven, widely used vaccine formats. It is one of few Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) containment facilities in Europe and a key part of the UK’s long term pandemic preparedness as it will have the capability to grow rapidly new pandemic viruses which can be inactivated and combined with an adjuvant to create future vaccines. This capability could shorten the time dramatically to developing whole inactivated vaccines against future pandemic viruses.