Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government have agreed the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) budget for 23/24 and SDS have completed contract awards to support up to 25,500 new Modern Apprentice (MA) starts in 23/24. This may include MAs in traditional craft occupations subject to the demand.

Pay negotiations are a matter for Scottish Water as the employer and the Trade Unions. They remain underway, with progress being made.

Local authorities have had the power to charge an empty homes council tax premium of up to 100% since 1 April 2013. The Scottish Government’s statistics show that at September 2022 42,865 homes had been empty for more than 6 months. Of these 27,692 had been empty for over 12 months and of those 20,279 had a council tax discount below 10% or a council tax premium applied.

A further breakdown by local authority for homes empty for more than 12 months is available on the Scottish Government website from 2014 onwards: https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-empty-properties-and-second-homes/ .

Transport Scotland has contracted Hagar Environmental & Atmospheric Technologies (HEAT) to deploy remote sensing equipment on both local and trunk roads in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Remote sensing equipment uses laser spectroscopy to measure the real-world emissions of vehicle exhaust plumes as the vehicles pass underneath.

This equipment has been deployed in the Glasgow City Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Aberdeen City Council and Dundee City Council areas. As the equipment was at times deployed simultaneously in each city, there were up to four of these sensors deployed in each year since 2021.

The deployment of remote sensing equipment in Scotland from 2021-2023 was the most comprehensive use of this equipment by any country in Europe.

HEAT have partnered with the ICCT (International Council for Clean Transportation) and Element Energy to deliver this project.

The SPCB provides a free school engagement programme.

Our Education Services staff deliver sessions and tours at the Parliament, online, and visit schools across Scotland.

Digital and outreach education sessions are popular and especially appreciated by those who don’t want to travel to Edinburgh or who find coming to Edinburgh to be too challenging.

Last school year, we reached schools in 69 out of 73 constituencies, and we are continuing work to grow our engagement with schools.

In June, the SPCB commissioned a review into how best to deliver our education services in the most effective and inclusive way post Covid.

As part of this review, our education team is engaging with schools from across Scotland to fully understand their barriers to accessing our services.

Evaluations from the last school year show that the barriers include cost but also things like time and staff availability.

The SPCB will consider the matter again early in 2024.

To enable all Members to take part in events and recognising that parliamentary business needs to take precedence, events do not take place at the same time as parliamentary business in the chamber.

However, the SPCB recognises that events involve a great deal of advance planning and that individuals may travel some distance and give up their time to be able to attend.

So when business runs late, parliamentary officials will work with the event organisers to ensure refreshments are served to event guests and they can go to the room where the event is taking place and meet with Members, where possible.  However, speeches should only take place once parliamentary business is concluded so all Members have the opportunity to hear them.

This pragmatic approach appears to be working but we continually keep this under review.

The SPCB takes very seriously its responsibility for the wellbeing of its staff.  That’s why it approved a Positive About Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy which applies to MSPs, their staff and SPCB staff.  In support of this policy the SPCB has put in place a number of measures including our Employee Assistance Programme and online resources, self-assessment tools and intranet links to external resources.  Our People and Culture team support MSPs, their staff and SPCB staff to access the help that they need, when they need it.

The Parliament’s Energy Performance Certificate was last updated in 2019 and is renewed every 10 years. The Energy Performance Certificate is displayed at the Visitors Desk and is available on the Parliament’s website. The Parliament achieved a C rating which is a good score but leaves room for improvement. Measures are being adopted to improve the energy efficiency of the building as part of the Carbon Management Plan.

As part of the annual budget cycle, the SPCB considers the indexation for uprating of all provisions, including staff cost provision. The index to be applied is a matter for SPCB judgement rather than automatic application and will be confirmed when the SPCB submits its budget for consideration to the Finance and Public Administration Committee in the coming weeks.

The Scottish Government continues to progress work towards the elimination of cervical cancer in Scotland, in line with the targets set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This work has included the introduction of a one-dose schedule of the HPV vaccine, increasing screening uptake and continued investment in treatment.

In 2024, the UK National Screening Committee is expected to make a recommendation on the use of cervical self-sampling in the screening programme. In Scotland, a working group is assessing potential models and understand any changes that would be required to the screening programme to support an initial roll-out. This work continues to be informed by the wider UK and global research.