Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government promotes and facilitates the procurement of healthy, fresh and seasonal produce in contracts for food and catering to support our vision of Scotland as a Good Food Nation.

The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, proposes a range of opportunities to increase the quality and provenance of food and drink procured.

The Act legislates for a number of levers to achieve delivery of the Scottish Government food and drink policy including the sustainable procurement duty where public bodies have a legal duty to take account of how they can improve the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of their area through their procurement activities.

National procurement policy with respect to the climate emergency is set out in Scottish Procurement Policy Note 3/2022 Public procurement - taking account of climate and circular economy considerations. The policy highlights that public bodies should use their public procurement spend to support climate and circular economy ambitions, and signposts sources of support to embed this policy in practice which include the Scottish Government funded Sustainable Procurement Tools which host tools, guidance, case studies and climate and circular economy e-learning.

According to information provided by 107 public bodies in their annual procurement reports for 2022-23, examples of the ways in which environmental wellbeing and climate change were addressed through procurement included: environmental criteria in procurement exercises, using climate action plan templates, and encouraging staff to complete climate literacy eLearning.

The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to maintaining and improving the ferry links to Orkney and Shetland and better meeting the needs of island residents, businesses and communities. After careful consideration of the outline business case, I can confirm that a competitive process will begin shortly to secure delivery of two new 140m Freight Flex vessels. These vessels will replace the two existing vessels and provide additional freight capacity, higher operating speeds, and provide the ability to carry up to 200 passengers when required.

This procurement will be progressed by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited as the procuring authority. It is expected that the relevant processes will be completed by early 2026, at which point contracts can then be awarded, subject to approval. I will provide further updates to Parliament at key stages of the procurement process.

The Scottish Government is committed to doing all it can to bring forward investment at Grangemouth and across Scotland. We have given clear signals to investors and prospective developers at Grangemouth that we want to work with them to make the projects outlined in Project Willow a reality including establishing the £25 million Grangemouth Just Transition Fund. Additionally, we have established an investment taskforce, led by Scottish Enterprise and the UK Office for Investment, which is working at pace to identify and attract inward investors at Grangemouth.

The Scottish Government recognises the serious impact that the investigation of unsubstantiated allegations can have on foster carers, including the retention of existing carers and the willingness of others to consider fostering.

In our recent consultation on the Future of Foster Care, we asked for views on how allegations are currently managed, including whether national guidance should be updated and what more can be done to ensure investigations are handled fairly and quickly. We are currently analysing responses, and we will set out next steps in due course, informed by the views of foster carers and others in the sector.

In any meetings relating to offshore wind, I encouraged investors to continue engaging with Scotland’s economic development agencies.

The UK Government is responsible for national security, the regulation of international trade, elements of critical national infrastructure including energy, and the application of the NSIA. We continue to engage closely with the UK Government to understand the security implications of potential foreign investment in energy-related infrastructure.

The current VAT rate for public electric vehicle (EV) charging stands at 20% versus 5% for a domestic energy supply. A higher VAT rate is one of the reasons why charging via a rapid charger can cost over 75p per kWh. This can be a barrier to switching to an EV, particularly where drivers do not have access to home charging.

The Scottish Government believes that motoring tax policy needs reformed as the sector decarbonises and can complement wider transport policies and net zero objectives. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in October last year ahead of the UK Budget requesting a constructive discussion on motoring tax reform on a four-nation basis, and I have also raised my concerns in this area at various Inter-Ministerial meetings since.

However, there has been no response to our requests for collaborative discussions on motoring tax reform and the Chancellor has so far resisted calls to reduce the rate of VAT for public EV charging.

I, along with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, will continue to call for a review of motoring taxation policy on a four-nation basis with Westminster so that it is fit for purpose in the evolving transport sector and aligns with our climate change targets.

Powers over maternity leave and pay are reserved to the UK Government and we know that in comparison to OECD countries, maternity payment rates in the UK are amongst the lowest, with less than one-third of gross average earnings replaced by the maternity benefit.

The Scottish Government recognise that families with a child under the age of one are at greater risk of poverty and that families will see a considerable reduction in their earned incomes following the first 6 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay. Support through Statutory Maternity Pay is also only payable for 39 weeks, which can leave a period where parents receive no support if they decide to stay home with their baby.

Tackling child poverty is a key priority for the Scottish Government. Our investment in Scottish Child Payment has seen more than £786 million worth of Scottish Child Payments already issued by 30 June 2024; that is money directly in the pockets of those families who need it most.

Our Best Start Grant which aims to help tackle the impacts of child poverty by giving eligible families additional money at key stages in children’s early years, adding to the family budget and avoiding the need for borrowing. Between launching on 10 December 2018 and 30 June 2024, Best Start Grant has provided over £107 million to those families who need it most.

As an employer, the Scottish Government is fully committed to providing support and flexibility to parents. This includes providing full pay for 27 weeks followed by statutory maternity pay up to 39 weeks which far exceeds statutory entitlements.

We continue to use our Fair Work policy to drive up labour market standards for workers across Scotland to tackle poverty by using all the levers at our disposal to encourage employers to adopt inclusive and family friendly workplace practices to support pregnant workers and new parents.

As you may know, I visited China in April 2025 marked the 20th anniversary year of the Scottish Government’s China Office. The visit demonstrated how Scotland-China links have developed in key areas that support economic growth with future opportunities over the next 20 years and beyond. Engagement at Ministerial level is considered important to maintaining and building these links that bring benefits to Scotland and as a channel to raise values and human rights issues.

Respect for human rights and the rule of law is one of the guiding principles in all the Scottish Government’s international engagements. Scotland also remains open to foreign investment subject to appropriate due diligence and national security considerations.

I did raise the Scottish Government's concerns regarding the human rights situation in China during my visit. Additionally, the Scottish Government fully supports the UK Government position and calls for the immediate release of Jimmy Lai, the Scottish Government has serious concerns regarding the implementation of the National Security Law and his arrest and detention.

A number of process are in place to support those who may need additional assistance to receive their vaccination. Health Boards maintain lists of those requiring home visits for vaccination, and there are clear instructions on appointment letters on how a person can seek a home visit, if not already on a local list. Boards provide travel advice services to help people get to clinics easily, and also provide interpreting services for those for whom English is not their first language, as well as offering private vaccination spaces for people with specific needs.

The Scottish Government funds the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) mobile vaccination service, a year-round service, covering all vaccination programmes, including the spring COVID-19 campaign. The service is designed to offer accessible vaccination to those in rural and island areas, as well as underserved urban communities, identified by Boards.

Many clinics offer evening and weekend appointments, for those who work during the week, and some Boards are offering drop-in clinics.

More generally, the Scottish Government is working with Public Health Scotland and Health Boards to ensure that those who are eligible are easily able to access a COVID-19 vaccination. Eligible people have been sent an invite via letter, email or text message, depending on their communication preference. People are appointed to their nearest available clinic, with flexibility to reschedule into any clinic in Scotland, via the online booking portal or the national vaccination helpline, should their original appointment be unsuitable. This gives citizens flexibility to get their vaccination outside their own area, should it be easier for them to receive vaccination nearer their place of work or somewhere they visit regularly.

I refer the member to the answers provided in response to S6W-36894 and S6W-36895 on 13 May 2025. 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.