- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 12 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has provided to SEPA for the financial year 2023-24.
Answer
The duties of SEPA are set out in the Environment Act 1995.
There is regular engagement at all levels between Scottish Government and SEPA and this will continue for the remainder of the financial year 2023-24. This includes regular dialogue between Ministers and the SEPA Chair and CEO. SEPA’s Corporate Plan will be renewed in 2024 and Ministers will work with SEPA to agree the Key Performance Indicators and priority areas to be included in that Plan.
In line with guidance sent to all public bodies, SEPA receive relevant guidance documents from Scottish Government. For example, SEPA have received a copy of the Public Sector Pay Strategy 2023-24 and a copy of the Fair Work First Guidance.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Emma Roddick on 12 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the Scottish Refugee Council since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
The Scottish Government meets regularly with the Scottish Refugee Council to discuss a range of issues as part of our commitment to work in partnership. This includes meetings in relation to the New Scots refugee integration strategy for which Scottish Refugee Council is a key partner.
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information, including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.
Officials regularly engage with stakeholder organisations, including Scottish Refugee Council, as part of policy development processes.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Emma Roddick on 12 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Close the Gap since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.
Officials across the Scottish Government regularly engage with gender equality stakeholders as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with Close the Gap as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to advancing gender equality and our work to support employers address gender pay gaps across Scotland. A representative also sits on the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning group which seeks to tackle the barriers faced by girls and young women in an education setting.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Emma Roddick on 12 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the Scottish Women's Convention since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.
Officials across the Scottish Government regularly engage with gender equality stakeholders as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with the Scottish Women’s Convention as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to advancing gender equality. The Scottish Women’s Convention engage with Scottish Government officials as part of their work to ensure women’s voices from across Scotland are heard on a number of key issues.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 12 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Rape Crisis Scotland since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.
Officials across the Scottish Government regularly engage with violence against women and girls stakeholders as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with Rape Crisis Scotland as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to our Equally Safe Strategy, Scotland’s strategy to eradicate and prevent violence against women and girls. A representative from Rape Crisis Scotland sits on Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board (ES JSB) and further detail on this can be found on the Scottish Government’s website: Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) )
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 12 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Zero Tolerance since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.
Officials across the Scottish Government regularly engage with violence against women and girls and gender equality stakeholders as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with Zero Tolerance as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to our Equally Safe Strategy, Scotland’s strategy to eradicate and prevent violence against women and girls and our commitment to gender equality. A representative from Zero Tolerance also sits on a range of Scottish Government convened Advisory, Strategic and Working Groups including the Gender Based Violence in Schools Working Group and Equally Safe in Colleges and Universities Core Leadership Group.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 12 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the 2050 Climate Group since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
As a key stakeholder for the Scottish Government on Climate Change Policy, officials in the Scottish Government regularly meet with 2050 Climate Group.
Ministers have also met with 2050 Climate Group during that period. The Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, and the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights participated in 2050 Climate Groups Young Leaders Development Programme in February 2022 and February 2023 respectively to showcase how working in politics can help shape climate action in Scotland. In addition, the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity visited 2050 Climate Group in August 2022 to discuss 2050 Climate Groups work in more detail, particularly linked to developing green skills in the political sphere. There were no recorded outcomes to these meetings. Participants welcomed the engagement with Ministers and officials remain committed to working with young people including on green skills and the 2050 Climate Group are part of the CESAP (Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan) Implementation Steering Group.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Emma Roddick on 12 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the Young Women's Movement since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.
Officials across the Scottish Government regularly engage with gender equality stakeholders as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with the Young Women’s Movement as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to advancing gender equality and our work to increase the participation of women in politics and eradicate violence against women and girls.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has provided to Forestry and Land Scotland for the financial year 2023-24.
Answer
There is regular engagement at all levels between Scottish Government and Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and this will continue for the remainder of the financial year 2023-24. This includes regular dialogue between Ministers and the FLS CEO. FLS’s second Corporate Plan (2022 – 2025) was published on the 01 April 2022, this sets out the direction of travel for the organisation and priorities for the three-year period, including 2023-24.
Corporate Plan - Forestry and Land Scotland
The FLS Business Plan sets out the main actions that the organisation we will take over the period 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024 to deliver the commitments and outcomes identified in their Corporate Plan. Ministers approved that plan in March 2023.
Business Plan - Forestry and Land Scotland
Like all Scottish public bodies, FLS receive relevant guidance documents from the Scottish Government. For example, FLS have received a copy of the Public Sector Pay Strategy 2023-24 and a copy of the Fair Work First Guidance.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Christina McKelvie on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it provided to (a) Historic Scotland and (b) Historic Environment Scotland in each year since 2007.
Answer
Details of Scottish Government funding for Historic Scotland, from 2007-08 until it became part of Historic Environment Scotland, can be found in the following table. These figures come from the annual Scottish Budget publication.
Year | Historic Scotland Funding £m |
2007-08 | 47.7 |
2008-09 | 51.7 |
2009-10 | 49.3 |
2010-11 | 49.8 |
2011-12 | 47.0 |
2012-13 | 45.3 |
2013-14 | 43.6 |
2014-15 | 37.8 |
2015-16 | 40.1 |
Details of the Scottish Government funding for provided Historic Environment Scotland since 2016-17, the first full year of its accounts, can be found in the following table. These figures come from the annual Scottish Budget publication with the exception of the revised budget in 2020-21 which took account of the effect of pandemic closures on its commercial income.
Year | Historic Environment Scotland Funding £m |
2016-17 | 45.0 |
2017-18 | 45.5 |
2018-19 | 41.1 |
2019-20 | 39.8 |
2020-21 (pre-pandemic) | 42.8 |
2020-21 (revised) | 80.4 |
2021-22 | 75.9 (including £20m in COVID consequentials) |
2022-23 | 70.1 |
2023-24 | 72.7 |
