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Employment and industrial relations legislation is reserved to the UK Parliament. While this remains the case, the Scottish Government will continue to use our Fair Work policy to drive up labour market standards for workers across the Scottish labour market. There have been no recent discussions with the UK Government specifically regarding the employment rights of offshore oil and gas workers in Scotland.

Data on direct employment in offshore decommissioning is not held centrally. However, these jobs will be included as part of the data from Office of National Statistics, on overall employment for the “oil and gas extraction support services” sector. The most recent data for 2023 states there were 13,000 people working in this sector in Scotland.

Evidence available for CCUS is mostly predictive in nature, and due to the nascent nature of the industry in Scotland, there is no robust evidence regarding the current number of CCUS jobs in Scotland.

When Track-2 commences, Scottish Cluster analysis suggests that there will be around 7,000 jobs in CCUS development, construction and operations in Scotland in the period to 2050.

The continued delays from successive UK Governments in confirming the Acorn Project is putting these jobs at risk. The Chancellor stated on 29 January that net zero is the “economic opportunity of the 21st century” and the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero wrote to the First Minister, stating that that the UK Government ‘remain very firmly committed to the Track 2 clusters’, with Acorn being one.

To harness the economic potential, including thousands of CCUS jobs, the UK Government must confirm funding for the Acorn project without delay.

I refer the member to the answers given for S6W-35156 and S6W-35159 on 27 February 2025. This information is not held centrally.

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

I refer the member to the answers given for S6W-35156 and S6W-35159 on 27 February 2025. This information is not held centrally.

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

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-35156 on 27 February 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35156 on 27 February 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.

The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 gives local licensing authorities a wide range of discretion over the types of vehicle that they can licence as taxis or private hire cars (PHCs).

Chapter 5 (Vehicles) of the Scottish Government best practice guidance for local licensing authorities and taxi and PHC operators on the licensing of taxis and PHCs and their drivers, provides further details of the powers that licensing authorities have: https://www.gov.scot/publications/taxi-private-hire-car-licensing-best-practice-licensing-authorities-taxi-private-hire-car-operators-3rd-edition/pages/7/.

The legal requirement for taxis requires that they should be subject to an MOT test or its equivalent one year after first registration and annually thereafter. For private hire cars, annual MOT testing should commence after the vehicle is three years old. It is a matter for licensing authorities as to what requirements may exist over and above these legal requirements.

The Scottish Government recognises taxis and PHCs are an important link to the public transport chain, filling gaps in overall transport provision not least for those who do not have access to a car. Local licensing authorities are best placed to consider the role that taxis and PHCs play in public transport and ensure that the licensing system in place is appropriate, takes into account local circumstances and meets the need of local communities.

I refer the member to the answers to questions S6W-35156 and S6W-35159 on 27 February 2025. This information is not held centrally. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35156 on 27 February 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.

The operation of licensing committees is a matter for independent Scottish local authorities.

I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-35156 and S6W-35159 on 27 February 2025. This information is not held centrally. 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.

Taxis and private hire cars (PHCs) are licensed under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

While the Scottish Government has responsibility for the overarching legislation, the day to day administration of the licensing regime is devolved to independent licensing authorities – in effect the 32 Scottish local authorities.

All licensing authorities have wide discretion to determine appropriate licensing arrangements according to local needs and circumstances and their own legal advice.

Within this context, the information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. These are operational matters for individual taxi drivers and/or operators, in conjunction with licensing authorities.

In May 2023 the Scottish Government published updated best practice guidance for local licensing authorities and taxi and PHC operators on the licensing of taxis and PHCs and their drivers.

The guidance was updated with the assistance of a working group that consisted of representatives from the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland, various local licensing authorities, taxi and PHC trade representatives and UNITE the Union.

The guidance can be viewed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/taxi-private-hire-car-licensing-best-practice-licensing-authorities-taxi-private-hire-car-operators-3rd-edition/

Chapter 5 (vehicles) of the guidance provides examples of best practice that independent licensing authorities may wish to consider in relation to security in vehicles, such as the use of CCTV.