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Under Scotland’s green port model, green port operators and eligible businesses operating within a green port area will be required to adopt the full Fair Work First criteria and commit to becoming a Scottish Business Pledge signatory. The Scottish Business Pledge asks members to commit to:

• Three core (mandatory) elements: Payment of the Real Living Wage; No inappropriate use of Zero Hours Contracts; Action to address Gender pay Gap; and,
• Any 5 of the following 7 elements according to their particular sector: Investing in a Skilled and Diverse Workforce; Workforce Engagement; Environmental Impact; Prompt Payment; Innovation; Internationalisation; Playing an active role in the Community.

We are confident that our green port model reflects the Scottish economic policy context, with its central focus on worker’s rights; protection of the environment, and driving inclusive and sustainable growth.

The Scottish Business Pledge and its criteria is under constant review.

The Scottish Government will require green port operators and businesses directly benefitting from new tax incentives to adopt the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First approach, as a condition of their designation or eligibility respectively.

We expect to see detailed plans on the actions the operator and businesses will take to ensure the Fair Work First approach and criteria are embedded within and across the green port environment and individual organisations.

The Scottish Government is clear that green port operators and businesses benefitting from linked tax incentives or any other government funding must continue to adhere to the conditions of their designation or eligibility. This is a key matter that we have been very clear with the UK Government on, as we have developed the Applicant Prospectus for green ports in Scotland.

The Alcohol Framework 2018 commitment to further understand online and telephone sales remains important and it is crucial that these market routes are also viewed through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government commissioned Public Health Scotland (PHS) to investigate and report on alcohol consumption during the initial COVID-19 lockdown period in 2020. In February 2021, PHS published two reports and a briefing paper that explore how COVID-19 and related restrictions have impacted on alcohol sales and consumption in Scotland in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic:

Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland's Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) -
Alcohol - Health topics - Public Health Scotland .

In this work, PHS notes that its estimate of a reduction 6% in sales of pure alcohol per adult may be a slight overestimate, as online (and on-trade takeaway) sales were not captured. The Scottish Government has therefore asked PHS to consider further how it can understand this growing part of the alcohol sales market, and scoping work is currently underway to explore potential data sources and progress with analysis work.

Green port operators and businesses directly benefitting from new tax incentives will be required to adopt Fair Work First. In doing so, they will be encouraged to use the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First guidance to inform their approach and to advance Fair Work as they develop. We recommend that employers within the green port zone engage constructively with relevant trade unions and where a union is not present, with appropriate worker representatives to ensure effective decisions are made about workplace matters.

All Fair Work First criteria will be incorporated into the design and operation of green ports in Scotland. Fair Work First asks employers to commit to:

• appropriate channels for effective voice, such as trade union recognition.
• investment in workforce development
• no inappropriate use of zero hours contracts.
• action to tackle the gender pay gap and create a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
• payment of the real Living Wage.

The Scottish Government has engaged with animal welfare groups as new firework regulations have been progressed through secondary legislation. A meeting took place on 17 December 2020 with the Scottish SPCA to discuss the measures that were being introduced. The Scottish SPCA indicated support for the new regulations and the impact they will have on animal welfare.

The Scottish SPCA and British Veterinary Association were also represented on the Firework Review Group. Animal welfare concerns were a key area of consideration for the Group, including the impact fireworks use has on pets, wildlife and livestock. Both organisations supported the Group’s final recommendations for change in how fireworks are sold and used in Scotland.

We do not hold the requested information centrally.

The health and wellbeing of individuals, communities and the economy are amongst our top priorities. Employers should follow Scottish guidance and have policies and practices in place that promote good health, safety and wellbeing in the workplace. We are raising awareness of support through investment in Healthy Working Lives , which provides information and advice on a range of wellbeing matters.

The Scottish Government also funds Working Health Services Scotland to support individuals working for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to return to work from sickness absence, ensuring they are aware of their employer’s statutory duty to ensure their health and safety is protected. This includes supporting employees to follow health protection advice and undertaking risk assessments of work activity to agree appropriate mitigating measures.

The Scottish Government requires that green port operators and businesses directly benefitting from any new tax incentives will adopt the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First approach. We intend this as a condition of being permitted operator status, or being entitled to specific tax incentives related to operating within a green port.

Specifically, upon being awarded green port status operators will be expected to have become signatories to the Scottish Business Pledge. This will also be required of business who wish to set up in the green port and take advantage of the incentives on offer.

The Scottish Government does not hold data about how many businesses have been ineligible for any form of assistance from its COVID-19 support schemes.

The Scottish Government has not investigated or undertaken any feasibility work for a fixed link (bridge, sea crossing or tunnel) between Scotland and Northern Ireland and has no current plans to do so.

Transport Scotland officials have had limited discussions with the UK Government regarding the publication of the interim report of their Union Connectivity Review (UCR). On 26 November 2020 I spoke to Sir Peter Hendy, who is leading the UCR, to discuss this work. Subsequently, on 9 March 2021, I (separately) spoke with the UK Government as well as with Sir Peter Hendy, and relevant officials from the Department for Transport – the matter was discussed in that context on each occasion. I have also had various discussions with Nichola Mallon, Minister for Infrastructure in the Northern Ireland Assembly, on the UCR, some of which have made reference to a potential fixed link – on 6 March 2020 we both wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport setting out joint views on the matter.

We seek to engage constructively with the UK Government, however, not in a way that undermines the devolution settlement. The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) is ongoing and is the method by which the Scottish Government will assess how best to influence the demand for travel, how to better maintain and make best use of existing transport assets, what new capacity is needed, and what may or may not need to be built. This work will appraise potential transport interventions and make recommendations for investment in transport in Scotland over the next 20 years – a fixed link to NI has not been identified as a priority throughout the course of STPR2.

Work to review the Minimum Unit Price (MUP) level was paused in order to respond to the urgent demands of handling the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This has restarted in order to review the level of the MUP in the course of this year. The price level will be considered in line with the latest evidence on the affordability of alcohol. Should the Scottish Government consider that an amendment is required to the MUP level, any proposals would of course be brought to Parliament for full consideration.