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While labour market enforcement is a reserved matter, the Scottish Government is committed to promoting positive outcomes for workers and their rights. Last year, we published our Refreshed Fair Work action plan that set out our vision for Scotland to become leading Fair Work Nation by 2025, where Fair Work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, organisations and society.

To that end, public sector grant recipients must agree to a specific criteria, as part of the Fair Work First program, to be eligible for funding. We believe that public sector funding should generate broader gains, enhancing a sustainable and prosperous wellbeing economy. Fair Work First criteria have been attached to some £4 billion of public funding since 2019.

Furthermore, Scottish Government has provided £250,000 each year for the last 7 years through the Trade Union Fair Work and Modernisation Fund, which has supported unions in implementing Fair Work in Scotland's workplaces.

However, we are aware we are limited to what we can achieve and that only with independence can we realise our full potential. In a 'Building a New Scotland: A Stronger Economy with Independence', we outlined plans to offer comprehensive employment rights including flexible working, parental leave, and unfair dismissal claims on day one of workers taking up employment. It also set out how we would prevent exploitation in the gig economy by providing written statements of status and conditions from the first day of work.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to introduce regulations under the Act.

However, involvement in local football clubs can be important to communities and that is why the First Minister recently launched the Fan Bank on 31 May 2023. This initiative is aimed to help support fans organisations who want to become involved in the decision making affecting their club where this is appropriate and where viable proposals have been developed.

TEC Funding - Total £70.3 Mil

22-23 - £7.3 Mil

21-22 - £15 Mil

20-21 - £ 9 Mil

19-20 - £7 Mil

18-19 - £7 Mil

17-18 - £7.5 Mil

16-17 - £7.5 Mil

15-16 - £10 Mil

The Scottish Government does not hold information on electricity generation in a form that can be broken down into the spatial area occupied by each renewable generating station.

The Scottish Government receives data on electricity generation from the UK Government Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. This data is not broken down to site level.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with partners including Higher Education Institutions, Health Boards, Skills Development Scotland, and the Scottish Funding Council on skills development, employability and widening access to NHS Scotland careers, including the development of progressive career opportunities for existing staff and the development of apprenticeship models to provide an ‘earn and learn’ pathway.

1. I refer the member to the recently published recommendations from the Scottish Government’s AHP Education & Workforce Policy Review, which made reference to developing sustainable "earn and learn" routes for the AHP professions in Scotland. This work is being taken forward by the Skills for Health and Social Care Group who are overseeing the development of a suite of progressive career development opportunities for new and existing staff through learn as you earn models. AHPs are represented on this group via the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer and several Scottish Government AHP policy officials.

2. The Scottish Government has protected free tuition for Scottish-domiciled students undertaking under-graduate courses. There is a range of mechanisms to become an AHP at both under-graduate and post-graduate levels. At this moment in time there are no plans to extend bursaries to a wider group of AHPs.

The Scottish Government has not made any assessment of the technologies in question in relation to renewable energy trading. As the regulation of energy markets remains reserved, this would be a matter for the UK Government to consider.

There are no plans to expand eligibility of The Young Patients Family Fund at this time.

With respect to what further support is needed to support young cancer patients and their families, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11449 on
‎ 4 November 2022.

In addition to support available under the Young Patients Family Fund, financial support for travel to hospital is available via the patient travel expenses reimbursement schemes. Under those schemes, patients and authorised escorts can reclaim reasonable costs of travel associated with attending a hospital appointment, in line with eligibility criteria and medical requirements.

Where travel outside Scotland is necessary, Boards are expected to support patients to identify and access support available, taking account individual circumstances and ensuring patient care is at the centre of all decisions.

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 Scottish Government continues to invest in our Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) Programme, of which public education and empowerment is a key work-stream. We launched a new campaign – Be the Early Bird – in March 2023 to empower those with possible symptoms to act early. To coincide with this, a roadshow visited areas of deprivation across Scotland to further improve symptom awareness and encourage prompt action.

We will continue to work with the Scottish Cancer Coalition, as well as the primary care community, to raise awareness of symptoms of possible cancers, including ovarian. Work is also underway to redesign DCE’s website ( Get Checked Early ) and symptom checker, which includes signposting to Target Ovarian Cancer, a charity providing support to those affected by ovarian cancer.

The Scottish Government recognises the need to improve education around cervical screening and what it involves. We worked with Public Health Scotland (PHS) to develop a stakeholder toolkit to promote Cervical Cancer Prevention Week across partner channels earlier this year. We have also awarded £456,000 to Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust in support of their important campaign work on screening benefits including increasing awareness of how cervical screening works. Cervical Screening Awareness Week is also later this month and provides another opportunity for us to work in collaboration with partners to further increase awareness of the benefits of cervical screening.

The Scottish Government and all of Scotland's local authorities are committed to the principles of Fair Work First. So we would expect to see fair work practice embedded from the outset in any Investment Zones in Scotland, just as we have done for Green Freeports.

The Scottish Government firmly opposes the inappropriate use of zero-hours contracts and other non-standard types of employment that offer workers minimal job or financial security. We continue to press the UK Government for the full devolution of employment powers in order to allow us to protect and enhance workers’ rights and tackle the inappropriate use of zero hours contracts.

We are limited to what we can achieve at present and recognise that only with independence can we realise our full potential. Our Fair Work Action Plan sets out the action we are taking, using the levers we have control over, to promote and deliver fairer working practices.

Through our flagship Fair Work First policy, we are applying Fair Work criteria to as many funding streams, business support grants and public contracts as we can. The inclusion of the criterion no inappropriate use of zero hours contracts is a key mechanism for driving fair pay in Scottish workplaces.

For the last seven years we have funded the STUC to support its efforts in tackling precarious work and promoting fair work in under-unionised sectors.

In 2021 we introduced a Living Hours Employer Accreditation Scheme for Scotland, recognising that as well as payment of the real Living Wage, the number and frequency of working hours and security of contract are critical to addressing in-work poverty.

My previous answer to S6W-18372 on 8 June 2023, S6W-18374 on 9 June 2023 & S6W-18375 on 6 June 2023 provides the details on how the Scottish Government is engaging in these areas with various stakeholders, businesses, unions and employers on the matter of Zero Hours Contracts using our Fair Work policy to promote fairer work practices across the labour market in Scotland.

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 .