Chamber and committees

accines are approved through an established four nations basis framework and the current approved vaccines are those used by the NHS as part of the UK rollout, as well as those approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or from an eligible country using the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen vaccines. We do not currently accept others such as the Sinopharm vaccine at this time. This is based on clinical advice and represents a consistent approach across the four nations.

To qualify under the fully vaccinated rules for travel to Scotland, you must have been fully vaccinated with a full course of an approved vaccine under:

• the UK or UK overseas vaccination programme
• the United Nations vaccine programme for staff and volunteers
• an approved programme in one of the programmes found on the link below

Approved COVID-19 vaccines and countries with approved COVID-19 proof of vaccination - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Those who do not meet the COVID-19 vaccine eligibility criteria must continue to take a pre-departure test, self-isolate for 10 days upon arrival and take day 2 and 8 tests. All arrivals from red list countries must continue to book and stay for 10 days in a managed isolation hotel.

Travel restrictions are in place to prevent cases of COVID-19 being imported to Scotland. Travel restrictions will be in place as long as they are required and Scottish Government will continue to liaise with affected groups and stakeholders over any restrictions and exemptions that may apply.

To qualify under the fully vaccinated rules for travel to Scotland, you must have been fully vaccinated with a full course of an approved vaccine under:

• the UK or UK overseas vaccination programme
• the United Nations vaccine programme for staff and volunteers

Approved COVID-19 vaccines and countries with approved COVID-19 proof of vaccination - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In November 2020, we announced that the Rural and Island Housing Fund would be extended beyond March 2021 with up to £30 million made available to support development of affordable homes in rural and island areas across Scotland in the current Parliamentary term.

The fund is part of the wider Affordable Housing Supply Programme which supports delivery of affordable homes across Scotland including in rural and island areas.

The Scottish Government recognises that disabled persons’ parking places play a vital role in enabling disabled people to carry out day-to-day activities that non-disabled people can take for granted. Local authorities have a duty under the Disabled Persons' Parking Places (Scotland) Act 2009 to promote the proper use of disabled persons’ parking places, and aims to make all disabled bays enforceable. To do this, local authorities can use their Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) making powers to allow them to make adequate provisions for disabled parking around schools to aid parents or guardians.

In relation to the placing of a disabled persons’ parking place on a local road, it will be for the local authority to ensure it has complied with any relevant legislation and to take account of the safety of all road users. Local authorities are responsible for deciding how best to meet this duty on local roads in their areas.

Further the government’s answer to question S6W-01541 by Shona Robison on 10 August, my officials have now received a complete response from members of the Building Standards (Fire Safety) Review panel.

Of those responses:

• 1 member of the 2018-19 panel (21 members) and 3 members of the 2020-21 panel (26 members) had a role in designing BS 8414; and
• 1 member of the 2018-19 panel (21 members) and 3 members of the 2020-21 panel (26 members) have worked for organisations that carry out BS 8414 fire tests on behalf of commercial sponsors.

The Scottish Government only holds data on chargepoint installation on our ChargePlace Scotland network. Data is available by local authority and not at a community or settlement level. The following table sets out the breakdown of charging by local authority as at September 2021.

Through our Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP), nearly £328 million is being made available to the Highland and three Island local authority areas over this Parliamentary term to support the delivery of affordable homes.

Within the AHSP there is a strong focus on enhancing energy efficiency through incentivising delivery of new homes which meet a higher ‘greener’ standard.

We have also committed to new homes delivered by Registered Social Landlords and local authorities being zero emissions homes by 2026.

The recently announced Social Security Scotland recruitment campaign will support the effective national roll-out delivery of Child Disability Payment and, in due course, Adult Disability Payment in line with our values of dignity, fairness and respect. This will also provide capacity to process new claims and support the transfer of existing cases from the Department of Work and Pensions. In 2022-2023 alone this will ensure that payments in excess of £2.2 billion are made safely and securely to over 400,000 people with lasting health conditions or disabilities. In addition, we are also building capacity for the introduction of further benefits beyond Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment, including Scottish Carers Allowance.

The Scottish Government provides Sustrans with funding to maintain and extend the National Cycle Network (NCN) in Scotland, with £4.065 million this financial year alone. And where the NCN interacts with the trunk road network, Sustrans and Transport Scotland work in partnership to ensure the best possible outcome is achieved for specific projects. Intentions to explore improvements to the National Cycle Network in the south west are included within Sustrans Scotland’s 30 year National Cycle Network Plan. See link: Paths for Everyone - Sustrans.org.uk

Also, the South West Scotland Transport Study, published in January 2020, included a recommendation to develop the Strategic Active Travel Network in the South West of Scotland. This option included proposals to better connect communities to key destinations, including cycle paths parallel to trunk roads and improvements to the National Cycle Network. This intervention is currently subject to detailed appraisal as part of Phase 2 of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).

Once complete, STPR2 will inform strategic transport investment in Scotland for the next 20 years, including decisions on new active travel infrastructure. STPR2 will conclude later this year, with publication of recommendations for investment and be followed by the appropriate statutory consultation period.

Our definition of ‘good’ jobs is informed by the Fair Work Convention which defines Fair Work as offering effective voice, fulfilment, opportunity, respect and security. For workers, Fair Work means security of pay and contract, having a say in workplace decisions, and flexibility which allows for a good work-life balance. It also means more diverse and inclusive workplaces. We are currently consulting on how we will achieve our ambition to become a Fair Work Nation by 2025, aligning with the aims of a just transition to a wellbeing economy. The consultation will inform a review of our existing Fair Work priorities, and the important role Fair Work can play as part of Scotland’s economic recovery and renewal.

In contrast, there are many definitions of green jobs. For instance, the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan recognises three distinct categories of green jobs:

• New and emerging jobs that relate directly to the transition to net zero
• jobs affected by the transition to net zero that will need enhanced skills or competencies
• existing jobs that will be needed in greater numbers as the result of the transition to net zero

The first step is therefore to develop an approach that best reflects with Scotland’s industries and will help us to best quantify, and then maximise, the opportunities presented by our transition to net zero. Work within the Scottish Government is underway to develop a ‘green jobs’ definition that is appropriate for Scottish context and provide estimates on the number of green jobs that will be created.

As an example, the Heat in Buildings Strategy published on 7 October estimated that an additional 16,400 jobs could be supported across the economy in 2030 as a result of investment in the deployment of zero emissions heat.

The £41 million will be distributed as follows:

• £10 million for a Fuel Insecurity Fund to provide direct support with fuel costs for low income households, delivered through a range of organisations including registered social landlords, Advice Direct Scotland, Energy Action Scotland and the Fuel Bank Foundation.
• £25 million to Local Authorities to tackle financial insecurity and respond to emerging need. This will include providing help with food, fuel and other essentials with a strong steer in favour of a cash-first approach and proactive and preventative action for those who are known to be at risk.
• £6 million for trusted third sector partners, allowing support to be provided by local charities and community groups to families in financial need all across Scotland.

We are currently in discussions with Local Authorities and partners and the funding will be made available as soon as is reasonably practicable.