Seòmar agus comataidhean

Our aim is to at least halve the disability employment gap (DEG) by 2038. The number of disabled people (16-64 years) in full-time employment in Scotland is estimated to have increased from 180,000 in Jan-Dec 2016 to 217,600 in Jan-Dec 2020; with the number of disabled people in part-time employment increasing from 96,500 in Jan-Dec 2016 to 117,600 in Jan-Dec 2020.

A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan outlined the initial actions we would take to help meet the ambition to at least halve the DEG. The action plan includes commitments that relate to direct delivery of employability support and where data is currently available regarding the number of disabled people supported to achieve employment, this is provided below:

• Fair Start Scotland (FSS) latest statistics (published 23 Feb 22) show that 44% (18,352) of participants reported having a disability and 63% (26,316) reported having a long-term health condition. 31% of disabled people on FSS has so far started a job (4,065);

• No one Left Behind, including the Parental Employment Support fund (PESF) has supported 2,160 parents. 13% of parents reported having a disability (280) (experimental statistics).

The plan also includes a range of other cross cutting measures tackling the structural barriers that prevent many disabled people from entering and/or sustaining fair work, such as:

• supporting young disabled people and transitions delivered through the Young Person’s Guarantee;

• improving and increasing accessibility of public transport delivered through the Accessible Travel Framework;

• supporting employers to improve their recruitment and retention practices for example through the Public Social Partnership Apt; and

• seeking to maximise opportunities to support disabled people’s employment through available regulatory tools and mechanisms, such as the sustainable procurement duty.

When considering the population level disability employment gap clear progress has been made since we set out our ambition. The narrative updates are provided of the impact of these actions in our Year one and two progress reports .

A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People - Employment Action Plan' is focused on tackling the structural barriers that prevent, or make it more difficult, for disabled people to enter the labour market and sustain fair work. Our actions to tackle these barriers are agreed with our stakeholders including disabled people’s organisations, and include:

• We have invested £640,000 to date into Apt, our Public Social Partnership to work with employers to improve recruitment and retention, offering direct support to employers to enhance practice and the support provided to disabled employees. This includes 174 training sessions to employers across the length and breadth of Scotland, reaching 230 unique organisations, to enable them to attract, recruit or retain disabled employees.

• Through the Parental Employment Support Fund (PESF) - as part of No one Left Behind - across all 32 local authorities we have invested £18.1m up to 2021-22, to support parents in households impacted by child poverty, including disabled parents, to access or progress in work. £6.1m of this funding has specifically focused on supporting unemployed disabled parents. PESF will be supported by a further £8.79m in 2022-23. Experimental Statistics show that 2,160 parents have been supported. 13% of parents reported having a disability (280).
  

•  Disabled people are a priority eligibility group for Fair Start Scotland (FSS) . The latest statistics (published 23 Feb 22) show that 44% (18,352) of participants reported having a disability and 63% (26,316) reported having a long-term health condition. 31% of disabled people on FSS has so far started a job (4,065)

• The Workplace Equality Fund (WEF) opened for new applications on 17 Jan 2022, and is focused on providing financial support for employers to address longstanding barriers in the labour market that particular priority groups, including disabled people, experience. The fund supports collaborative projects which seek to improve equality-related outcomes for priority groups and create a more inclusive working environment. An evaluation of the WEF found that 96% of businesses found WEF well received.

• For those requiring more intensive support to enter and sustain employment (including people with mental health issues and/or learning disabilities) Individual Placement and Support and Supported Employment are available through Fair Start Scotland and No One Left Behind.

We recognise that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events in Scotland are likely to continue to increase due to climate change. As a nation we need to prepare for the associated impacts, including through the resilience of our buildings.

Draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) is clear that new, and alterations to existing buildings, infrastructure and spaces should be designed to be adaptable to future impacts of climate change. The draft acknowledges risks from climate change including those from extreme weather.

The draft NPF4 is currently subject to Scottish Parliamentary scrutiny, alongside a public consultation, prior to a finalised version being presented for Scottish Parliament approval. We are working towards laying a final version of NPF4 in the Parliament for approval this summer, following which it will be adopted by the Scottish Ministers.

Building regulations address a range of topics on the resilience of buildings including structural performance, resistance to wind and rain and flood resilience. These regulations apply to new buildings and new building work and are not applied retrospectively to existing buildings. The standards are periodically reviewed, to give assurance that they remain fit for purpose and consider, where practicable, predicted future climate in Scotland. Review is also underway at present to provide greater assurance that compliance with these standards is achieved.

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) Act 2004 (as amended) requires education authorities to identify, provide for and to review the additional support needs of their pupils. We support local authorities through the provision of statutory guidance to inform policy and practice, including guidance to the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.

Education Scotland works in partnership with the Scottish Government, ELC, schools and local authorities to improve the outcomes and educational experiences for all learners, including those who require additional support through a range of activities. These include:

• Support and challenge from Education Scotland Inclusion Wellbeing and Equality Officers through the national and regional focus.
• Information, guidance, professional learning and reflective opportunities which include a focus on additional support needs and inclusion.
• The HM Inspection model of education which provides support and challenge to promote improvement for all learners through the fulfilment of statutory duties, inclusion and equality.

In addition, we published our joint response to the independently chaired review of implementation of additional support for learning in October 2020. Angela Morgan’s report sets a clear direction in how we can continue to build on progress in this area. The joint action plan sets out the measures we will take to implement her recommendations.

We published an updated action and progress report on 1 November 202. The action plan and governance arrangements for this work are available from: Additional support for learning action plan: progress report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

An updated action plan will be published in Spring 2022.

Non-domestic properties are charged for water and sewerage services by reference to a meter unless it is inappropriate or impractical to install one. Where a meter cannot be installed, a non-domestic property’s charges will be assessed using its rateable value. Applicable charges to Licensed Providers are detailed in Scottish Water’s wholesale scheme of charges. Licensed providers are then required to charge non-domestic properties for the services which are available. As retail competition exists, Licensed Providers will seek to offer variable tariffs to attract customers; non-domestic customers will therefore have the option to switch provider if a cheaper service can be found elsewhere. Customers can also request that their licensed provider assesses whether a meter can be installed at the property if it is not already available.

As the retail market is working as intended, there are no plans to offer compensation to businesses for payment of water and sewerage charges.

Since its beginning, the aim of the Scottish Government’s COVID-19 Vaccination Programme has been to reduce the number of severe COVID-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths. From its outset it has been guided by the expert advice provided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). We have no plans to provide booster vaccines beyond those which have already been announced. The provision of any further booster doses will therefore continue to be based on any future advice the JCVI should wish to provide.

We cannot provide advice on the rules for other countries. Before travelling you should check the up to date entry requirements for the destination country.

As ever, we encourage all those who are eligible to take up the existing offer of vaccination, if they have not yet done so.

Information on the routes of referral for metastatic breast cancer patients is not held centrally.

Town centres are a key part of any local economy. Zero Waste Scotland provides a range of support and advice for community enterprises and businesses that are relevant to building circular economies within town centres. This includes partnering with Social Investment Scotland to deliver the £5m Social Enterprise Net Zero Transition Fund and delivery of the Circular Cities and Regions Programme and a business support programme for organisations exploring circular business models and services.

In addition, the Scottish Government will introduce a Community Wealth Building (CWB) Bill during the term of this parliament. The internationally recognised CWB model is a strategic approach to economic development that seeks to generate, direct and retain wealth in local communities by localising and shortening supply chains, helping local businesses to expand, creating new fair work opportunities, and placing more assets in the hands of local people and communities. CWB is about a systemic rewiring of how a local economy works and who it serves. Working in partnership with local authorities to develop local CWB action plans, we will encourage fostering of local, entrepreneurial businesses committed to reviving assets in our town centres by providing high quality goods, services and employment opportunities.

The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 provides local authorities with a discretionary power to set up workplace parking licensing (WPL) schemes.

Under a WPL scheme, a local authority can require a licence to be obtained by employers for each workplace parking place provided. A charge may be levied for such a licence on the basis of the number of parking places specified in the licence. Non-domestic rates (business rates) is a charge for the occupation and use of non-domestic property.

The provisions in the Act were subject to legal and policy scrutiny when the Transport Bill went through the Scottish Parliament in 2019 and I do not consider there to be an issue as regards the imposition of this charge alongside any other charge or tax to which businesses may be subject.

This is a discretionary power already available to local authorities in England and Wales under the Transport Act 2000.

Scottish Transport statistical publications utilise transport data from sources including the UK Government Department for Transport who provide this in kilometres.