Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-03067

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how much money it expects to be able to reallocate from back office costs to front line services in the Scottish Budget, as a result of its work on public service reform.

Question reference: S6O-03040

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Scottish Funding Council's decision to stop funding three of Scotland's seven Innovation Centres.

Question reference: S6O-02843

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing with the Scottish Prison Service to provide inmates, including those on remand, with vocational skills to help them secure employment when they leave prison and address any skills shortages.

Question reference: S6O-02732

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its planning for skills and training provision, what information it has on the skills needs of Scotland’s economy in specific vocations over the next five years.

Question reference: S6O-02648

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact that any future devolution of powers relating to the minimum wage to the Scottish Parliament would have on its fair work and wellbeing economy policies.

Question reference: S6O-02577

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce funding for its Innovation Centres.

Question reference: S6W-20132

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when its proposed £12 minimum wage for social care staff will be implemented.

Question reference: S6W-20133

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress towards the National Care Service Fair Work Workstream 4 on sectoral bargaining, including its target timescale for this being fully in place.

The Fair Work workstreams, including workstream 4, are independently chaired by ENABLE's Andy Kerr. I understand that workstream 4 is making progress in discussions with partners including local government, social care providers and trade unions. The Scottish Government is committed to putting in place appropriate collective bargaining arrangements within social care and that can only be delivered with the co-operation and agreement of all our partners.

Question reference: S6W-19580

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 June 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Richard Lochhead on 30 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the implementation of its Vision for Trade.

I am pleased to announce that the second Annual Report on our progress towards implementing Scotland’s Vision for Trade is being published today.

The Vision positions trade strategically in support of our wider economic, social and environmental ambitions. Since our last Annual Report, published in Spring 2022, we have used the levers available to the Scottish Government to support the delivery of NSET, help meet our climate targets and to align economic growth with our ambitions for building a wellbeing economy. The report outlines in particular the steps we have taken to improve the trading environment for Scottish goods and services, to build our evidence base on the differential impacts of trade, to put human rights at the centre of our trade policy, and to showcase Scotland’s leadership on environmental regulation at a multilateral level.

Recognising that many trade levers do not sit with the Scottish Government, we have continued to scrutinise and contribute to the UK Government’s proposals for each new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and, in the case of US States, any new Memoranda of Understanding on trade. We have assessed these against our trade policy principles, so that they best serve the interests of Scotland’s economy, people and the planet.

We have also continued to engage in open dialogue on trade policy with individuals, businesses, academics and other organisations, in Scotland and elsewhere. This second Annual Report details, for example, the creation of a Scottish Services Trade Forum, an avenue for services businesses to directly inform our approach to trade, as well as stakeholder roundtables on regulation, differential impacts, climate and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). As we move into the third year of implementing Scotland’s Vision for Trade , we will continue to work in collaboration with our stakeholders and businesses to enhance the impact of trade in our wellbeing economy.

Question reference: S6W-19523

Asked by: Ivan McKee, MSP for Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 June 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Neil Gray on 29 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of the New Deal for Business Group prior to the summer parliamentary recess.

Since its first meeting on 17 May 2023, the New Deal for Business Group has been working at pace to examine how the Scottish Government can improve its relationship with businesses and partners to help build a fairer, greener and growing wellbeing economy.

The group, which I co-chair with Dr Poonam Malik of Strathclyde University, has been considering the key areas of a shared awareness of economic conditions and performance; ensuring the best environment to do business; enhanced partnership working and a transition to a wellbeing economy

Today, I am publishing a report on the progress of and the recommendations of the group which can be found here:

https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781835210826

The report has been informed by the work of five subgroups and focusses on regulation, business partnership, Non-Domestic Rates, Wellbeing Economy and Data and Metrics.

The report has been sent to the First Minister for his consideration and we are developing an implementation plan to support the recommendations being taken forward.

I would like to thank all of those who have contributed to the NDBG and its Subgroups, bringing their knowledge and expertise to this important work.

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