The challenge of reaching net zero in Scotland’s communities is to be explored in a series of visits by a Scottish Parliament committee.
Holyrood’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee is looking at the role of local government and its partners in making a real and lasting impact on the environment. Now the Committee want to see this work in action by visiting projects across Scotland.
The Committee will begin the series of visits by going to Stirling, Orkney and Aberdeen where they will explore how the private sector, third sector, social enterprises and local communities are working with local government to meet net zero targets.
Speaking ahead of the visits, Committee Convener, Dean Lockhart MSP, said: “So many of the key areas in helping Scotland reach its net zero targets sit with local government. Issues such as travel, housing, recycling and the circular economy have a huge impact on Scotland’s environment.
“But we know that local government can’t make this change alone. That is why we want to see how councils across Scotland are working with their communities and building relationships with business and the voluntary sector to embed these changes and make a difference to climate change.
“Our visits will allow us to see first-hand the positive work happening across this country as well as finding out what more needs to be done to make the net zero targets a reality.”
The Committee will be visiting Stirling tomorrow (23 May), Aberdeen on 30 May and Orkney on 6 June.
Payments made to over 3,000 children and young people across Scotland
More than £3.25 million has been issued in disability payments to children and young people since Child Disability Payment launched.It is estimated that as of 31 March 2022 a total of 3,050 children and young people were in receipt of the payment.
The total number receiving payments includes 555 people who have had their Disability Living Allowance for children payment transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Figures for 26 July 2021 to 31 March 2022 include an initial pilot period where Child Disability Payment was only available in Dundee City, Perth and Kinross and the Western Isles local authority areas. The benefit opened to people across Scotland in November 2021. Payments began in February for children and young people whose awards transferred from DWP.
Almost three quarters (74%) of applications were made online, with 16% by phone.
Minister for Social Security Ben Macpherson said: “Social security is a shared investment in building a fairer Scotland and we encourage those who are eligible for support to apply.
“It is excellent to see that Child Disability Payment is already making a difference to the lives of thousands of children and young people, and their families. Families who find themselves in need of support can access this help in a way that suits them best.
“For the first time anywhere in the UK, we have an online application facility for applying for our disability benefits , and the high number of people choosing to use this demonstrates that we have been responsive to the way people want to access social security.
“We are determined to ensure there is a seamless process for all recipients whose payments are moving from DWP to Social Security Scotland, and we will continue to transfer cases in a safe and secure manner. Importantly, the process is automatic – people do not need to reapply and they will be kept informed at all times.”
Mark Ballard, Head of Policy for the National Deaf Children’s Society Scotland, said: “It’s been very important to have such positive and productive discussions with Social Security Scotland around our shared goal of making the new Child Disability Payment work for deaf children.
“Social Security Scotland has consistently taken on board our feedback, which is based on both the lived experience of the families we work with and our own specialist knowledge.
“We look forward to continuing to work with them to develop and enhance Scottish benefits for deaf children and their families.”
COP26 PRESIDENT ALOK SHARMA RETURNS TO GLASGOW TO DELIVER SPEECH
The First Minister will urge countries to ensure current strains placed on the international order, including by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, do not result in the promises made at COP26 being broken on a visit to the USA this week.
In a keynote address to the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will today call on global partners to lead by example as they step up actions to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees whilst addressing concerns over energy security.
The speech is part of a series of engagements the First Minister will undertake in Washington DC. In meetings with policymakers and business leaders, the First Minister will stress that policy and economic goals must align to ensure a just transition to a decarbonised economy.
The First Minister will also meet with Congressional Caucuses including the Caucus for Women’s Issues, the Friends of Scotland Caucus, the European Union Caucus and members who attended COP26.
During Monday’s address, the First Minister is expected to say: “Six months on from COP26, the world looks very different, but many of the challenges we faced then remain. As things stand, the world is on course to exceed both 1.5 degrees of global warming and the 2 degree threshold – and scientific consensus is overwhelming that this will be catastrophic.
“We have seen the rules-based international order come under increasing strain, made more severe due to Russia’s brutal, illegal and entirely unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Many European nations are reassessing their defence and security priorities – however, the security debates in Europe are not just about military capabilities and strategic alliances. The invasion of Ukraine is also forcing countries in Europe to rethink long-held assumptions about energy policy and energy security.
“Countries must prioritise, as far as we can, an approach to energy security that focuses on sustainability, with measures to promote energy efficiency, and to accelerate the development renewable and low carbon energy. In many countries those options are already the most secure and sustainable ways of meeting our needs, and increasingly they are becoming the most affordable options too – for example wind power is already the cheapest form of power in Scotland’s energy mix.
“Scotland is positioning ourselves as a testbed for green technologies – we are the location for the world’s largest floating windfarm, we are an established centre for the development and testing of new wave and tidal technologies, we have developed plans to trial carbon capture and storage, and we produced a hydrogen action plan last year. Our hope is that this innovation can benefit other countries, and create jobs and opportunities at home in Scotland.
“We need to move at pace to develop clean energy sources and act in a way which shows solidarity with communities in our countries who might otherwise get left behind, and with the global south.
“Europe’s debates on energy security matter to the wider safety and security of the entire world. Where we can, will be a constructive partner in those discussions. We will lead by example in our own actions, we will contribute to international energy security, and we will work with allies across the globe as we strive, together, to build a fairer, more secure and more sustainable world.”
While the First Minister makes her speech in Washington, COP 26 President Alok Sharma will be speaking closer to home – he’s back in Glasgow, home of the COP 26 event …
COP President Alok Sharma marks six months since landmark COP26 conference with Glasgow speech
Mr Sharma expected to say that while Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has put unprecedented pressure on global energy security, the fundamental challenge of climate change must remain a top priority of governments around the world
The event follows last week’s productive May Ministerial on Implementation, hosted by the Danish Government in Copenhagen and co-chaired by the UK and Egypt, as COP27 President-designate
COP President Alok Sharma will today (16 May 2022) return to Glasgow’s Scottish Event Campus to mark six months since the conclusion of COP26 to warn world leaders that failure to honour commitments made at COP26 would be an ‘act of monstrous self-harm’.
Mr Sharma will set out his vision for the second half of the UK’s COP Presidency, as he is joined by representatives from business, civil society and young people in Scotland, alongside a virtual global audience.
Mr Sharma will outline the crucial importance of addressing the chronic climate crisis alongside more immediate concerns.
He will say that the world is facing serious crises. Russia’s brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine has shifted geopolitics. As governments are responding to rising prices, food and energy security challenges and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Mr Sharma is also expected to say that ‘the current crises should increase, not diminish, our determination to deliver on what we agreed here at COP26, and honour the Glasgow Climate Pact.’ He is expected to urge world leaders to show that ‘though the world has changed our resolve has not’
The COP26 President is expected to stress the urgency of countries fulfilling promises made at COP26 and that the global community must move much faster in taking climate action over the next six months, than over the last. ‘Work to deliver on the commitments made here in Glasgow has quietly continued.’ he is expected to say, yet “we need every nation to pick up the pace”.
Mr Sharma will also outline the increasingly stark scientific warnings of the impacts of climate change as recently set out in two major reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
This evidence, Mr Sharma is expected to say, ‘demonstrates unequivocally that the window of time we have to act is closing fast, that we must urgently adapt and reduce emissions, because current targets are not enough.’
Mr Sharma will also highlight the devastation caused by extreme weather conditions around the world, including ongoing heatwaves in India and Pakistan, where a billion people have been exposed to extreme heat of almost 50C.
While welcoming progress made in the six months since COP26, Mr Sharma will look ahead to priorities in the lead up to COP27 and the UK’s work with Egypt to drive delivery ahead of the Summit in Sharm-El-Sheikh later this year.
Underscoring this urgent priority, Mr Sharma is expected to say: ‘Every country must respond to the call to revisit and strengthen their nationally determined contribution (NDC). And they must do so in 2022. The Glasgow Pact calls on countries to look again at their NDCs, not at some vague point in the future, but this year, in 2022.’
The Ministerial, held in Copenhagen on May 12 and 13, saw over 40 countries renew their urgent focus on implementation and practical action to deliver commitments and pledges made at COP26 and within the Glasgow Climate Pact.
At the meeting countries agreed that, despite the challenging global context, climate ambition and commitments remain serious and credible, from adapting to climate impacts, averting, minimising and addressing loss and damage, to reducing emissions and keeping 1.5C alive and mobilising finance.
Today, May 16, also sees the publication of the COP26 Sustainability Report, which demonstrates the lasting, positive legacy of COP26 on the city of Glasgow and beyond.
The report sets out the conference’s impact on Scottish charities and low-income families, including donations of 6,000 items of furniture, 15,000 square metres of carpets, and 600 laptops, some of which it is hoped will soon go to Ukrainian refugees.
It also confirms the UK’s achievement in implementing the International Standard for Event Sustainability Management making it the first COP summit to meet the international standard for carbon neutrality, PAS 2060.
UK Government introduces plans to transform struggling towns and cities, supporting local leaders to take back control of regeneration
Levelling Up Missions, such as eradicating child illiteracy and closing gaps in life expectancy and living standards, to be enshrined in law
Local communities get extra powers to tackle scourge of boarded up shops and empty homes
Legislation to underpin biggest shift of power from Whitehall in modern times
The government has today (11 May 2022) introduced plans to transform struggling towns and cities, supporting local leaders to take back control of regeneration, ending the blight of empty shops on their high streets and delivering the quality homes that communities need.
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will enshrine in law the government’s commitment to long-term missions to spread opportunity, drive productivity and boost local pride in every corner of the country.
Levelling Up Secretary Rt Hon Michael Gove MP said: “As a country, we need to be firing on all cylinders. That is why we must level up the UK; spread prosperity and opportunity, and make sure everyone can share in our nation’s success.
“This Bill puts in place the reforms we need to level up. It enshrines our levelling up missions in law, which will shift resources and focus throughout this decade to the parts and people of the country who need it most. It enables every part of England which wants a London-style mayor to have one. It empowers local people, not the big developers, to take back control of regeneration in their community.
“It shifts power out of Whitehall by giving local leaders the powers they need to tackle the blight of empty shops on high streets and to regenerate their communities. This is underpinned by a firm belief that by far the best placed people to level up communities are the people who live there.
“We want everyone to be given the opportunity to stay local but go far.”
Levelling Up
The government’s defining mission is to level up the UK; to increase and spread prosperity and opportunity across the UK, and break the link between geography and destiny. The Bill puts the legal foundations needed to deliver this mission in place, so that all parts of the country will be able to share equally in our nation’s success.
Measures include:
Creating a legal duty for the government to set and report on a number of missions for levelling up the country.
These missions will include: closing the gap in pay and productivity between the richest and poorest areas, effectively eradicating child illiteracy and innumeracy, closing gaps in healthy life expectancy, getting the rest of the country’s transport connectivity much closer to the standards of London’s, and making sure everyone has a local community they can be proud of.
The deadline for each mission is 2030, but the Levelling Up Bill will create a duty for the government to report on progress annually.
The legislation needed so that every part of England that wants a strong devolution deal can have one.
Enabling more areas to have the kinds of devolved powers which currently only the largest cities enjoy, helping drive improvements on local priorities such as transport and skills.
New provisions on council borrowing to protect taxpayers’ money while enabling local areas to make much needed investment.
Regeneration
The Bill will also directly give local leaders the powers they need to regenerate their communities, and transform their high streets and town centres. A new infrastructure levy will see the big developers contribute more towards better local roads, schools, hospitals, and genuinely affordable housing. Communities will also receive a share of the Levy revenue raised – as long as they have a parish or town council – and we are exploring how this could be expanded.
Measures include:
New powers for local leaders to run High Street Rental Auctions, where they can auction off tenancies in shops that have been vacant for over a year. This will help to end the plague of empty shops that blight so many high streets.
Councils will also be able to double council tax on empty and second homes, ensuring everyone pays their fair share towards local services and boost levelling up.
The ‘al-fresco dining revolution’ will be made permanent, injecting new life into the high street through creating a sustainable process for communities, business and local authorities, making it permanently cheaper and quicker to get a licence for outdoor dining.
A new, locally set infrastructure levy, charged on the final value of property when its sold, will replace much of the broken S106 payments system. This will see the big developers contribute far more of the money they make from development towards building better local roads, rail, schools, hospitals, and more affordable housing.
Legislation to make it easier for councils to regenerate their town centres through Compulsory Purchase Orders, making the process quicker and easier to use.
Right homes in the right places
The Bill will also deliver new reforms to the planning system, ensuring new development is more beautiful, produces more local Infrastructure, is shaped by local people’s democratic wishes, improves environmental outcomes, and occurs with neighbourhoods very much in mind.
Measures include:
Local plans – the way in which councils set the vision for future development in their area and decide whether to give planning permission – will gain stronger legal weight and be made simpler to produce. Communities will have a major say in these plans giving them more opportunity to shape what happens in their areas. Currently 61% of councils do not have an up to date local plan, which leaves communities exposed to development on which they haven’t had a meaningful say.
A digitised planning system making plans and planning applications fully available on your smartphone.
Stronger protections for the environment in local plans, empowering councils to make better use of brownfield land and protect precious greenbelt land.
Local design codes will be made mandatory so that developers have to respect styles drawn up and favoured locally – from the layout or materials used, to how it provides green space.
The government has today also outlined a new deal for millions of renters in private and social housing.
By ending Section 21 evictions and extending the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector, all renters can expect a decent, safe, and secure home. At the same time, these measures deliver a fairer system for good landlords who can struggle to recover their properties when faced with anti-social behaviour or wilful non-payment of rent.
Details on further support for tenants in social housing will be unveiled later this year which will include a review of the Decent Homes Standard, new consumer regulation and regular inspections of the largest landlords.
Further information
The planning measures have been informed by over 40,000 responses made to the government’s 2020 ‘Planning for the Future’ White Paper, and inquiry by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee.
In order to continue to support the hospitality sector, we will also extend the temporary pavement licence process for one further year while we seek to make permanent these provisions through the Bill, subject to Parliamentary approval.
The TUC yesterday accused the government of “turning its back” on working people after ministers failed to include an employment bill in the Queen’s Speech.
Vital rights ministers had promised like default flexible working, fair tips and pregnancy discrimination protections risk being ditched “for good”
New seafarer minimum wage plans are “unworkable” and won’t prevent a repeat of P&O, warns union body
The TUC has accused the government of “turning its back” on working people after ministers failed to include an employment bill in the Queen’s Speech.
The union body said that the government’s broken promise to boost workers’ rights will see “bad bosses celebrating”.
In 2019, the government announced it would bring forward a new employment bill to improve people’s rights at work, but despite committing to the bill on at least 20 occasions, ministers have shelved the legislation.
Commenting on the decision to exclude an employment bill from yesterday’s Queen’s Speech, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The prime minister promised to make Britain the best place in the world to work. But he has turned his back on working people.
“Today, bad bosses up and down the country will be celebrating.
“No employment bill means vital rights that ministers had promised – like default flexible working, fair tips and protection from pregnancy discrimination – risk being ditched for good.
“And it means no action on the scourge of insecure work and ending exploitative practices like zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire.
“After the P&O scandal, dragging our outdated labour laws into the 21st century has never been more urgent.
“But by shelving the employment bill, ministers have sent a signal that they are happy for rogue employers to ride roughshod over workers’ rights.
“Enough is enough. This is a government that just doesn’t get it – from the cost of living emergency to the insecure work epidemic.
“People can’t wait for greater rights and security at work – they need it now.”
On the seafarer minimum wage enforcement plans, O’Grady added: “This proposal is feeble and likely unworkable. The government has done nothing to tackle the most flagrant labour abuse in years by P&O.
“Only stronger employment legislation that boosts worker protections and stops companies firing on the spot will prevent another P&O-type scandal.”
The TUC says that the following policies were all promised within an employment bill, and are now risk being ditched altogether:
Ensure that tips go to workers in full.
Introduce a new right for all workers to request a more predictable contract.
Create a new single enforcement body offering greater protections for workers.
Extend redundancy protections to prevent pregnancy and maternity discrimination.
Make flexible working the default unless employers have good reason not to.
Allow parents to take extended paid leave for neonatal care.
Introduce a new legal entitlement to one week’s leave for unpaid carers.
In addition, the government consulted on reasonable notice period for shifts allocated and cancelled, and payments for cancelled shifts, which the TUC points out the government has “since gone quiet on.”
The union body also highlights that the government promise to make employers responsible for preventing sexual harassment risks falling by the wayside without the employment bill, as the policy needs primary legislation to carry it forward.
In the notes to the 2019 Queen’s Speech, the government said it would bring forward the employment bill to:
Protect and enhance workers’ rights as the UK leaves the EU, making Britain the best place in the world to work.
Promote fairness in the workplace, striking the right balance between the flexibility that the economy needs and the security that workers deserve.
Strengthen workers’ ability to get redress for poor treatment by creating a new, single enforcement body.
Offer greater protections for workers by prioritising fairness in the workplace, and introducing better support for working families.
Build on existing employment law with measures that protect those in low-paid work and the gig economy.
In the 2019 Conservative manifesto, the following promises were made on employment rights:
We will create a single enforcement body and crack down on any employer abusing employment law, whether by taking workers’ tips or refusing them sick pay.
We will ensure that workers have the right to request a more predictable contract and other reasonable protections.
We will encourage flexible working and consult on making it the default unless employers have good reasons not to.
We have reformed redundancy law so companies cannot discriminate against women immediately after returning from maternity leave.
We will legislate to allow parents to take extended leave for neonatal care, to support those new mothers and fathers who need it during the most vulnerable and stressful days of their lives.
We will look at ways to make it easier for fathers to take paternity leave.
We will extend the entitlement to leave for unpaid carers, the majority of whom are women, to a week.
The UK has one of the best workers’ rights records in the world, says UK Government
The UK has one of the best workers’ rights records in the world. As a result of government action, there are now more employees on the payroll than ever before, as we continue to support workers and build a high skilled, high productivity, high wage economy.
The government has protected and enhanced workers’ rights by:
Making sure 2.5 million people received a pay rise in April by raising the minimum and living wage. The largest ever cash increase to the National Living Wage will put over £1000 a year into a full-time workers’ pay packet, helping to ease cost of living pressures. We’re helping younger people too, by lifting the minimum wages for under-23s and apprentices.
Leading the world with one of the highest minimum wages in the world – more generous than those in similar economies such as France, Germany and Japan.
Holding UK businesses to account, ensuring employees are getting what they are owed. In December we named and shamed 208 employers who had failed to pay the minimum wage – taking the total number of employers named since 2014 to around 2,500. We made sure these companies paid back their employees and paid the price with hefty fines for law breakers. We have also quadrupled the maximum fine for employers who treat their workers badly.
Giving the lowest paid in society more control over when and where they work. The government just this week announced it will extend the ban on using exclusivity clauses to contracts where a worker’s guaranteed weekly income is below the Lower Earnings Limit, which is currently £123 a week. This ensures an estimated 1.5 million people have the option to pick up extra work if they want to, further increasing flexibility.
Tackling appalling business practices, such as P&O Ferries firing their employees without consultation. Reporting them to the insolvency service and taking an active role in ensuring they treat their workers fairly, we also recently committed to producing a statutory code on fire and rehire practices to strengthen the rights of all employees. This will clamp down on controversial tactics used by employers who fail to engage in meaningful consultations with employees before making changes to their contracts.
Recognising the importance of flexible working arrangements by announcing a wide-ranging package of measures to help give employees more flexible working options in the future, including seeking views on making flexible working the default unless employers have good reason not to.
Offering generous leave entitlements, continuing with our aim to make the UK the best place in the world to live and work. Workers get over 5 weeks of annual leave and a year of maternity leave, while the EU minimum for maternity leave is just 14 weeks.
As part of this, we also brought into force a world first, giving parents a new legal right to 2 week’s paid bereavement leave for those who suffer the devastating loss of a child, irrespective of how long they have worked for their employer.
Supporting workers throughout the pandemic, taking steps to protect the earnings of workers through furlough, including a new law to make sure furloughed employees who were made redundant received full redundancy payments.
And of course, all this action to support workers’ rights has come alongside the government’s unprecedented £9bn package to support families with the cost of living, including a £150 council tax rebate, and a £200 energy bill discount to cut energy bills for the vast majority of households.
Scottish Secretary responds to Queen’s Speech
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “This is a Queen’s Speech which delivers for Scotland and the whole of the UK.
“Measures in the Queen’s Speech will help us grow our economy, so we can continue to recover from the pandemic, tackle the rising cost of living and level up across the country.
“We will bring in a range of measures to make our country safer, from tackling state-sponsored espionage, to cracking down on modern slavery.
“We will show leadership with a series of ambitious reforms which will support citizens across the United Kingdom.
“We will continue to maximise the benefits of Brexit with legislation to cement our fantastic trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, and remove outdated EU laws. Outside of the EU, the UK will continue to prosper and thrive.”
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, made a statement following a series of meetings with party leaders:
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP, yesterday met with the leaders of Northern Ireland’s five main political parties; Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin; Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, DUP; Naomi Long, Alliance; Doug Beattie, UUP; and Colum Eastwood, SDLP.
In all his meetings, the Secretary of State reiterated the need to respect the electoral outcome of Thursday’s election and restore the full functioning of the devolved institutions as soon as possible – both the Executive and the Assembly.
All parties agreed on the importance of maintaining political stability. The Secretary of State encouraged all party leaders to come together to form an Executive as soon as possible, starting with the nomination of an Assembly Speaker.
The Secretary of State acknowledged that the Northern Ireland Protocol remains a clear barrier to political stability and re-confirmed that the Government will do whatever it takes to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, in all of its dimensions.
He reiterated the Government’s desire to address the outstanding issues by agreement with the EU, but confirmed that the Government stood ready to take further steps to rectify those issues, should that be necessary.
He noted that negotiations with the European Commission related to the Protocol were the responsibility of the UK Government and that they should not stand in the way of restoring the Stormont institutions and enabling the Executive to deliver for all the people of Northern Ireland.
He reiterated the importance of taking advantage of the new provisions in the NI (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act passed earlier this year to enable continuity in decision-making during the Executive formation process. This will ensure existing Northern Ireland ministers can remain in place to oversee NI departments, allow legislation to progress and support the delivery of vital public services.
Speaking after his meetings, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis MP, said: “Northern Ireland’s party leaders must come together to agree a way forward to deliver a stable and accountable devolved government.
“The UK Government’s overriding priority remains the preservation of peace and stability in Northern Ireland and the protection of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its strands.
“The current situation with the Protocol is fundamentally undermining the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and creating an unacceptable situation in Northern Ireland. We will continue to press the EU to agree the crucial changes that are urgently needed but will take nothing off the table in our pursuit of those solutions.
“As I conveyed to party leaders today, our collective focus must be on the restoration of the Stormont institutions so that those newly elected representatives can come together and deliver in the best interests of all the people of Northern Ireland.
“I will remain in close contact with the party leaders over the coming days.”
Ever since the first covid lockdown, I have always followed the rules.
In that time, the British people have made heart-wrenching sacrifices.
People were left desperately lonely.
They were separated from family and friends tragically, many were unable to see dying loved ones.
This was a collective sacrifice.
People were entitled to expect that politicians would follow the same rules as everyone else.
When my mother-in-law passed away suddenly just before the lockdown, my wife and I were unable to provide her father with the support we wanted to afterwards, because we followed the rules.
Barely a day has passed where we haven’t agonised over that decision, but we did it, because we followed the rules.
We all found those rules frustrating at times –
And I’m no exception to that.
I had to isolate six times during covid, pulling me away from my work and the things that I love.
But I did it, because we followed the rules.
The idea that I would then casually break those rules is wrong.
And frankly I don’t believe those accusing me believe it themselves.
They are just trying to feed cynicism, to get the public to believe all politicians are the same.
I am here to say they’re not.
The British public deserve politicians who know the rules apply to them.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will underline Scotland’s key interests in global issues when she visits the United States next week.
The visit follows the launch of Scotland’s Global Affairs Framework, which sets out the values, principles and priorities underpinning the Scottish Government’s work to become more active internationally.
Reflecting on the impacts of Brexit, COVID-19, the climate crisis and the invasion of Ukraine, the Framework outlines key areas of focus such as global citizenship, maintaining close relations with the EU, gender equality, and respect for human rights.
The First Minister will take part in a range of engagements focused on the interlinked issues of climate, energy security and the war in Ukraine, including a keynote speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC.
She will also meet with key congressional groups and discuss ways to create a greener, fairer and more equitable economy with executives of companies operating across the Atlantic.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The COVID-19 pandemic and the climate and biodiversity emergencies prove in the starkest possible way that we live in an interconnected world and it is more important than ever that Scotland plays its part.
“The crisis in Ukraine underlines how interconnected these challenges are, and all countries have a role to play in meeting them.
“We are determined that Scotland continues to be a good global citizen, making a constructive contribution to addressing global challenges such as climate change.
“Our international activity creates opportunities at home, broadens our horizons, attracts high-quality investment and ultimately benefits our people – no more evident than in Scotland’s longstanding relationship and strong trade ties with the USA, which this visit will build upon further.
“By being open and connected and making a positive contribution internationally, we give ourselves the greatest possible chance of building a successful country. In this way we can make a contribution to the world that is welcomed, valued and helps us all.”
If you can’t come this Friday, and you need assistance from me as your local MSP, you can also contact my office via phone on 0131 600 0134 or email me at ben.macpherson.msp@parliament.scot
Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council and Returning Officer for Edinburgh, Andrew Kerr, wrote in yesterday’s Edinburgh Evening News:
Preparations are well underway as the Capital readies itself for Thursday’s Local Government Election to elect the next set of councillors to represent our city.
In 2017, 63 councillors were elected to the Council, with a 50.5% turnout across the city – up from 42.6% in 2012 – and we’re hoping for even higher numbers this year. A total of 399,239 people are registered to vote in Edinburgh, of whom 96,671 have applied to vote by post – almost one voter in four. We have a record 143 candidates from many different parties and independents all looking for your support.
The local councillors you elect will make important decisions on how public services are provided. As a Council, we deliver over 700 services that have an impact on every resident’s life, including waste collections and road repairs, maintaining culture venues and play parks and caring for our youngest and eldest citizens.
In recent years, we’ve been working to reduce our use of schools on polling days as we‘ve always appreciated the disruption unscheduled school closures can cause to parents, teachers and pupils.
Following the huge interruption to normal schooling through the pandemic it was paramount not to close any schools on polling day and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to achieve this. As a result we are using some new and exciting venues from yoga studios to supermarkets!
As is the case for all local authorities, polling places are chosen to provide the best location, accessibility and space to allow as many people as possible to cast their vote easily. So, whilst many venues have changed, we’ve kept them as close as possible.
We’ve alerted people to their new polling place on their polling card and we also have an online tool where you can check.
Our elections web pages can help you find your polling place, accessible voting options, emergency voting and useful information on how the single transferable vote system works, i.e. you need to use numbers to rank as many or as few candidates as you choose in order of your preference.
As the returning officer I’m lucky to have an experienced and talented Election team here in Edinburgh and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them. Running an election in the Capital is no mean feat with 300 polling stations to set up and hundreds of staff to recruit and train.
Our team worked hard to replace polling places and also had to ensure a successful election included plans for any additional restrictions required due to the ongoing pandemic.
Our polling places will be safe spaces to cast your vote and we’ll be following the latest Scottish Government guidance as we have done throughout the pandemic.
They will also be accessible and welcoming, particularly for those voters with a disability, and our election team has worked closely with Public Health Scotland, our local Director of Public Health and our own Health and Safety team to ensure our polling places – and the people staffing them – are as well prepared as they can be.
Elections are opportunities to have a say on issues that matter to us all so please take the chance to make your voice heard at the ballot box.
