Seòmar agus comataidhean

The First Minister visited China and Hong Kong from 2-7 November 2013, leading a delegation of 30 Scottish companies in the oil and gas and construction sector on a trade mission. During his time in country he announced partnerships worth £40 million over the next ten years between Scotland and China. He also took the opportunity to meet and support members of the Scottish Seafood delegation visiting Beijing on their way to the Seafood Expo in Dalian. The visit helped meet the ambitions set out in the Scottish Government’s China Strategy to increase engagement with China and build on recent business successes that have seen exports from Scotland to China increase by 88% over the past five years (£265 million to £498 million from 2007-2012).

Business announcements made during the First Minister’s visit included a deal struck by the Scottish Professional Football League to see Scottish football being screened live in China for the first time, bringing in £20 million to Scottish clubs as part of a global broadcast deal and seeing matches broadcast to a potential Chinese audience of 60 million.

The First Minister conducted senior-level meetings with major oil companies Sinopec and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, both of which have substantial interests in the North Sea, opening the door for Scotland’s vastly experienced supply chain companies at the very highest level and encouraging further investment in North Sea operations. He also held a meeting with Hainan Group senior leadership to promote the benefits of a direct air route between Scotland and China.

The programme provided significant opportunities for talks at the highest level of Government, emphasising the importance of developing cultural understanding between Scotland and China.

These opportunities included meetings with State Councillor Yang, the holder of China’s most senior foreign affairs office and the Director General of Hanban, Madam Xu Lin where the First Minister witnessed the signing of a deal between Hanban and Heriot Watt University to establish Scotland’s fifth Confucius Institute.

The First Minister made two key note speeches during his visit, the first at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing address where the First Minister’s address drew on the twin examples of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations and Theory of Moral Sentiments to outline why social progress must accompany economic progress. In response Professor Alan Miller, Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission said:

“I warmly welcome this speech of the First Minister which speaks to the times in which we are all living. It grounds human rights in Scotland’s relationship with China and in Scotland’s own journey”. (SHRC, News Release 6 November 2013)

The First Minister also spoke at a Financial Times Forum in Hong Kong and highlighted Scotland’s strengths in the financial services sector to an audience of 150 senior banking and finance professionals.

While in Hong Kong the First Minister had an excellent introductory meeting with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam. After that meeting he witnessed the signing of agreement between the Universities Grants Committee of Hong Kong and the Scottish Funding Council to work together on future research collaborations focusing initially on the global challenges in energy and life sciences. The First Minister then visited Confucius Hall Secondary School: School of Rugby to follow up on the process of developing stronger sporting links through rugby, launched during his visit to Hong Kong in 2011.

Scottish food, drink and culture, the Year of Homecoming and the Ryder Cup were promoted during the First Minister’s time in China to over 300 key business contacts, decision makers and influencers at two Scottish business focused receptions.

The Scottish Government works closely with organisations such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, the Child Accident Prevention Trust and Volunteer Development Scotland and provides financial support for work on home safety, injury prevention and community safety initiatives.

These invaluable initiatives include community first responders, who are volunteer members of the public, trained up to use the equipment, and who come to the aid of those who need emergency attention while an ambulance is on its way. Scotland has public access defibrillators located in a range of places, thanks to the work of the Scottish Ambulance Service and a range of charities. Volunteers are trained to use the equipment.

First aid awareness and training is also available in schools and communities and the Curriculum for Excellence, introduced in 2010, has been designed to enable children and young people to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.

Considerable progress has been made on the report’s 15 recommendations, which I shall detail in a letter to the member. A copy of that letter will be placed on SPICe (Bib no. 55477)

I travelled to Delhi and Mumbai from 11-16 October 2013, where I undertook an intensive programme of meetings and engagements to strengthen business, education, cultural, tourism and government ties with India.

Key engagements included welcoming the Queen’s baton to India on the first leg of its journey round the Commonwealth and hosting a business roundtable with key Indian investors to discuss opportunities for future partnerships between India and Scotland.

Significant business announcements included: an agreement between Scottish technology company Dryden Aqua and Indian firm SVS Aqua to help improve the supply of clean drinking water in arsenic-affected water-stressed regions in India; the construction of a new £6.5 million whisky distillery in Glenrothes, creating 15 jobs and generating a predicted £3.6 million in new exports to India, Africa and the Far East, in a partnership between Indian beverages group Kyndal and John Fergus and Co Ltd; and a distribution agreement between Perthshire-based company this-tel and Indian-based IT company Crane Global Solutions Ltd for its digital pen and associated e-health technology that will initially be sold into the Indian healthcare sector following a successful trial in a cancer hospital in Hyderabad and is expected to generate £4.6 million in exports.

I also undertook a number of media interviews with the leading business and financial newspapers in India in both cities which led to an extensive coverage of my visit and helped position Scotland as a business destination for both trade as well as investment.

Building on solid collaboration between India and Scotland in education, I hosted a reception for Indian alumni of Scottish Universities to encourage them to become advocates for Scotland. I also attended a British Council-UKIERI Showcase of 42 partnerships between Scotland and Indian educational institutes and witnessed the signing of an agreement between Coatbridge College and the Indian Healthcare Sector Skills Council which will introduce formal regulation of dental nursing to India, alongside National Occupational Standards.

Building Scotland’s bi-lateral relationship with the India Government, I held meetings with the equivalent of Permanent Secretaries of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Education).

Encouraging Indian tourists to visit Scotland, I attended a graduation ceremony for Indian travel agents who had completed Visit Scotland’s “Scotsagent programme”.

Cementing Scotland and India’s burgeoning cultural relationship, I announced the line-up of talented Indian musicians who will perform at next year’s Celtic Connections. I also highlighted Scotland’s influence on the unique restoration of a UNESCO world heritage site during a visit to the Nizamuddin urban renewal initiative in Delhi.

I visited Lahore in Pakistan from 17 to 18 October 2013, the first Scottish Government Ministerial visit to Pakistan. The strategic aim of the visit was to highlight the links between Scotland and Pakistan and to develop a closer bilateral relationship.

I undertook a number of political meetings including with Punjab Chief Minister Sharif, Punjab Governor Sarwar and the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, to discuss how Scotland and Pakistan can work together to increase links especially in the energy and education sectors.

I attended a ceremony marking the arrival of the Queen’s Baton Relay in Pakistan, providing an opportunity to highlight the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the existing links between our two countries. This event was well attended and received wide media coverage.

I met with a delegation from the Christian community to hear first-hand the issues the Christian community is facing in Pakistan and to offer our support to them, in line with work I have been undertaking in Scotland to bring communities together.

In support of our South Asia development programme, I hosted a roundtable with the 6 Scottish charities working in Pakistan. Scottish Government funding of £1,872,989 over the next three years will support projects aiming to improve maternal and new-born health, reduce poverty by increasing income and improving food security, empower women and strengthen climate resilience as well as support sustainable agriculture and livelihood initiatives for vulnerable farmers.

I announced funding of £250,000 to Christian Engineers to promote a project in the Thar desert to promote clean water and fresh vegetables to communities in the area.

I also announced £300,000 for a two year scholarship programme, inspired by Malala Yousafzai’s story, for disadvantaged young Pakistani women to go to university.

Building on existing links, I attended a business dinner hosted by Governor Sarwar, with guests including representatives from the education, energy and agricultural sectors. A number of visiting Scottish business people also attended.

I met with Mr Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan, Minister for School Education in the Government of Punjab, and we discussed their plans for a Knowledge Park in Lahore and for other areas of potential collaboration in the agricultural, tourism and sport sectors. We agreed that there could be opportunities for collaboration between Scotland and Pakistan.

This was an important first visit in building our bi-lateral relationship with Pakistan. There is huge potential in a number of areas to build on. The Scottish Government will work with a range of Scottish and Pakistani organisations to identify the key areas in which we can build trade between both countries.

The 2012 Edinburgh International Culture Summit celebrated and enhanced Scotland’s reputation for creativity, innovation and imagination. It was a resounding success, with 33 international delegations debating and discussing the role of culture as an international dialogue.

The 2012 Summit was a collaboration between the Scottish Government, UK Government, British Council, Edinburgh International Festival and Scottish Parliament. Following discussions between these partners, it has been agreed that the Edinburgh International Culture Summit should take place on 11 and 12 August 2014, after the conclusion of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. The Summit will be held once more in the Scottish Parliament.

On 15 November 2013, the 21st meeting of the British-Irish Council was held in St Brelade’s Bay, Jersey. We had a successful meeting attended by Ministers from all eight Member Administrations. The Scottish Government was represented by John Swinney, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth, Angela Constance, the Minister for Youth Employment and myself.

The meeting began with a discussion on the creative industries. This is an important industry for Scotland and is one of the seven growth sectors that we have identified in the Scottish Government Economic Strategy 2012. I was therefore very happy to support the Council’s Creative Industries Sectoral work plan for the next two years and welcomed the focus on the role of creative industries in promoting economic growth.

 The council then turned to the economy. It was helpful to hear from the other Member Administrations on the wider economic trends across these islands. John Swinney advised the council that while challenges remain and the global economy continues to face a number of headwinds, the summit meeting followed a fairly sustained run of positive economic data for Scotland, suggesting that the recovery is gathering momentum.

 Following a commitment from the nineteenth summit held in Cardiff, the economic discussion included an exchange of views on youth employment. Angela Constance gave an overview of the Scottish Government’s policy initiatives and programmes aimed at helping young people into employment, including the targeted early interventions, which are key to preventing our young people moving to long term unemployment. Ms Constance advised the council that the Scottish Government will do all it can to deliver key elements of the European Youth Guarantee but noted, with regret, that without the full power over employability we cannot do more to implement the guarantee in Scotland.

 The communique that was issued by the British-Irish Council, after the meeting, can be found on the website at http://www.britishirishcouncil.org/. I am also arranging for a copy of the document to be placed in SPICe (BIB number 55462).

The Scottish Government is taking action on a number of fronts to encourage and support women in work and in particular those wanting to develop careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) sector.

We held a Women’s Employment Summit in September 2012, following which the Scottish Government and STUC produced an action plan outlining a range of actions and recommendations to be taken forward to improve employability for women.

One of the first recommendations from the summit that the Government has acted on was to re-establish the Cross-Directorate Occupational Segregation Working Group. This group is taking forward the recommendations from the Summit, as well as those made in the Royal Society of Edinburgh's Tapping All Our Talents report. Additionally the group will also consider any additional gaps in activity that need to be filled. The group calls on the expertise of a number of external partners including the STUC, Napier University’s Scottish Resource Centre for Women in Science Engineering and Technology which we are providing funding of £601,998 for 2012-2015, Close the Gap and Men In Childcare, as well as Scottish Government officials.

I have set up and chair a strategic group to oversee this work. The Strategic Group on Women and Work consists of external partners and Scottish Government officials. The group has agreed a number of actions which the government, along with partners and stakeholders, will progress. STEM is a key part of the work of this group which is working to improve employability for women.

At the summit we also announced that we would be setting up CareerWISE Scotland. This is an initiative to encourage and support women into science and engineering, we have allocated £250,000 for this. This will:

Provide partnerships with employers to offer work experience for female school pupils and students

Work with colleges and universities to support their strategies to increase the recruitment of female students into STEM subjects

Collaborate with careers information and guidance providers including Skills Development Scotland, to raise gender awareness and ensure women are represented.

Collaborate with science engagement bodies and STEM events to raise gender awareness and ensure women are represented.

Additionally through Skills Development Scotland we are facilitating the development of a number of skills investment plans including engineering, information and communications technology, construction and energy among others. These plans help prioritise actions to be progressed by all partners including Scottish Government, public agencies and industry. One such action for all partners, is to consider if there is a need to address any gender imbalance by focusing on changing the perception/image of the sector and exploring ways to change working practices.

National Records of Scotland has today published Scotland’s Census 2011: Release 2B. (Laying number: SG/2013/240). This report presents the second part of the second release of results from the 2011 Census in Scotland, which was held on 27 March 2011. Release 2B consists of the Key and Quick Statistics tables for the following topics:

Education

Labour Market

Statistics relating to these topics are presented at 16 levels of geography, including Scottish Parliamentary Constituencies, from national level right down to output area.

A copy of the report is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, or from the Scotland’s Census website at:

http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk.