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I am aware that all three of the SJC Trade Unions have balloted members on proposed industrial action. However, the negotiations on local government pay are rightly between COSLA as the representative of the employer, local government, and the Trade Unions representing the workforce. The Scottish Government has no role in those negotiations and, the recently signed Verity House Agreement, contains an explicit commitment to respect the existing negotiating arrangements for pay.

Let me emphasise that I recognise and value the crucial role councils and their employees play in communities across Scotland. I also recognise the challenging financial circumstances workers face in the current cost of living crisis. In recognition of this, and despite the most challenging financial settlement since devolution, we have already provided £155 million in additional funding to support the current local government pay offer for 2023-24 which COSLA Leaders agreed to on 31 March.

The Scottish Government recognises that any offer made by COSLA needs to provide a balance of fairness with affordability and sustainability and recognise the essential contribution of the local government workforce. I note the offer on the table from COSLA is worth 5.5% in year and the average uplift on salaries going into the next financial year is 7%. Importantly, the offer is progressive and means those on the Scottish Local Government Living Wage would get 9.12% and those at some of the higher grades would see a rise of 6.05%. I understand that the offer made by COSLA already goes beyond the maximum uplift indicated within the Scottish Public Sector Pay strategy, reflecting the funding identified by COSLA, alongside the contribution from the Scottish Government, and the value placed on the local government workforce.

In the spirit of the Verity House Agreement, we will continue to work in partnership with COSLA to help in any way we can to support them. I encourage both parties to engage with each other to reach a negotiated settlement to avoid industrial action.

The Scottish Government is committed to aligning with EU law where that is possible and will have a meaningful impact on the outcomes we share with the EU. This is delivered through routine monitoring by policy experts. Therefore the Scottish Government does not maintain an authoritative record of all EU directives, regulations and legislation which cover topics of devolved competence since 2021.

The Scottish Government’s policy statement on the approach to EU alignment, approved by parliament on 8 June 2022, sets out detail of this process, acknowledging that much of EU legislation is now not applicable in Scotland since the UK Government removed it from the EU.

The Scottish Government is committed to aligning with EU law where that is possible and where it will have a meaningful impact on the outcomes we share with the EU.

In doing so we acknowledge that alignment in all cases is not possible. Consideration of alignment with EU law is part of the policy development process and varies depending upon the relevance of EU law to Scotland regarding the matter in question, the extent of the devolved settlement and UK Government decisions which might have a constraining effect on Ministers ability to take effective action.

The Scottish Government’s policy statement on the approach to EU alignment, approved by parliament on 8 June 2022, sets this out in detail, acknowledging that a broad section of EU legislation is now not applicable in Scotland since the UK’s departure from the EU.

It is therefore not possible for the Scottish Government to provide a definitive answer to the question asked, although officials are working with their parliamentary counterparts to significantly expand the information provided to parliament regarding the commitment to align with the EU.

I refer the member to the answers to questions S6W-15749, S6W-15748 and S6W-15747 on 15 March 2023. Since this question was last answered, the ‘keeping pace’ power has not been used further by Scottish Ministers. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

According to data acquired directly from the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), in March 2023 Aberdeen City Council closed 6 libraries, Cornhill, Cults, Northfield, Ferryhill, Woodside and Kamhill. No other Scottish Libraries have permanently closed in the last 3 reporting years.

The Scottish Government do not hold information on numbers of libraries dating back to 2007-8. The earliest information on library numbers that SLIC are able to acquire from Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountability (CIPFA) begins from 2009-10.

The Scottish Government supports the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) with annual funding of £665,000. SLIC provides leadership and advice to Scottish Ministers, local authorities, and the wider libraries sector.

This includes £450,000 for the Public Library Improvement Fund (PLIF) and is on top of the Scottish Government’s general revenue funding to local authorities. PLIF, which has been awarded annually since 2006, is administered by SLIC on behalf of the Scottish Government, and supports creative, sustainable and innovative public library projects throughout Scotland.

There are more than 1,200 social care providers across Scotland, with local authorities responsible for providing or commissioning services. Local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships will wish to ensure that, in providing a range of services, their workforce planning arrangements take full account of the need to have safe and sustainable numbers of staff.

To increase awareness of the careers available in the sector, the latest iteration of our Adult Social Care Recruitment Campaign launched on 25 January. It has an increased media presence to reach a broader audience than previous campaigns.

We have also been working with DWP to hold social care job fairs throughout Scotland, with the next phase of events expected to be delivered in the coming weeks.

We have provided funding to NHS Education for Scotland to lead the delivery of a programme of work to support social care providers to increase workforce capacity through international recruitment. The aim of the programme is to support social care providers to navigate the UK immigration system more easily, and to alleviate some of the administrative burden of the international recruitment process. Expressions of interest will be welcomed from all providers in Scotland, regardless of size or location of their organisation, who feel they could support an international worker to integrate into their community through working in the social care sector. This programme is due to launch in the coming weeks.

In addition we have re-established the Campaign Advisory Group to work on a longer term recruitment strategy to increase capacity across the social care sector.

The Scottish Government took the decision last year to freeze ScotRail fares as part of a suite of measures to tackle the ongoing cost of living crisis. More broadly the Scottish Government has committed to pilot the removal of ScotRail peak fares on all ScotRail routes from October this year.

This initiative will operate over a six-month period, following which the Scottish Government will carefully consider its impact and the long-term sustainability of such a proposition.

The Scottish Government is considering future fare options whilst taking account of the extremely challenging fiscal climate facing both rail passengers and funders and I expect to provide an update on this in due course.