Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-08661 on 10 May 2017. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The Conservation of Salmon (Scotland) Regulation 2016 prohibits the retention of salmon in coastal waters. In practice this means that commercial salmon netting stations can no longer operate in coastal waters. The Scottish Government committed to review the prohibition within three years of it coming into force – a review that will be supported by some additional science to identify the spatial extent of influence of mixed-stock fisheries, which is anticipated to start in June this year.

Unlike coastal netting stations, those engaged in river and/or estuary netting may retain salmon depending on the conservation status of each stock. This is defined by the probability of the salmon stock meeting its conservation limit over a five-year period.

Currently there are no specific conservation measures for sea trout which, unlike salmon, is not a protected species. We will keep this situation under review.

The Scottish Government has certain functions in relation to corporate insolvency including the development of policy and recording of information about liquidations and receiverships of Scottish businesses. The reserved elements of corporate insolvency, including company voluntary arrangements and corporate administration, are the responsibility of the UK Government, and dealt with by The Insolvency Service

The following table shows the liquidation rates for companies in Scotland, England & Wales and Northern Ireland between 2015 and 2016 by quarter published by The Insolvency Service. The statistics are also available online at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/insolvency-service-official-statistics

The findings from the Robert Gordon University Oil and Gas Institute on the impact of Brexit highlight the significant value of Scotland being a member of the European Single Market and the potential damage to Scotland’s economy from exiting the European Union.

The report highlights that the oil and gas supply chain, which has seen revenues fall by around 30% during the industry downturn, could face up to £200 million in additional costs per year to access international markets as a result of Brexit. This will negatively impact upon the industry’s efforts to fulfil the Oil and Gas Authority’s vision to double the share of the global supply chain market taken by Scottish and the rest of the UK supply chain enterprises. The report also makes clear the challenges posed to the sector by restricting the movement of people as the oil and gas industry relies heavily on access to international skills and capabilities.

Scottish Government analysis highlights the potential costs of leaving the European Union and implies that by 2030 output in the Scottish economy could be up to
£11.2 billion lower compared to forecast GDP in the absence of Brexit.

In ‘Scotland’s Place in Europe’ the Scottish Government put forward proposals for mitigating the impact on Scotland of the UK’s exit from the EU by ensuring continued membership of the European Single Market.

Supporting women to fulfil their potential in the labour market is a key aim of the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government continues to be in close engagement with both the oil and gas industry and the industry bodies on this important matter, as oil and gas is an industry which has many decades of opportunity ahead it, women have an crucial role to play in supporting the industry maximise its potential. We are already seeing women in highly prominent positions within the industry heading up key organisations such as Total, Statoil, Chevron, the Oil and Gas Technology Centre and the trade body Oil and Gas UK, can act as role models and provide inspiration to women, both across the industry and those women considering a career in this highly innovative industry, of what is possible.

We also recognise that STEM skills are in high demand in our economy, not least in the Oil and Gas industry. It is clear that high quality STEM education and training is vital to Scotland’s intellectual and economic future, and to a fairer society. Our draft STEM Strategy set out our aim to raise levels of STEM enthusiasm, skills and knowledge for all, and to encourage the uptake of more specialist STEM skills required to gain employment in STEM sectors.

Equity is one of the priority themes within the Strategy, and we want to take action to reduce equity gaps including in relation to gender. We want to see more diversity across STEM courses, qualifications and careers. We have consulted on the draft Strategy, which included holding an event in partnership with Equate Scotland to consider new, creative ideas on how we might tackle gender balance issues in STEM. We will be publishing a final version of the Strategy later this year, with associated actions. On gender, we will build on on-going work, such as support for the Institute of Physics project on tackling gender stereotypes in schools.

We are continuing to support STEM learning in schools, providing £855K of funding in 2016-17 to the Scottish Schools Education Research Centre to up-skill primary teacher and teachers of secondary science, and offering professional development in mathematics and numeracy through the National Numeracy and Mathematics Hub. Learning in the STEM subjects can also be greatly enriched by the contribution of partners – there are huge opportunities for greater collaboration between schools, further and higher education, and the oil and gas industry. The Developing the Young Workforce programme, which specifically includes a focus on STEM, is helping to develop these types of partnerships, and the draft STEM Strategy also highlights the value of this type of collaboration.

The Industry has highlighted that the impact of restrictiveness on freedom of movement might have on the UK’s ability to attract highly skilled oil and gas workers to the UKCS, and that this may potentially have the impact of discouraging foreign investment in the mid to long term. During what has been a challenging time for the industry, the recent Oil and Gas UK Business Outlook highlighted a positive news story for the industry in demonstrating the continued interest individuals have in a career within this important sector.

The North Sea still holds significant potential with up to 20 billion boe remaining available for potential extraction. However we have been clear that further action is still required from UK Ministers’ who hold the key fiscal levers relevant to the sector to encourage the vital investment that is needed to maximise the safe, efficient economic recovery of reserves.

During what has been a challenging time for the industry, this survey highlights a positive news story for the industry demonstrating the continued interest in a career within this important and innovative sector. The North Sea still holds significant potential with up to 20 billion boe remaining, however we have been clear that further action is still required to encourage the investment that is critically needed to Maximise Economic Recovery.

The UK Government holds the key fiscal levers and the Scottish Government will continue to call for further measures to urgently stimulate activity and investment, which will be of particular help to the hard hit supply chain. Our draft Energy Strategy reaffirms our strong commitment to the oil and gas industry in Scotland and the positive role that the sector will continue to play for decades to come.

Since 2012-13, direct Scottish Government investment of over £5 billion in our universities has ensured that tuition is free for over 120,000 first time Scottish and EU domiciled undergraduate students every year.

In 2013-14, the Scottish Funding Council commenced a four year programme of additional investment in additional funded places to widen access to higher education and to increase articulation between colleges and universities.

Those additional places provided since 2013-14 are now embedded in the general allocation universities receive from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), and must continue to be used to enable wider access and articulation.

Table 1 sets out the number of widening access/articulation places added each year since 2013-14 (column 1) and the cumulative number of widening access/articulation additional places funded each year from 2013-14 and the current academic year (column 2).

Table 2 sets out the funding for each new tranche of additional widening access/articulation places since 2013-14 (column 1); the cumulative amount of funding for widening access/articulation additional places each year between
2013-14 and the current academic year (column 2); and the cumulative amount including the SFC transfer to SAAS to cover tuition fees (column 3).

The total amount invested in the widening access/articulation places over the four years was £133.4 million.

Table 1: Additional funded places for Widening Access/Articulation

Source: Scottish Funding Council

Table 2: Funding for additional funded places for Widening Access/Articulation (including SAAS fee transfer)

Source: Scottish Funding Council