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The Fiscal Framework, agreed with the UK Government in February 2016, sets out the Scottish Government's statutory limits on borrowing as a maximum of £3 billion for capital expenditure and £1.75 billion for resource expenditure, the latter being subject to specific circumstances. The Fiscal Framework also specified annual caps of £450 million and £600 million respectively.

The Fiscal Framework does not give the Scottish Government the capability to plan for a revenue deficit. Borrowing on capital expenditure up to the cap can be planned for and is being fully deployed for 2017-18.

The Scottish Government has set out its commitment to ensure that revenue funded methods of investment will be used at a sustainable level, and do not overly constrain choices in future years. Accordingly, the Scottish Government will manage its future revenue commitments relating to investment spend to a maximum of 5% of its expected future annual total DEL budget.

Decisions on future borrowing levels will be taken as part of the 2018-19 and subsequent budget processes.

The Scottish Government remains committed to realising the vast renewable resource potential of the Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles. Since 2012 we have worked closely with the UK Government, Islands councils, wind developers, SSE and Ofgem to address the barriers to deployment of large scale wind projects on the Islands. The unique scale of community investment in the projects would deliver direct economic benefit to the island communities and drive more balanced economic growth.

In Stornoway on 10 April 2017, I co-chaired the fifth meeting of the Scottish Island Renewable Delivery Forum with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark. This was a productive meeting, arranged at our request, and provided an important opportunity for the island stakeholders to discuss the case for Island wind with the Secretary of State, in person and reiterate points that had been included within the Scottish Government’s detailed submission to the BEIS Consultation on non-mainland GB onshore wind. This constructive discussion which laid bare the current risk to economic development of the Islands Council areas in the event projects do not have a viable ‘route to market’ will inform the outcome of that consultation.

Further detail of the Scottish Government’s written response to the consultation, which sets out the strong case for Island Wind, can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0051/00513662.pdf

Scotland does not have a 'national deficit' as Scotland is not, yet, an independent nation in its own right. Government Expenditure and Revenues Scotland (GERS) present estimates of both the income and expenditure of Scotland while still part of the UK and including contributions to UK spending priorities that would not necessarily be replicated in an Independent Scotland.

However, tax revenues from oil and gas production, which flow to the UK Treasury and which have exceeded over £330 billion in the period since first production in UKCS, ultimately depend on a range of interrelated factors including global production levels, demand, stock levels, prices, the cost of production and profitability.

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest Oil Market Report, published on
13 April 2017, forecasts global demand to increase by 1.3 million barrels per day in 2017. The IEA also produce long term forecasts for energy demand under a number of policy scenarios, with global demand for oil and gas increasing under all but one scenario in the period to 2040.

The Scottish Government remains committed to maintaining domestic oil and gas exploration and production, and maximising economic recovery. Hydrocarbon production from the North Sea is a highly-regulated industry, with some of the most advanced and comparatively least polluting production methods in the world and this is a matter of great credit to the Scottish and UK sector's workforce. The Scottish Government’s draft Energy Strategy was published in January 2017, alongside the draft Climate Change Plan, and clearly articulates this within the context of Scotland’s ambitious climate change objectives and our drive for continued inclusive economic growth.

The North Sea has a bright future, and with the right fiscal and regulatory environment, there is potential for up to 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent remaining in the UK Continental Shelf. For this to happen, we need UK Ministers to heed our calls for a supportive fiscal regime for exploration, maintenance of critical infrastructure and to support late life assets and subsequent decommissioning. The Scottish Government will, for our part, focus our efforts on supporting the sector to protect employment, provide valuable primary energy supplies, develop its skills as part of the transition to a low carbon economy, and develop a greater international supply chain that is innovative and generate export led growth.

Scotland’s economic fundamentals are strong. Even without oil, GDP per head in Scotland is higher than the UK average excluding London.

An independent review, entitled “The Future of Fisheries Management in Scotland”, was undertaken in 2010. The recommendations from this review have used to inform the Scottish Government’s subsequent approach to promoting reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

It is well known that the CFP has been damaging to the Scottish fishing industry and we have consistently argued that the policy is not fit for purpose and should be scrapped or substantially reformed. The Scottish Government will continue to take every opportunity to champion further reforms of the CFP, and the interests of the Scottish fishing industry, wherever possible.

Details of the date for the next Government Expenditure & Revenue Scotland (GERS) publication are provided on the Scottish Government's 'Official Statistics - Forthcoming Publications' webpage, available at:

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/ForthcomingPubs

The Scottish Government is aware of this petition, which has not yet been considered by the Public Petitions Committee. We will respond when further information is requested by the committee.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring all of Scotland’s children and young people are equipped with the skills they need for life and work. This includes language skills and we are committed to the successful implemention of the 1+2 language learning policy.

The 1+2 policy entitles pupils to learn two languages, in addition to their own, during their broad general education. A first additional language, known as L2, is taught from primary 1 and a second additional language, known as L3, from primary 5. It is expected that this will continue until they reach their third year of secondary. In most cases the first additional language (L2) will be one which will be taken onwards into the senior phase and to National Qualification level.

Schools provide language learning opportunities to pupils in many flexible and innovative ways, including non-certificated courses, clubs and master classes. The 1+2 language policy is supporting this in both primary and secondary contexts; however, decisions on which languages to offer in which schools rests with each individual school and local authority, allowing local circumstances to be taken into account.

Scotland’s economy has remained resilient over the past year, growing by 0.4% in 2016. This is despite the continued challenges posed by the slowdown in the oil and gas sector and the uncertainty created by the EU referendum result. There is a clear consensus among forecasters that leaving the European Union will damage the UK economy. The Fraser of Allander Institute confirms the risks Brexit poses to Scotland’s economy, predicting that after ten years, GDP could be over 5% (£8 billion in 2015-16 terms) lower after leaving the EU than would otherwise be the case.

The Scottish Government continue to take action to support the Scottish economy, in keeping with the Programme for Government, and informed by the priorities set out in Scotland’s Economic Strategy.

We are taking forward our Infrastructure Investment Plan, with projects valued at more than £6.4 billion currently in construction or estimated to be in construction during 2017. We are also supporting significant investment in digital infrastructure and affordable housing and are taking action to encourage business investment, including through progressing with the Scottish Growth Scheme. We are supporting innovation through our plan to invest more than £1 billion in our universities in
2017-18, and through our Innovation Centres. A Board of Trade has been established, as part of our actions to boost Scotland’s trade, exports and international connections. We are undertaking a range of actions to support small businesses, including through our package of business rates support. We are also supporting the oil and gas sector, including through the Energy Jobs Taskforce and the Transition Training Fund.

We’re equipping our young people for the future by increasing the number of Modern Apprenticeship opportunities to 30,000 per year by 2020, and by taking steps to introduce a Job Grant to support young people aged 16-24 who have been out of work for six months or more.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-08935 on 8 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.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-08954 on 8 May 2017 for detail on key actions that the Scottish Government is taking to support Scotland’s economy. 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