 We begin with general questions, and question number one from Ash Denham. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding reports of potential asset stripping with the Edinburgh-based green investment bank when it has transferred to the private sector. Cabinet Secretary, Keith Brown The Scottish Government has made repeated representations, including yesterday and today as it happens, o'r grŵw gweithio'r broblemoedd sy'n 2015 o gwastioio'n rhoi cyfnod i'r corffodd wickediad cyflosio'r bank, sy'n siŵn eu ff temosig o blomau ym M hèrnebwr ei ddwyg, ac yn hyn o'r cyflosio'r droi. Rhaid i ni gyd yn oed beth ym mwyn o'r grŵw gweithio'r afael eich gwaith i gaelio'r mae'n gyfleidio'r grŵw gweithio'rกou wadows, ond mae'n cyflosio'r pierdig ym my concern is for the 55 jobs that are based in the city. Has the UK Government given any assurance that they will be protected? I share the same concerns as Ash Denham in relation to the jobs and also to the green purpose of the bank. I have received some partial reassurances from the UK Government in the phone conversation that I had yesterday that the strategic importance of the bank itself to Scotland will be fully considered as part of on-going discussions around its privatisation. I spoke to the UK Government's Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry and during that conversation I also pressed for greater transparency around the privatisation process as well as confirmation that the bank will continue to be headquartered in Edinburgh along with the 55 jobs that I mentioned. I should say that it seems passing strange that virtually every newspaper in the country has mentioned who the preferred bidder for the bank is and yet yesterday in that conversation the minister wouldn't confirm even at this stage when everyone else in the world seems to know who the preferred bidder is, who the preferred bidder was. It is my belief, as I am sure that it is for Ash Denham, that headquartering the bank in Scotland is extremely important. There was a campaign to make sure that it happened which succeeded and it is important not only because we have the pool of expertise needed to support that function but also because it is symbolic of Scotland's role as a leader within the green energy sector, which in turn helps to sustain and support the Scottish Government's reputation, not least in relation to the award for circular economy that we have had and previous awards in relation to climate change. It is extremely important to Scotland that we will continue to make representations. Daniel Johnson Thank you, Presiding Officer. Ash Denham is right to highlight the impact or potential impact on jobs, including many of my constituents in Edinburgh Southern. What assurances and indeed what role does the minister think that the Scottish Government can play in terms of engagement with potential purchasers of the green investment bank? Has it had any guarantees from the UK Government to that effect? Daniel Johnson As I say, the assurances have been somewhat partial. That is true in terms of the jobs and in terms of the headquarters function and it is true in terms of the green purpose of the bank, each of which are issues on which we have pressed the UK Government. Do you make a very good point about what discussions we could have with preferred bidders? I think that we are at the stage of a preferred bidder rather than a series of bidders. Of course, we will do what we can and we are doing what we can but it would be much easier if the UK Government could at least confirm who the preferred bidder was. It is very difficult in that circumstance to make sure that we can have those discussions but we are not being passive on this as she would be able to see more on this and more becomes clear over the course of time. Just to assure the member, like Ash Denham and Edinburgh, that the issue of the jobs and we are not just pressing for the jobs that are currently there, the 55 jobs, to be the limit. We are pressing very hard on a number of different forums to make sure that that has increased and there is a possibility that that will happen. Of course, we want to have those as high-quality, headquarter-type jobs and we want to ensure that the green purpose of the bank is maintained. The other issue that I have pressed very hard on is that we are not about to see asset stripping by a private takeover. Those issues are being pressed and if the member wants to discuss that further, I am more than happy to do that. I ask what progress has been made in providing the Crown of States with a social remit as part of the devolution arrangements? Control over the management and resources of the Crown of States in Scotland should rest with the people of Scotland. We are currently undertaking a public consultation just launched on 4 January to help to shape the long-term arrangements for management of Crown of States assets in Scotland. That consultation contains proposals and options on how Crown of States assets in Scotland can be managed differently in future, including the overall aims of the estate and opportunities for further devolution. Richard Lochhead I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer and I am sure that she will agree that the hard-won devolution that allows Parliament to provide a social and economic remit to the Crown of States will help the likes of tenant farmers in Glenlivet, Fockebirds or communities such as Tom and Tell or Port Gordon and my own constituency but of course communities elsewhere in Scotland as well to have much more say over their own future. Will the cabinet secretary ensure that her officials keep these communities up to date as the months go by through the consultation process and beyond? In terms of the surplus that is normally generated by the Crown of States, which previously would have gone to the UK Treasury, are there any prospects of that being retained by the Crown of States to reinvest into those communities? Roseanna Cunningham My officials and myself have met stakeholders including representatives of the rural estates and we are happy to meet any community representatives who wish to speak to us about this so anybody with an interest in the transfer should approach officials in the first place in respect of a meeting. With regard to the surplus for investment, Scotland Act 2016 requires the estate to be managed as an estate inland or as estates inland manage separately which would require primary legislation. So we need to maintain the estate. There is provision for on-going investment during each financial year for that purpose. The consultation outlines intention to continue funding maintenance and investment costs in the longer term and that would include management of liabilities from gross revenue or the capital budget. We are committed to providing councils with the net revenue from marine assets out to 12 nautical miles. We are making provision for the interim body to retain a portion of revenue for investment in the estate and there is discretion for Scottish ministers to vary the proportion retained and we will keep that under review. Claudia Beamish Thank you, Presiding Officer. I was very interested in the answer from the cabinet secretary to Richard Lochhead's question. It is an interest that I have had through the last session of the Parliament in the Racky Committee about the redefinition of remit in relation to both social inclusion and sustainable development and not only the remit but also the mission statement of the Crown Estate. While it is reassuring that cabinet secretary stresses that the consultation has been initiated, could she give further reassurance that it will be widely publicised so that marine harbour groups and coastal communities and, indeed, tenant farmers as highlighted by Richard Lochhead will have the best opportunity of inclusion in taking it forward so that we have a really inclusive Crown Estates for the future? Claudia Beamish Yes, I can reassure Claudia Beamish of that. It is important that all communities with an interest in any aspect of Crown Estate workings have a look at the consultation and consider whether or not they can contribute. There is sometimes a tendency to presume that it is really only local councils and or some of the bigger estates that might have an interest when, in actual fact, relatively small bodies and organisations will be very key to that. We want to hear the widest possible range of views on that. Work is on going to ensure that we get out and about, that we make sure that communities understand that they too can play a role in that. I would ask members in the chamber to ensure that, in those constituencies where there are Crown Estate interests, they in themselves generate as much interest as they possibly can. Annie Wells To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is tackling youth unemployment. Minister Jamie Hepburn In December, I published the second development in the young workforce programme annual report that highlighted the progress that we are making towards the programme's headline target of reducing 2014 levels of youth unemployment by 40 per cent by 2021. The report highlighted developments in growing vocational provision for young people in their senior phase, including growth in a modern apprenticeship programme, a significant expansion of foundation apprenticeships establishing 17 of the 21 plans developing young workforce regional groups and investing in the earlier introduction of cruise advice refocusing activity across our youth employment programmes on young people who need the most support. The Scottish Government's own progress report into its national drive to tackle youth employment revealed recently that the number of jobless youngsters increased over the past year by 2.4 per cent to 42,000. Last month, the Scottish Government missed a great opportunity for young people in the job market after it failed to ring-fence the £221 million in apprenticeship levy funds. How can we ensure that young people are given opportunities in skilled training in this month and this move will not discourage businesses from relocating apprenticeships elsewhere? What Annie Wells fails to mention is that, right now, Scotland continues to outperform the UK on youth unemployment and unemployment and inactivity rates. Indeed, she also failed to mention that Scotland's youth unemployment is at the lowest rate since the series of garringo statistics began and, indeed, is the second lowest youth unemployment rate in the European Union. I am surprised to hear the Conservatives once again raised the issue of their apprenticeship levy. Let's never forget that it was the UK Government that introduced the apprenticeship levy without prior notification or consultation with the Scottish Government. Of course, that £221 million is not new funding for the Scottish Government to be able to spend. It replaces existing funding. Indeed, when you take account of the £73 million cost to the public sector, it reduces the Scottish Government's spending levy by some £30 million, but we are investing significant resource through our draft budget in supporting young people into employment. We have got £81.5 million to increase modern apprenticeships, £11.5 million to expand graduate-level foundation apprenticeships, £9.3 million to support employers to recruit young people who face barriers to employment. A new flexible workforce development fund of £10 million, £3.9 million to support individual learning accounts, and an increase of £16.4 million in workforce plus budget to support delivery of a devolved employability service from April 2017, and other funding to support young people into employment, which is why I am sure that, once they properly assess the budget, Annie Wells and the Conservatives will have to support its passage through Parliament. To ask the Scottish Government when the joint ministerial working group on welfare will next meet and what will be discussed. The next joint ministerial working group on welfare is scheduled to take place on Monday, 20 February. The agenda for that meeting is still to be finalised. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The Scottish Government has announced a welcome consultation on using flexibilities within universal credit to make more frequent payments. Can I ask the cabinet secretary what discussions have been at the joint ministerial working group around split payments and why the Government is not also progressing with a consultation on this issue at the same time, which could prevent a situation where the social security system forces a woman experiencing domestic abuse to be financially dependent on that abusive partner? Let me assure Mr Griffin that we are looking at the issue of split payments very closely indeed. In fact, there is some intensive work and discussion going on between Scottish Government officials and indeed DWP officials. We are also taking the time to look at all the consultation responses—over 500 consultation responses—on the way ahead for social security. Of course, as part of that consultation, this was one of the issues that people would press in home hard to the Scottish Government. We are looking at the issue very closely. We have to find ways to enact political will. We have to find a delivery mechanism and we will be keeping both Parliament and committee fully informed as we proceed. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will take action to regulate growth in short-term letting of residential property. Minister Kevin Stewart. The Scottish Government has no plans to regulate the growth in short-term letting, however we recognise that some concerns exist and welcome the opportunity to engage further with stakeholders on that matter. Our private housing tenancy act will come into force later this year. It will provide security, stability and predictability for tenants through measures that include a new modern tenancy, rent increases only being possible once in 12 months and tenants having three months' notice of changes to enable them to budget accordingly. In addition, councils will have the power to apply to ministers for a cap on rent increases in their area for up to five years and there will be a broadening of access to dispute resolution through the housing property chamber of the first-year tribunal. I thank the minister for his answer. Over the past few weeks, I have been speaking to constituents who live in the old town and grass market in Edinburgh. It is clear that there is a substantial problem with the unregulated growth in short-term holiday letting. We will look at a situation in which the residential population in those areas may substantially disappear within the next decade. One constituent has had very audible sex parties taking place in the flat above them. An elderly couple is now living out the rest of their years lonely in a tenement stair that has lost all of its permanent residents. Others are living with young families in a state of stress and anxiety due to the rent-seeking behaviour of a growing number of property owners. Does the minister agree that the use of residential property requires a tighter regulatory framework and, in particular, does he agree that the planning system and, specifically, use-class orders could play a significant role in ensuring that communities and councils have the tools that they need to regulate the residential character, not only in the city of Edinburgh but in many villages and rural areas across Scotland? I sympathise with some of the stories that Andy Wightman has given us. The planning system itself cannot always readily distinguish between different types of housing tenure, where a householder proposes to change the use of an existing residential flat, the requirement for planning permission will depend on the circumstances of each individual case, and it will be a matter for the planning authority concerned in the first instance. I suggest that Mr Wightman might want to engage in the current planning consultation and urge the residents that he has spoken to to do so also. To ask the Scottish Government whether it is content with the way that it records crime. Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson. Yes. The Scottish Government records crime using the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey and police recorded crime statistics. Both measures tell a similar story of falling crime levels. The production of our police recorded crime statistics is carried out by independent statisticians and overseen by the Scottish Crime Recording Board, which ensures that the data is transparent and trustworthy and produced in line with the code of practice for official statistics. The success of this approach was confirmed just last year when the UK Statistics authority designated our recorded crime data as national statistics, sending their congratulations to the Scottish Government on the leading approach being taken by our statisticians to improve the value of this information and user understanding of it. There is contrast with the position in England and Wales where the UK Statistics authority will not assess their statistics until there is improvements in police recording practice. What we have is a Scottish Government that issues press releases with misleading figures for crimes of violence when the true figure is much higher. The cabinet secretary will know that the Office of National Statistics in England and Wales makes no distinction between the different levels of violence in its figures. Why does the cabinet secretary not agree with Derek Penman of HMICS that, and I quote, its important crime is classified correctly so data published provides the public with an accurate picture of violent crime? The member may not be aware, but the classification of recorded crime and offences in Scotland has been exactly the same since the 1920s. The process that has been used by this administration is the same process that has been used by every administration since the 1920s, something clearly that the member had absolutely no idea on. I can also say that, in regard to HMICS's recommendation looking at some aspects of the statistics, that is a piece of work that has already been taken forward by the Scottish Crime Reporting Board. That work is on-going and will be considered in the coming weeks. Despite the efforts of the member to try to undermine our statistics here in Scotland, there are the only statistics of this nature that have that national classification because of the excellent standards that we apply. Mark Ruskell The cabinet secretary may be aware that the annual wildlife crime report came under scrutiny recently in the Parliament's Environment Committee. It was revealed that a number of bird of prey persecution incidents from two years ago were withheld from the report, despite details being in the public domain from other sources. Will the cabinet secretary undertake to investigate why this data was withheld and what Police Scotland can do to make sure that wildlife crime reporting is transparent, accurate and has the confidence of the public? Mark Ruskell The classification and the way in which issues are recorded within the statistics is taken forward by statisticians. It must comply with the code of practice that is applied to the recording of crime statistics. I have no doubt that, as we move forward with some of the changes that could take place if the Scottish Crime Recording Board believed that there is a need for any alteration to them, that is an issue that they can give consideration to. What I will do is ensure that the member receives a full and detailed response to the very specific nature of the wildlife crime to ensure that he has a detailed response to that matter.