Friday June 24: Today's political diary

Scottish Parliament

• No business.

UK Parliament

• No business.

Aberdeenshire Council

• Meetings of the Educational Trust Sub-Committee, the Local Review Body and the Northern Roads Collaboration Joint Committee are scheduled today.

Aberdeen City Council

• Meetings of the Pensions Committee and Pension Board are scheduled today.

News/consultations/funding

• Two consultations on Delivering Scotland’s circular economy are now live. The Route Map to 2025 and beyond consultation lays out the Scottish Government’s proposals for a strategic plan to deliver Scotland’s zero waste and circular economy ambitions, and invites views on the priorities and actions required to reach the proposed waste, recycling and emissions reduction targets . Meanwhile, the proposals for a Circular Economy Bill consultation seeks views on the Scottish Government’s proposals for legislation to develop Scotland’s circular economy to benefit the environment by cutting waste and carbon emissions, enhance the economy by improving productivity and opening up new markets, and to reinvigorate local communities by providing more local employment opportunities. The Bill looks at four areas: Strategic Interventions; Reduce and Reuse; Recycle; and Littering and Improving Enforcement. Closing date for both consultations is 22 August 2022.
• Health and Social Care Strategy for Older People – The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shone a spotlight on older people, who were amongst the worst affected by the virus in society. It is clear many older people’s health and social care services need to adapt now to ensure that health and social care services can adapt to the increasing ageing population and the complex health care needs that older people can have. This consultation forms part of the engagement on the Statement of Intent, which sets out the Scottish Government’s plan to develop a new integrated health and social care strategy for older people. For further information about the plans or to respond to the proposal please see here. Deadline for responses is 27^th June 2022
• Switched on Taxis Loan – Interest free loans of up to £150,000 are available to help owners and operators of hackney cabs and private hire taxis to replace their current vehicles with an eligible ultra-low emission vehicles. For further information please click here
• Low Emission Zone Support Fund for Businesses - Eligible Scottish micro businesses and sole traders can apply for up to £2,000 to take older, more polluting vehicles off the road and move towards cleaner transport options. This is for operating vehicles that are not compliant with the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) standards, in Scotland’s 4 largest cities. More information can be found here.
• A92 (S) Bridge of Don to Bridge of Dee Multi-Modal Transport Study - Aberdeen City Council is undertaking a Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) based appraisal of options for improving transport connections, in particular public transport and active travel (walking, wheeling and cycling) along and across the A92 corridor (Anderson Drive and the Parkway) between Bridge of Don and Bridge of Dee. More information can be found here.

• Sustainable Tourism Certification Scheme discounted membership offer – Through this scheme, 3 sustainable tourism certification scheme providers are offering a £500 discount on fees for tourism businesses in Scotland that join their certification schemes before March 2023 (or until all funding is used up). The providers are EarthCheck, Green Key and Green Tourism. The discount will mean eligible tourism businesses will get membership for the first year either discounted or even free, depending on the certification fees. The discounts are limited, and will be provided on a first come, first served basis. The funding for the scheme was provided through the Sustainability Certification Scheme Fund for Tourism Recovery, launched earlier this year by VisitScotland as part of the Destination Net Zero Programme. It provided grant funding to certification providers to support tourism businesses to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 in a sustainable manner. For more information, please see here