Seòmar agus comataidhean

Zoopla published a report titled “ The Cheapest Places to Rent a Home in 2023 ” on 14 September 2023. This report is based on newly advertised rental data and does not include trends in rents for existing tenancies and does not therefore cover trends in rents for the whole private rented sector in Scotland.

This report states that the average monthly advertised rent for 1 to 4 bedroom properties on the open market in Scotland in July 2023, was £748, 64% cheaper than the corresponding rent in London of £2,053.

The report also states that these rents in Scotland increased by 12.7% in the last year to July 2023, very similar to the corresponding increase in London of 12.4% and similar to other regions in England and Wales, with increases of 10% and above in the North West and West Midlands.

The Scottish Government considers that there are a wide range of factors contributing to high increases in private rents in Scotland and across the UK. The Programme for Government confirms the intention to introduce a Housing Bill to deliver a New Deal for Tenants, including the introduction of long-term rent controls for the private rented sector to address large increases in rents both during and between tenancies in Scotland.

The Cost of Living (Tenants Protection) Scotland Act 2022 provides stability of rents for the majority of existing tenants in the private rented sector in Scotland. Since 1 April 2023, rents for tenancies subject to the rent cap can increase by up to 3%, or landlords can apply to Rent Service Scotland for approval of an increase of up to 6% in specific circumstances. Our emergency legislation has led the way at a time when rents have been rising across the UK, stabilising rents to help tenants to stay in their homes. Anywhere else in the UK, private tenants have faced a double impact of unfettered rent rises both during and between tenancies.

The Mobile Heat Pump Training Van was launched on 2 August 2023, is accessible to any college in Scotland and is capable of delivering on site training across Scotland, including rural areas.

The facility was at Energy Skills Partnership (ESP) offices in Stirling twice in August to show Colleges from across Scotland the apparatus within the van and explain the booking process. On 28 August South Lanarkshire College delivered the first training in the van to eight heating tradespeople from the plumbing and gas sector who wanted to upskill on heat pumps. At the end of September the training centre was used by the heat pump manufacturer NIBE to provide training to 13 trainers from Scotland’s Colleges to increase the capacity to deliver training.

Throughout September the vehicle has also been made available at events to allow stakeholders to visit the facility and have a demonstration of its heat pump technologies.

Energy Saving Trust is preparing a marketing campaign to promote the training available through the van.

Since the introduction of the Low Carbon Skills Grant in 2021 the fund has supported a total of 293 heating and plumbing apprentices to be trained in heat pump installation. The fund has continued to grow in popularity and this is shown by the increase in yearly delivery figures provided in the following table:

The following primary care projects were allocated capital funding by the Scottish Government in the period 2019-20 to 2023-24:

The Scottish Government will be investing in the North East Glasgow Health and Care Centre over the next two financial years.

A number of other proposals are currently being reviewed, however, as a result of very high levels of inflation in the construction industry and a lower than expected capital grant from the UK Government, there is no ability to expand the health capital investment programme at this point. Therefore, any projects not identified as priorities within the Infrastructure Investment Plan will not be able to be funded until likely 2026.

The Scottish Government’s National Innovation Strategy included an action to publish a "comprehensive plan to establish the Scottish higher education system as a world-class hotbed of startup creation and scaling". This plan, the Entrepreneurial Campus, was published in June, shortly after the publication of the Strategy.

To achieve our aims, the Entrepreneurial Campus, sets out actions across a number of themes in collaboration with our excellent further and higher education institutions, underpinned by regional alignment, inclusivity and a guiding framework for change.

As announced in the Strategy, Scottish Universities are developing a Scottish Innovation Fund to invest in early stage start-ups. We are liaising with relevant Universities as they develop the Fund and will work closely with them as they progress their ambitions.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving terms and conditions for the adult social care workforce, to support the development of an attractive, sustainable and effective social care sector.

We recognise paying a recurring fee may be challenging for workers in the current financial environment. The Scottish Government is currently considering options to address issues facing Social Care staff, including the payment of SSSC fees. We will update the sector once this work has concluded.

The Scottish Government will reflect carefully on the recommendations made the Trams Public Inquiry and consider if improvements can be made in the process and procedures surrounding Public Inquiries. The Scottish Government already has work in hand to produce guidance along the lines suggested by Lord Hardie as well as work to improve the support offered by Scottish Government to inquiries.

The Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013: statutory guidance states that if a supported person is dissatisfied with their care, their local authority should make the person aware that they can make use of the local authority's complaints procedure.

Supported people, their families and carers have the right to access a simple, timely and accessible formal complaints procedure if they feel they have been unfairly or unreasonably treated, or if they wish to challenge a decision that the local authority has made about their support. Local authority complaints processes therefore must be compliant with the 2013 Act.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21563 on 5 October 2023. 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