Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15654 on 14 March 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15654 on14 March 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15654 on 14 March 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

Community bodies receive support to request an asset transfer under Part 5 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 from a range of sources. The Scottish Government provides support for community bodies by funding the Community Ownership Support Service (COSS), who support community based groups in Scotland take a stake in or ownership of previously publicly owned land or buildings.

Since 2017 COSS have worked with 688 community bodies considering their options for taking on land or buildings including by asset transfer. COSS has supported 92 asset transfers and have a further 380 ongoing cases. They also provide advice to relevant authorities on all aspects of the asset transfer process and their adviser led service is free to access.

From the most recent annual data available since the Act came into force on 23 January 2017 to 31 March 2022, community bodies have made 352 asset transfer applications.

It is the responsibility of NHS Scotland to track mental health expenditure and ensure local budget decisions and use of the overall resources made available by the Scottish Government are used efficiently; effectively and deliver fit for purpose services in line with national and local priorities and the requirements of the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

Mental Health Directorate engages regularly with NHS Boards to discuss performance on key priorities.

Oil and gas exploration and production, including licensing and climate compatibility, remains reserved to the UK Government.

Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, published in January, sets out clearly that the North Sea basin is mature and production will inevitably decline. I have been clear about our intention to move away from a policy of unlimited extraction, even if the North Sea was not a declining resource. We need a new plan for Scotland’s energy system, the ESJTP seeks to do this.

Independent analysis on the energy system and just transition, published this month, includes a detailed assessment of oil and gas production in Scotland. Our forthcoming Climate Change Plan for Scotland, a draft of which is due in November, will set out our pathway to meeting our emissions reductions targets to 2040 alongside the costs and benefits of policies within the plan.

The Single Building assessment process has started for the 27 buildings in the original pilot. The pilot has been extended to 105 building. As the programme continues we expect further buildings to be identified and assessed. As we survey and undertake these further assessments we will have clearer information on the time-frame for the completion of all surveys on buildings with potentially unsafe cladding.

To respond to the emergency situation caused by the impact of the cost crisis on those living in the rented sector, the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 introduced a temporary, variable rent cap, initially set at 0% and in place until 31 March 2023.

Our recently published first report to Parliament on the emergency Cost of Living Act, and Statement of Reasons , provided updated economic evidence demonstrating the continued pressure being placed on private rented households due to the ongoing cost crisis. In light of this, the Scottish Government have brought forward regulations to extend the rent cap for the private rented sector for a further six months, along with the moratorium on enforcing evictions – which will continue to apply across all sectors.

While the focus of the emergency measures continues to be on protecting tenants, the Scottish Government recognises that the ongoing impacts of the cost crisis may also be being experienced by some private landlords. Mortgage interest rates, which had been on an upward trend since the end of 2021, experienced a further sharp increase after the UK Government Growth Plan / Mini-budget on 23 September 2022. The average advertised five-year fixed rate rose from 4.75% on 23 September to 6.51% on 20 October, before falling to 5.95% on 22 November.

The Scottish Government is of the view that it would therefore be proportionate to raise the rent cap in the private rented sector to allow within-tenancy rent increases of up to 3% from 1 April.

The voluntary approach to rent setting taken by landlords in the social sector is intended to equate to an approximate average rental increase of less than £5 a week (or less than £22 per month) across the country. As rents in the private rented sector are generally significantly higher than those in the social rented sector, allowing a maximum rent increase of 3% for rents in the private rented sector equates to a similar average rent increase for tenants in two-bedroom properties (the most common property size in the private rented sector). There will be variation around these averages, with higher increases for three-bedroom and four-bedroom properties and lower increases for one-bedroom properties. The Scottish Government considers that this will give a measure of parity to landlords in the private and social sectors in monetary terms, while continuing to protect tenants from unaffordable rent increases during the cost crisis.

While there may be some households where even the modest rent increase allowed under the 3% cap causes an increase in financial hardship, we consider that the amended rent cap will ensure that rent increases are proportionate and therefore continue to protect households against high rent increases while the cost crisis is ongoing. The increase to the rent cap will mitigate against a disproportionate impact on private landlords who may also be experiencing increased costs due to the cost crisis, allowing them to maintain their properties and meet other expenses. We are also proposing that private landlords could, alternatively, opt to apply to Rent Service Scotland for a rent increase of up to 6% if they have had an increase in their defined, prescribed property costs within a specific period.

In June 2022, as part of a Programme for Government commitment, the Scottish Government published the second iteration of the Honey Bee Health Strategy 2022-2032. This is a comprehensive bee health programme, focusing on both bee diseases as well as the wider issues affecting the Scottish beekeeping community. It aims to achieve a healthy and sustainable population of honey bees in Scotland. The Strategy is accompanied by an Implementation Plan, which details specific actions that are being taken to achieve the Strategy’s aims.

In addition, Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) provides a bee health diagnostic service for analysis and confirmation of bee diseases from samples submitted by beekeepers and Scottish Government bee inspectors. The Scottish Government also provides funding for an Apiculture specialist at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) who provides a support service for beekeepers focussed on disease prevention, good biosecurity and the treatment for Varroa mites.

Other actions include working in partnership with NatureScot to understand the interactions between honey bees, their environment, and other pollinators as well as supporting NatureScot’s ‘Pollinator Strategy for Scotland 2017-2027’.

The Honey Bee Health Strategy 2022-2032 can be found here: Bee Health Improvement Partnership (BHIP) Member Statements - The Honey Bee Health Strategy 2022 - 2032 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Implementation Plan which accompanies the Strategy can be found here: Scotland’s Honey Bee Health Strategy: implementation plan - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15654 on 14 March 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