Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-25489 on 9 March 2024. 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/questions-and-answers

The SPCB has a dedicated intranet page to Capital Credit Union and Financial Wellbeing.  Monthly promotions run by the Capital Credit Union are published by the Pay and Pensions Office via the Corporate Bulletin.  A link to the Capital Credit Union website is also provided to all staff on the SPCB’s online payslip platform. 

The SPCB has a contractual arrangement with Capital Credit Union Ltd which commenced in 2012.  The contract is open ended with no proposed end date.  

Table 1 presents the estimated gross savings to ratepayers, after General Revaluation Transitional Relief is applied, for properties with a rateable value of up to and including £51,000, resulting from the Scottish Government freezing the Basic Property Rate at 49.8p in 2024-2025, compared to uprating in line with September 2023’s measure of CPI, which would have resulted in a Basic Property Rate of 53.1p. The figures are not adjusted for any other relief. This is broken down by property class, as the Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property.

This table is based on the valuation roll as at 30 March 2023, 1 April 2023, and 1 January 2024.

Figures in this table are rounded to the nearest £1,000, and may not sum due to rounding.

Table 1: Estimated gross savings to ratepayers due to freezing the Basic Property Rate, 2024-2025

As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels could play a significant role in the decarbonisation of the maritime industry.

Our long-term goal is to reduce carbon emissions very substantially by 2045 and, ideally, to eliminate them. However, this is dependent on alternative fuels becoming commercially available. This is a challenge facing the whole shipping industry.

Hydrogen may well become one of the future maritime fuels used by the global shipping fleet. However, this technology is not yet fully developed, and the decision of vessel owners to use specific maritime fuels will be determined by a number of factors. One of those factors will be availability of the fuel source, therefore we believe that working to develop a safe and economically viable supply will assist in the development of hydrogen vessels. This will ultimately be a decision for ship owners and port operators, along with the UK Government, which has policy responsibility for shipping regulations in UK waters.

As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy source alongside electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when full electrification is challenging. We support the rollout of infrastructure needed for hydrogen vehicles to operate in Scotland: Aberdeen City has two hydrogen refuelling stations.

Transport Scotland has contracted Heriot-Watt University to work with road haulage fleets and stakeholders to assess where initial enroute charging and refuelling infrastructure for zero emission HGVs will be needed.

The Zero Emission Truck Taskforce, convened by Transport Scotland, includes a working group focused on hydrogen refuelling infrastructure; this included hydrogen truck manufacturers and fleets interested in hydrogen trucks.

As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy source alongside electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when full electrification is challenging. We support the rollout of infrastructure needed for hydrogen vehicles to operate in Scotland: Aberdeen City has two hydrogen refuelling stations.

Transport Scotland has contracted Heriot-Watt University to work with road haulage fleets and stakeholders to assess where initial enroute charging and refuelling infrastructure for zero emission HGVs will be needed.

The Zero Emission Truck Taskforce, convened by Transport Scotland, includes a working group focused on hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. The Taskforce included hydrogen truck manufacturers and fleets interested in hydrogen trucks.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26060 on 20 March 2024. 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/questions-and-answers

Apprentices are employees and can undertake training in a college, and will also undertake a significant amount of work-based learning in their working environment as they progress through their apprenticeship.

Funding contributions for Modern Apprentices are weighted towards young people, particularly the 16-19 age group, with enhanced funding contributions for those who are care experienced and/or are disabled up to age 29.

For apprentices resident in Argyll & Bute, Highland, Moray, Orkney, Shetland, Western Isles, Isle of Arran, Isle of Great Cumbrae, and the Isle of Little Cumbrae, travel and subsistence funding is available to support apprentices who must attend structured and formal off-the-job training (out with normal daily travel requirements) as part of their Modern Apprenticeship. This may require them to travel and, where appropriate, use overnight accommodation.

All young people in Scotland can also apply to access the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme.

Data on the number of Scottish Domiciled entrants to full-time first degree Allied Health Profession (AHP) courses at Scottish providers is collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Scottish Domiciled full-time first degree entrants to allied health profession (AHP) courses at Scottish universities via SWAP by academic year