Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Out-turn report for the 2022-23 Affordable Housing Supply Programme was published on 17 January 2025.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/affordable-housing-supply-programme-out-turn-report/

As stated in the answer to question S6W-32145 on 18 December 2024, the 2023-24 out-turn report is still in progress and we do not, at present, have an identified publication date . 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-29131 on 4 September 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/written-questions-and-answers

Statistics on more able pupil as a reason for support are published in the pupil census supplementary statistics. This is available on the Scottish government website here https://www.gov.scot/publications/pupil-census-supplementary-statistics/.

Local authorities oversee the delivery of education and have a statutory duty to identify, provide for, and to review the support that they provide for pupils with additional support needs, including more able pupils.

Table 1 presents the estimated gross cost of setting the Higher Property Rate equal to the Standard Multiplier in England, from 2016-2017 until 2020-2021.

The Higher Property Rate in Scotland was 1.3p higher than the Standard Multiplier in England from 2016-2017 until 2018-2019, and 1.2p higher in 2019-2020 and
2021-2022. The Higher Property Rate and the Standard Multiplier in each year are shown in Table 2.

Figures for years from 2021-2022 until 2025-2026 are available in answers to questions S6W-25972 on 18 March 2024, S6W-25588 on 1 March 2024 and
S6W-32778 on 7 January 2025.

In 2016-2017, the threshold for the Standard Multiplier was £18,000, while the threshold for the Higher Property Rate was £51,000. Both thresholds were set to £51,000 from 2017-2018 until 2019-2020. From 2020-2021, the threshold for the Higher Property Rate was increased to £95,000, while the threshold for the Standard Multiplier remained at £51,000.

All figures are gross estimates, and are not adjusted for any relief. Figures are 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 1 October 2016, 1 October 2017, 1 October 2018, 1 October 2019, and 1 October 2020.

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

Table 1: Estimated gross cost of reducing the Higher Property Rate to the level of the English Standard Multiplier (£), broken down by property class

NHS Boards are separate entities with their own local governance and performance management arrangements in place, in line with national guidance, such as the ‘NHS Scotland Blueprint for Good Governance.’ This can be accessed at: www.gov.scot/publications/blueprint-good-governance-nhs-scotland-second-edition/.

There is also an ongoing cycle of routine engagement, scrutiny and support between the Scottish Government and NHS Boards. This helps ensure the latter are delivering on local and national priorities, and are being held to account for the significant public investment in the NHS. This evidence-based approach to monitoring performance and managing risk across the NHS in Scotland is underpinned by the ‘NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework’, which consists of five stages in a ladder of escalation that provides a model for support and intervention by the Scottish Government. NHS Boards can be escalated on the Framework as a result of significant and persistent performance issues; informing further scrutiny, support and intervention, as required. Further details can be accessed at: www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-scotland-support-and-intervention-framework/.

The information requested is not held or collected centrally by Scottish Government. However, Police Scotland may be able to provide some data obtained from their National Missing Persons Application which was introduced in April 2019.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Individual local authorities manage and monitor the provision of independent advocacy to meet local needs, including ongoing provision for care experienced people.

The Scottish Government is currently working with advocacy service providers and key partners, including The Promise Scotland, COSLA and Who Cares? Scotland to further develop our understanding of current advocacy provision and areas where needs are not being met.

The Scottish Government published an independent evaluation of the Children’s Hearings advocacy scheme in September 2024.

In addition, the Scottish Government provides grant funding to Who Cares? Scotland to operate their National Helpline which provides lifelong support to care experienced people.

All children in Primaries 1 to 5 across Scotland are eligible for Free School Meals, including children living in Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders.

The following table sets out the number of eligible pupils by year group and local authority area.

The Scottish Government became responsible for funding discretionary housing payments in 2017 and only holds data on costs from April 2017 onwards. Data prior to this has been obtained from the UK Government website: Discretionary Housing Payments statistics - GOV.UK.

Since 2013, a total of £17.16 million has been invested in Dumfries and Galloway and £10.81 million in Scottish Borders to support these local authorities to mitigate the UK Government’s bedroom tax policy.

Tables 1 and 2 provide a breakdown of spending (or funding) in the past 13 years, including the current financial year.

Table 1 – bedroom tax mitigation spending (or funding) from 2013 onwards, broken down by financial year in Dumfries and Galloway

The Scottish Government recognises the disruption a homeless household can experience when placed in temporary accommodation and is aware of the issues that can arise if accommodation is located too far from the household’s employment, education and support services.

The Unsuitable Accommodation Order states that accommodation is unsuitable if it is not in the locality of facilities and services for the purposes of education which are being used, or might reasonably be expected to be used, by members of the household. The exception to this is if those facilities are reasonably accessible from the accommodation, taking into account the distance of travel by public transport or transport provided by a local authority.

It can be challenging for local authorities to place homeless households close to existing family and social networks due to the location of available properties and the high demand in particular areas. The risk assessment conducted as part of the housing support service and allocation process informs the offers of accommodation made. While it is preferable for households to continue to access the same facilities as they have previously, this is not always possible. The Scottish Government’s code of guidance on homelessness makes clear that it is acceptable for local authorities to offer households access to similar facilities.

A new temporary accommodation standards framework, which built on the 2019 advisory standards, was published by the Scottish Government in 2023. Local authorities and social landlords are expected to work towards meeting the framework before it becomes legally enforceable. The framework requires accommodation to be in a location that allows access to school either by foot, by public transport or by transport provided.