- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13127 by Patrick Harvie on 9 January 2023, when it expects to release the annual reports for the (a) Scottish House Condition Survey for (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022 and (b) Scottish Household Survey for (A) 2021 and (B) 2022.
Answer
There will be no Scottish House Condition Survey 2020 annual report. Following the suspension of face-to-face interviewing in March 2020, due to COVID-19, there was no further Scottish House Condition Survey data collection in 2020. The 2021 results will be published in May 2023, and the 2022 results in early 2024.
The Scottish Household Survey results for 2021 will be published in April 2023, and the 2022 results will be published in late 2023 / early 2024.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15004 by Richard Lochhead on 23 February 2023, whether it will work with Glasgow City Council, the Glasgow City Region Cabinet and COSLA, to determine the feasibility of raising capital for the proposed Levelling Up Fund projects through the issuing of sub-sovereign bonds.
Answer
I appreciate the disappointment the Glasgow City Region will be experiencing following the UK Government’s decision not to support their bids for Levelling Up funding.
Any borrowing by local authorities, whether it’s through the public works loans board or through the issuance of bonds, is for local authorities to determine affordability themselves, subject to the conditions of their prudential borrowing regime.
However, any decisions to permit local authorities to issue bonds would require Ministerial consent. Ambitious investment strategies have led to financial insolvency in certain English local authorities and therefore this would require very careful consideration. My officials would be happy to discuss proposals with Glasgow City Council.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to piloting opt-out HIV testing in NHS emergency departments in areas of highest prevalence, as has been done in other parts of the UK.
Answer
We know that opt-out testing in emergency departments in areas of high prevalence in other parts of the UK has worked well. However, it is important to evaluate the learning from this to understand both how it might apply in a Scottish context. Specifically how it compares to other interventions recommended by the HIV Transmission Elimination Oversight Group in their HIV Elimination Proposal which was published in December 2022.
- Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many recipients of a STEM teacher education bursary, prior to beginning a Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) programme, were (a) unemployed, (b) employed full-time, (c) employed part-time, (d) self-employed and (e) in receipt of carer's allowance, in each academic year since 2018-19.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information as Skills Development Scotland undertake the administration of the STEM bursary scheme.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to
develop policy around housing for people with varying needs, following its
review of the Housing for Varying Needs design guide.
Answer
We plan on consulting on proposed updates to Housing for Varying Needs to uplift standards applicable to homes delivered with support through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme in the Spring of this year. This consultation will also include proposals for the introduction of an all-tenure Scottish Accessible Homes Standard which is planned to be implemented through changes to building standards and guidance from 2025-26.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £50 million Ukraine Longer Term Resettlement Fund, launched in September 2022, has been distributed to (a) each local authority and (b) registered social landlords.
Answer
£7.473m has been allocated to Aberdeen City Council, North Ayrshire Council and New Gorbals Housing Association. When including the pilot by North Lanarkshire Council, a total of four capital projects providing 754 homes are being supported by funding in the region of £13 million. We are also at an advanced stage of due diligence on several further applications from local authorities and registered social landlords across Scotland. These have the potential to bring up to a further 250 homes back into use. Approved project costs are published on our website at: Ukraine Longer Term Resettlement Fund - gov.scot
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether Marine Scotland will have sufficient capacity to process applications for offshore windfarms through the ScotWind process.
Answer
Over the last 12 months Marine Scotland Directorate has recruited a significant number of new staff across Marine Scotland Licensing Operations Team, Marine Scotland Planning and Policy Division and the science function within Marine Scotland to address increased demands expected from processing ScotWind applications. Resources will be kept under review in light of the number of lease options awarded for ScotWind and applicants’ proposed timelines. In addition, the Marine Scotland Directorate has established a streamlining team to identify and implement efficiencies in consenting processes.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) assessment it is undertaking and (b) mitigations it is planning regarding the potential impact on affordable housing supply, including through reduced numbers of section 75 agreements and availability of off-the-shelf properties, as a result of any downturn in private sector housebuilding, in light of reports from Barratt Homes that it is no longer buying land and that Bellway's activity in the land market is "markedly lower".
Answer
The Scottish Government works closely with local partners to monitor delivery of the affordable housing programme on the ground and to overcome delivery issues where they may arise.
We will continue to work with local authorities in ensuring there is an effective pipeline of potential projects, through their annual Strategic Housing Investment Plans, which look five years ahead. We will also consider options for off the shelf purchases where local authorities identify these as a priority.
The potential impact on affordable housing supply of developer contributions, including through Section 75 agreements, is also reviewed regularly.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that continued uncertainty over the detail of producer agreements could compromise the enforceability of the Deposit Return Scheme.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14615 on 6 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/questions-and-answers .
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking on each of the headline recommendations made in Audit Scotland’s 2020 review, Privately financed infrastructure investment: The Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) and hub models.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomed Audit Scotland’s report, which provided useful lessons which we are already implementing through successor schemes to the NPD and hub models which the report considered. These schemes allowed us to deliver much needed new schools, new NHS facilities, new colleges and other key infrastructure that would otherwise not have been possible. They also provided a significant boost to the Scottish economy at a time of constrained private sector investment.
The eleven main recommendations in the Audit Scotland report are in included within the following tables along with accompanying Scottish Government comments.
The Scottish Government should:
REPORT RECOMMENDATION | SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT COMMENTS |
1. Better document and report how decisions on the use of private finance are made at a programme level, and how the overall combination of programme and project funding aims to maximise investment and benefits (paragraph 29) | The Scottish Government’s five-year Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) published in February 2021 showed how we will enhance our approach to choosing the right future investments and introduced a new infrastructure investment hierarchy. We consulted on the new IIP to ensure the right final approach that benefits the whole of Scotland both now and in the future. The IIP builds on the recommendations of the independent Infrastructure Commission for Scotland. As a result of the Commission and consultation, the IIP includes the following: ? An expanded definition of infrastructure to include Natural Infrastructure. ? A new investment hierarchy framework to prioritise making the most of existing infrastructure ahead of building new assets. ? Commitments to develop new methods of appraisal and prioritisation to ensure they match long-term goals. ? A commitment to prepare a cross-sector infrastructure needs assessment to inform the next Infrastructure Investment Plan. ? A commitment to develop a broader approach to public engagement in forward infrastructure plans. |
2. Better communicate the rationale of project financing and funding decisions to public sector organisations and Parliament (paragraph 32) | Local authorities determine their own programmes for capital investment and are required by legislation to comply with The Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities, which was developed by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). The Prudential Code requires local authorities to ensure that all capital investment decisions are prudent, affordable and sustainable. |
3. Continue to monitor existing NPD and hub projects to review if the models are successfully achieving their original aims, and documenting lessons learned (Parts 2 and 3) | The Scottish Government annually update and publish information relating to contracts within the NPD programme which includes unitary charge payments, fixed debt providers, SPV’s and equity holders. This information is available from the following link www.gov.scot/npd . The Scottish Futures Trust also publishes NPD and hub DBFM investor information as well as NPD and hub financial indicator information. This is available from the following respective links www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/npd www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/hub |
4. Set out how the MIM will operate, and establish clear criteria for selecting programmes and monitoring risks (paragraph 88) | The approach to the Mutual Investment Model (MIM) governance is being developed and considered following SFT’s options appraisal. The use of MIM is being considered alongside a range of financing approaches including capital grant, capital borrowing, financial transactions and other forms of finance when determining how to finance projects. |
5. Develop its public reporting to provide more information on the costs and benefits of using private finance, the management of risks and outcomes delivered, and its contribution to supporting economic policies and growth (paragraph 97) | The Scottish Government monitor the affordability of revenue financed investment through imposing a cap on revenue commitments which is assessed as part of the annual budget process. This is in place to ensure that revenue-funded methods of investment are used at a sustainable level and do not overly constrain our choices in future years. Procuring authorities have governance processes in place to evaluate their revenue financed projects through for example, post project reviews and post project evaluations. They also monitor the contractual commitments of the private sector in delivering the associated public facilities for use. A key requirement of the NPD programme was to deliver local community benefits and support the local economy. The Scottish Futures Trust have confirmed that contractual targets were exceeded for the number of work placements, graduates and apprentices employed and the construction phases supported approximately 8,000 jobs across Scotland. This information is available from the following link www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/community-benefits The Scottish Government publish an annual progress report relating to the Infrastructure Investment Plan which outlines the contribution made to economic development by major capital projects. This is available from the following link www.gov.scot/iip-progress-report |
The Scottish Futures Trust should:
REPORT RECOMMENDATION | SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT COMMENTS |
6. Demonstrate more clearly the links between the financial savings attributed to centralised activity and individual projects (paragraph 52) | From 2019-20, SFT changed its approach of reporting from financial benefits (i.e., an annual Benefits Statement) to Outcomes Reporting. In SFT’s 2019-24 Corporate Plan, it published ten infrastructure outcomes which further the goals of the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework (NPF). Together with many public and private sector partners SFT are working to deliver business objectives which are aligned to those ten infrastructure outcomes. SFT’s latest updated Outcomes Report was published on 17 November 2022 and is available from the following link www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/outcomes |
7. Monitor any secondary market transactions in hub equity and NPD and hub Special Purpose Vehicle equity to record ownership and, potentially, to inform the design of future privately financed contracts (paragraphs 58 and 76). | The Scottish Futures Trust publishes NPD / hub DBFM investor information as well as NPD / hub financial indicator information. This is available from the following respective links: www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/npd www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/hub The Scottish Government also annually update and publish information relating to contracts within the NPD programme which includes unitary charge payments, fixed debt providers, SPV’s and equity holders. This information is available from the following link www.gov.scot/npd If private sector companies subsequently choose to ‘trade’ future income for upfront cash, the initial investors accelerate their return, but no additional profit is made over the life of the project. This does not increase what is paid by the public sector, or impact the value-for-money of the underlying NPD contracts |
Councils and other public sector organisations should:
REPORT RECOMMENDATION | SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT COMMENTS |
8. Systematically assess the implications of participating in the financing and contract approaches led by the Scottish Government, before going ahead with individual projects (paragraphs 30–32) | The NPD programme allowed the delivery of much needed new infrastructure such as schools, new NHS facilities, new colleges and other key infrastructure that would otherwise not have been possible. Audit Scotland reported this, and that NPD had supported £3.3 billion of additional investment in Scotland’s infrastructure. In relation to NPD projects, the Scottish Futures Trust published a ‘Value for Money Assessment Guidance: Capital Programmes and Projects’ on behalf of the Scottish Government which described the value for money process for capital programmes and projects and the requirements that Procuring Authorities need to consider before making relevant investment decisions. This included guidance on Qualitative and Quantitative Assessments. The guidance was mandatory for all capital programmes and projects for the Scottish Government, its associated Directorates, Executive Agencies, Non-Departmental Public Bodies and for all public bodies in receipt of funding from the Scottish Government or its Agencies. Other accompanying guidance notes were also subsequently published. See also recommendation 2. |
9. Clearly report current commitments under privately financed contracts, and the ongoing commitments related to these, as part of their annual budget setting (paragraph 32) | See recommendation 2. |
10. Review all projects and services procured through the hubs to assess the costs, savings and benefits against other procurement options (page 29). | See recommendation 1. |
The Scottish Government and councils should:
REPORT RECOMMENDATION | SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT COMMENTS |
11. Continue to work together to develop arrangements for the new schools investment funding model, ensuring opportunities and risks are fully understood and properly managed (paragraph 93). | The first phase of school projects to benefit from the Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) were announced in September 2019 and a second phase was announced in December 2020 (37 projects in total). The first LEIP projects started construction during the summer of 2021. Phase 3 of LEIP was opened to local authorities in 2022 and we hope to announce the successful projects soon. |
