Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government received representations regarding Reverse Vending Machine relief from the Scottish Retail Consortium and a supermarket retailer.

We report every six months to Parliament on the delivery of major capital projects and programmes and publish an annual report on the progress of our five-year Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) which outlines the progress made in relation to the IIP’s three key themes. The annual progress report also outlines key delivery achievements as well as information relating to major capital projects and their associated climate change targets, strategic outcomes and the contribution they have made to economic development. Our six-monthly programme update also includes the contribution key major infrastructure programmes are making to economic development. Projects are evaluated in line with The Green Book guidance which looks across five defined cases relating to Strategic, Economic, Commercial, Financial and Management rather than by way of a singular return on investment measure.

The six-monthly major capital project and programme updates and the annual IIP progress report can be found at the Scottish Government website by way of the following link Infrastructure Investment Plan (www.gov.scot)

Eligibility for non-domestic rates reliefs is set out in legislation and it is for local authorities to administer reliefs to eligible properties in accordance with that legislation. As such, the Scottish Government does not set aside allocations for individual non-domestic rates reliefs, but rather decisions on non-domestic rates reliefs, for example Reverse Vending Machine relief, are taken as part of the annual budget process, using Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) forecasts of the total revenues raised net of relief costs.

Oil and gas exploration and production, including licensing, remains reserved to UK Government. Our position on oil & gas licensing is clear , unlimited extraction of fossil fuels is not consistent with our climate obligations and meeting the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees. Nor is it the right solution to the real cost of living crisis families are facing, when to reduce energy costs we need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. This means investing more in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

In Scotland, we are encouraging the expansion of renewable energy, as reflected in the lease options awarded to ScotWind sites earlier this year. The 20 ScotWind projects which have secured lease options now total up to 27.6 GW with initial supply chain commitments indicating an average of £1.4bn investment pledged in Scotland per project. This equates to £28 billion of potential investment across the 20 projects. In addition, ScotWind will deliver over £750m in revenues to the public purse for these initial awards alone and several billion pounds more in rental revenues when projects become operational, which will be invested for the benefit of the people of Scotland.

We are also supporting a just transition for our energy sector, Scottish households, and businesses. Instead of licensing more fossil fuel extraction, the UK Government should follow our approach and encourage investment in renewables. This further illustrates the case for Scottish independence to manage offshore energy within Scotland’s waters.

The consultation has been published today and is be available on the Scottish Government’s Consultation Hub, Citizen Space ( https://consult.gov.scot/college-policy/trade-union-nominees/ ). It builds on the work of The Good College Governance Task Group, which made a set of recommendations to improve college governance in Scotland. One of these recommendations was to add trade union nominees to the boards of college institutions and the consultation will seek views of a set of proposals to implement this. This work marks the beginning of a wider programme of improvements in governance across the tertiary education and skills sector. The closing date is‎ 27 January 2023.

The next non-domestic property revaluation will take effect on‎ 1 April 2023. The draft valuation roll was published on 30 November and draft valuation notices will be issued by Assessors from then. Final valuation notices in respect of 1 April 2023 will be issued from that date.

We accepted the independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates recommendation to move to three yearly revaluations and a one-year tone date to ensure that property values more closely align with current market conditions. The 2023 revaluation will therefore be based on rental values as at 1 April 2022.

The functions of Valuation Appeal Committees are scheduled to transfer to the Scottish Tribunals on 1 April 2023 in the new Local Taxation Chamber. The Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020 provides the framework for a two-stage non-domestic rating appeals system which is also scheduled for introduction on 1 April 2023. Subordinate legislation covering the detail of the changes to appeals process is due to be laid before the Parliament in December.

These changes will deliver greater transparency and fairness in the non-domestic rates system.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12241 on‎ 1 December 2022. 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

As part of the development of our new Strategic Framework for biodiversity we have recently consulted on a new Biodiversity Strategy where we set out our high level vision to halt biodiversity loss by 2030 and reverse declines by 2045. Consultation responses are being analysed and a draft of the strategy will be published in December 2022. We identified outcomes that we wish to see across a range of different land- and sea-scapes, including our woodlands and forestry, recognising the importance of native woodland cover and woodland ecosystem health to sustaining our rich biodiversity.  

We know that we need to enable large scale regeneration through reductions in herbivore impacts, the removal of invasive non-native species and new native woodland planting. The second part of our Strategic Framework will be the underpinning fluid, dynamic delivery plans, where we will set out the actions we need to take to deliver the outcomes we want to see as set out in the Strategy. Part of this work will involve looking closely at targets for restoration and regeneration of nature, including our annual native woodland creation target, seeking advice and views from key stakeholders and our Programme Advisory Group, which is made up of expert scientific advisers.  

The spend on agency nursing and midwifery staff is published on an annual basis. The cost for agency nurse for the year ending 31 March 2022 is £88.9 million. Spend on agency nursing and midwifery staff is less than 2% of the total staff spend. The cost for this current financial year to date and the estimated cost for the whole of current financial year is not centrally available.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with health boards to ensure, as far as possible, that support for energy costs is available to those who require it.

Some patients already receive support for costs associated with home haemodialysis and the use of oxygen equipment. We have now written to all NHS territorial Boards to understand what support with fuel costs is available to patients using life-saving equipment.

We have already pledged almost £3 billion in this financial year towards helping families and households face the increased cost of living. This includes the provision of services and financial support not available elsewhere in the UK to help reduce every day costs and increase incomes.