Seòmar agus comataidhean

As of 1 December 2022, the total estimated cost for the MS Victoria until the contract ends in June 2023 is £37.9 million. The total estimated costs for the MS Ambition contract until February 2023 is £26.1 million. We cannot calculate the final costs until the contracts end.

Faults and repairs on board the M/S Victoria and M/S Ambition are an internal matter for the ships’ contractor and operators and therefore it is not normal practice for faults and repairs to be reported to the Scottish Government. However, Corporate Travel Management would inform the Scottish Government of any issues impacting guests’ experience; to date, this has not occurred.

The issue of body-worn cameras is a policy and operational decision for Police Scotland, acting under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority.

Police Scotland have advised they have developed an initial business case for Body Worn Video which has been considered and approved by the SPA Resources Committee. Police Scotland will undertake a full procurement exercise in 2023 which will provide more clarity on costs – both upfront purchase costs and ongoing costs.

The Scottish Government would expect Police Scotland to achieve best value through all its procurement activity.

47,156 dwellings had an unoccupied exemption based on a snapshot as at September 2022. Further breakdowns are not held centrally.

We have expanded our Single Building Assessment programme to more than 100 buildings which will be assessed as part of the expanded pilot programme. We are in contact with the representatives of those buildings to plan next steps. Twenty-one of those buildings currently have ongoing active assessments.

Unboxed was a major UK-wide programme celebrating creativity and innovation, featuring ten large-scale commissioned projects designed to reach millions on-line and in person, bring people together and showcase the Four Nation's creativity.

Scottish Ministers appointed EventScotland as the Strategic Delivery Body for the commission and delivery of the Scottish UNBOXED project, Dandelion, which was funded by the Scottish Government through EventScotland.

The detailed external evaluation of all ten of the Unboxed programme, including Dandelion, is due to be published in Spring 2023. In the interim, the latest details are set out below under the relevant headings.

(a) attendance figures for Dandelion projects

Live events and hands-on schools activities

The following table shows the engagement figures to date for Dandelion, involving over 1,000 events at over 500 locations across Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s 2021-22 Programme for Government committed to securing improved opportunities for veterans, ensuring that those who have been willing to risk their lives in the service of the nation can access good jobs once their time in the military is over. These include more opportunities for veterans to work for the Scottish Government and a campaign working with the business community to help employers understand the benefits that veterans bring to the workforce, to help increase employment opportunities for veterans. This campaign will launch early next year.

In addition, this year the Scottish Government commissioned See Me to develop a public awareness campaign to tackle the stigma associated with veterans mental health and encourage veterans in Scotland to speak up about mental health and get help when they need it. The campaign, known as The Guard, launched in late November.

We are liaising with stakeholders and Network Operators to explore ways to accelerate the determination of applications.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) will set a more consistent framework for development across Scotland, once approved by Parliament and adopted by Ministers. It will provide a more enabling approach to renewable energy developments, as part of the statutory development plan.

We have no current plans to introduce a specific planning fund related to renewable energy developments. However, we recognise the importance of delivering on this vision and the resourcing and skills challenges for planning authorities, which we are taking steps to address.

In April Planning Fees were increased by between 25% and 50% for most types of planning application. Fees for applications made under the Electricity Act will also be increased, due to come into effect on 13 December, maintaining the voluntary contribution of 50% of the fee being passed to planning authorities. This will provide much needed additional resource for planning services across Scotland, helping authorities to retain and recruit staff.

The Scottish Government is also working with the profession to improve the pipeline of talented and skilled planners. This includes work with the High Level Group on Planning Performance to enhance resources and skills within planning, including:

• the Future Planners project, looking at proposals to help increase the numbers of people entering the planning profession;
• exploring how planning fees can better reflect the costs involved in determining applications;
• the introduction of mandatory training for elected members in the planning system; and
• the appointment of a planning improvement coordinator for Scotland.

The following tables present the number of self-catering units registered on the Valuation Roll on 1 October 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, broken down in Table 1 by local authority, and in Table 2 by assessor. To note, self-catering premises require to be available to let for 140 days per year in order to be classed as non-domestic. From 1 April 2022, they additionally need to be actually let for 70 days in a financial year.

Figures for 30 September in those years are not available; 1 October is the closest available date. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Data source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll.

Table 1: Number of self-catering units on the Valuation Roll by local authority and date

The following tables present the estimated number of self-cateirng properties receiving Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) relief as at 1 July 2022, broken down in Table 1 by local authority, and in Table 2 by assessor, for properties (unit owners cannot be reliably identified from the information held) receiving 100% SBBS, 25% SBBS, and other proportions of SBBS (e.g. when combined with other reliefs), and no SBBS relief. These tables include all self-catering properties in receipt of SBBS relief. The Scottish Government cannot reliably estimate the cumulative rateable value of each ratepayer’s non-domestic properties and can therefore not state the number of self-catering units with a combined rateable value of £35,000 in receipt of the Small Business Bonus Scheme relief. To note however, ratepayers with a combined rateable value of £35,000 may still be eligible for SBBS relief where the individual property has a rateable value of £18,000 or less. To note as well a property may receive an SBBS award other than 100% or 25% relief, e.g. if awarded in conjunction with another relief. Eligibility for non-domestic rates reliefs, including SBBS, is set out in legislation and it is for local authorities to administer reliefs to eligible properties in accordance with that legislation.

Figures are rounded to the nearest ten, and those relating to more than zero but fewer than five units have been marked [low] to distinguish from actual zero values. The data sources for both tables are the Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 July 2022, and local authority reliefs information as at 1 July 2022. Final outturn data for 2022-23 may vary.

Table 1: Number of self-catering properties receiving SBBS relief as at 1 July 2022, by local authority and SBBS percentage