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The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 provides local authorities with a discretionary power to set up workplace parking licensing (WPL) schemes.

Under a WPL scheme, a local authority can require a licence to be obtained by employers for each workplace parking place provided. A charge may be levied for such a licence on the basis of the number of parking places specified in the licence. Non-domestic rates (business rates) is a charge for the occupation and use of non-domestic property.

The provisions in the Act were subject to legal and policy scrutiny when the Transport Bill went through the Scottish Parliament in 2019 and I do not consider there to be an issue as regards the imposition of this charge alongside any other charge or tax to which businesses may be subject.

This is a discretionary power already available to local authorities in England and Wales under the Transport Act 2000.

We recognise that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events in Scotland are likely to continue to increase due to climate change. As a nation we need to prepare for the associated impacts, including through the resilience of our buildings.

Draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) is clear that new, and alterations to existing buildings, infrastructure and spaces should be designed to be adaptable to future impacts of climate change. The draft acknowledges risks from climate change including those from extreme weather.

The draft NPF4 is currently subject to Scottish Parliamentary scrutiny, alongside a public consultation, prior to a finalised version being presented for Scottish Parliament approval. We are working towards laying a final version of NPF4 in the Parliament for approval this summer, following which it will be adopted by the Scottish Ministers.

Building regulations address a range of topics on the resilience of buildings including structural performance, resistance to wind and rain and flood resilience. These regulations apply to new buildings and new building work and are not applied retrospectively to existing buildings. The standards are periodically reviewed, to give assurance that they remain fit for purpose and consider, where practicable, predicted future climate in Scotland. Review is also underway at present to provide greater assurance that compliance with these standards is achieved.

Scottish Government officials were last in contact with Harland & Wolff, who lease the former BiFab yards of Methil and Arnish in January 2022.

The Scottish Government does not collect this data.

Data on local authority instrumental music services is collected by the Improvement Service. Their reports can be found at www.improvementservice.org.uk .

The information requested is not held centrally, but instead concerns day-to-day operational matters best answered directly by Historic Environment Scotland. Please be advised I have asked Historic Environment Scotland to write to the member with the answer to his question.

Further to this enquiry, I understand that Historic Environment Scotland have offered Donald Cameron MSP a site visit to Dun Carloway Broch with Historic Environment Scotland experts, to learn first-hand about the type of issues that the property is facing, and I look forward to learning the results of this visit.

A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People - Employment Action Plan' is focused on tackling the structural barriers that prevent, or make it more difficult, for disabled people to enter the labour market and sustain fair work. Our actions to tackle these barriers are agreed with our stakeholders including disabled people’s organisations, and include:

• We have invested £640,000 to date into Apt, our Public Social Partnership to work with employers to improve recruitment and retention, offering direct support to employers to enhance practice and the support provided to disabled employees. This includes 174 training sessions to employers across the length and breadth of Scotland, reaching 230 unique organisations, to enable them to attract, recruit or retain disabled employees.

• Through the Parental Employment Support Fund (PESF) - as part of No one Left Behind - across all 32 local authorities we have invested £18.1m up to 2021-22, to support parents in households impacted by child poverty, including disabled parents, to access or progress in work. £6.1m of this funding has specifically focused on supporting unemployed disabled parents. PESF will be supported by a further £8.79m in 2022-23. Experimental Statistics show that 2,160 parents have been supported. 13% of parents reported having a disability (280).
  

•  Disabled people are a priority eligibility group for Fair Start Scotland (FSS) . The latest statistics (published 23 Feb 22) show that 44% (18,352) of participants reported having a disability and 63% (26,316) reported having a long-term health condition. 31% of disabled people on FSS has so far started a job (4,065)

• The Workplace Equality Fund (WEF) opened for new applications on 17 Jan 2022, and is focused on providing financial support for employers to address longstanding barriers in the labour market that particular priority groups, including disabled people, experience. The fund supports collaborative projects which seek to improve equality-related outcomes for priority groups and create a more inclusive working environment. An evaluation of the WEF found that 96% of businesses found WEF well received.

• For those requiring more intensive support to enter and sustain employment (including people with mental health issues and/or learning disabilities) Individual Placement and Support and Supported Employment are available through Fair Start Scotland and No One Left Behind.

Marine Scotland Directorate's– Licensing Operations Team (“MS-LOT”) are currently consulting with NatureScot on the written report by Seagreen Wind Energy Limited in respect of unexploded ordnance clearance activities. MS-LOT intend to publish this report on its website (marine.gov.scot) once the consultation is complete.

Regulation 10(5)(b) (the course of justice) was invoked when this document was requested under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, as the late submission of the report was at that point being investigated as an instance of non-compliance with statutory timelines.

Non-domestic properties are charged for water and sewerage services by reference to a meter unless it is inappropriate or impractical to install one. Where a meter cannot be installed, a non-domestic property’s charges will be assessed using its rateable value. Applicable charges to Licensed Providers are detailed in Scottish Water’s wholesale scheme of charges. Licensed providers are then required to charge non-domestic properties for the services which are available. As retail competition exists, Licensed Providers will seek to offer variable tariffs to attract customers; non-domestic customers will therefore have the option to switch provider if a cheaper service can be found elsewhere. Customers can also request that their licensed provider assesses whether a meter can be installed at the property if it is not already available.

As the retail market is working as intended, there are no plans to offer compensation to businesses for payment of water and sewerage charges.

The Scottish Government funded a feasibility study into a pilot of a Citizens’ Basic Income (CBI), which resulted in a report, published in June 2020, with some of the most detailed and comprehensive research in the UK. The report concludes that, whilst it is desirable to pilot a CBI in Scotland, it is currently not feasible in a devolved settlement. This is partly because UK Government co-operation is required to avoid unintended consequences to recipients' income from reserved benefits. The Scottish Government welcomes the pilot scheme for care leavers being carried out by the Welsh Government. However, we understand that they have not been able to resolve this interaction with the reserved benefits system.

The Scottish Government has now established an independent expert group to consider the delivery of a Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) within the powers we currently hold to ensure everyone, including care leavers and young people with experience of care, have enough money to live a decent, dignified, healthy and financially secure life.

We have committed to keeping The Promise, and this highlighted the need for robust “scaffolding” around care leavers and those with care experience. Many young people with care experience face significant barriers to achieving a successful transition to adulthood and more independent living. In recognition of this challenge, the Scottish Government has committed to delivering the Care Experience Grant. The Care Experience Grant will be a £200 annual grant that will benefit around 50,000 young people aged 16-25. This policy commitment would provide some additional financial security for young people with experience of care and help reduce some of the barriers that young people face in transitions to adulthood and more independent living.

In 2021-22, Glasgow City Council received £4.826 million from the £23.5 million provided to local authorities for preventing and responding to homelessness.