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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.

The Scottish Government is keen to ensure that asylum seekers in Scotland are able to access free bus travel under the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme and the Older and Disabled Persons Scheme.

I am alive to challenges being faced by different groups, including asylum seekers, in accessing the free bus schemes. I met officials from the Improvement Service, which is the accountable body for the National Entitlement Card (NEC) Scheme, on 7 February to discuss what more can be done to make the application process easier for refugees and asylum seekers.

Officials have been in discussion with organisations that support asylum seekers, including the Scottish Refugee Council, on how best to make the application process accessible to asylum seekers and refugees. They have also put Glasgow Life, who administer the NEC scheme in Glasgow, in touch with organisations that support asylum seekers to discuss application routes.

The Improvement Service issued guidance on applications for asylum seekers and refugees to Local Authorities, who administer in person applications, in September 2021. This guidance advised that proofs specific to asylum seekers and refugees, such as the Application Registration Card (ARC) issued by the Home Office, can be used to apply for a NEC in person, in conjunction with other information or evidence available to a council, a school or a dedicated staff member within a Local Authority.

This information is available on the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme page on the Transport Scotland website.

East Linton Station is expected to open in 2023.

Transport Scotland officials continue to work closely with the Department for Transport and the wider rail industry to agree the timetable for the East Coast Main Line (ECML) when it is due to be recast in 2023. This includes finding the ideal service structure for all stations on the Edinburgh to Newcastle corridor, including East Linton.

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.

We engage regularly with the UK Government about the Afghanistan Relocation and Resettlement Schemes and continue to press the UK Government to address lengthy delays in the matching process and ensure local authorities receive adequate funding.

Refugee resettlement is reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office but Scotland remains committed to playing our part in welcoming and supporting people fleeing Afghanistan. All 32 local authorities have confirmed their participation in the Schemes.

The UK Minister for Afghan Resettlement committed to regular Four Nations discussions when she met with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government in January and we look forward to further arrangements being made.

We engage regularly with the UK Government, COSLA, local authorities and other partners to ensure that people are provided with the safety and security they need to rebuild their lives.

All 32 local authorities have confirmed their participation in Afghanistan Relocation and Resettlement Schemes and as of 4 March, 101 families (415 individuals) have been relocated to 20 Scottish Local Authorities.

Local authorities continue to experience lengthy delays in the matching process, resulting in significant costs due to properties set aside to support Afghans lying empty. We urge the UK Government to address these delays as quickly as possible.

The Scottish Government formally adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism in June 2017. As such, the Scottish Government and its agencies have been expected to adhere to the definition since June 2017.

The adoption of the definition demonstrates our determination to tackle antisemitism, and sends a strong message that it is entirely unacceptable in Scotland. While the IHRA definition is not legally-binding, we find it to be helpful in bringing clarity to what is often a complex issue.

The Scottish Government does not conduct monitoring of the characteristics of households and tenancy arrangements in the build to rent sector.

Build to Rent is recognised as a mainstream housing delivery mechanism and can complement existing housing models.

Build to Rent can be characterised by:

Single institutional ownership and professional on-site management of the entire development;

• Individual units are self-contained and separately let;
• Resident access to shared, communal facilities and on-site amenities integrated as part of the development.

Social Landlords will be submitting their Annual Return on the Social Housing Charter to the Scottish Housing Regulator, which will set out their compliance with all statutory requirements. Data on landlords stock meeting the new interlinked fire alarm standard will be included in the annual returns at the end of March and will be published by the Scottish Housing Regulator in Autumn. However, informal estimates from SFHA suggest that around 90% of their members’ stock is already compliant with the new legislation and the remaining stock will be completed in due course.

Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022 are currently being drafted. The intention is to lay these regulations in the Scottish Parliament shortly. The regulations are not retrospective and will apply to new buildings, alterations to existing buildings where new building work is proposed and to certain conversions as specified in the regulations.