Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Private Rented Sector Landlord (PRSL) Loan was launched in April 2020. The following table shows the total number of applications received, the total number of offers made and the total number of expired offers. These figures represent the total number from launch to the end of June 2021, and relate to the location of the applicant.

The Scottish Government recognises that the global climate emergency will pose particular challenges for island communities. Our response is guided by the best available scientific evidence, including the latest independent expert assessment of the impacts of climate change in Scotland published by the UK Climate Change Committee on 16 June 2021. This assessment identifies 61 key areas of impact, including:

• Risks to transport infrastructure from flooding, extreme weather, erosion and subsidence. The assessment notes that some of these risks affect the islands disproportionately, for example in situations where disruption to passenger and freight transport can leave whole communities and economies isolated.
• Risks to housing from flooding, sea level rise and damage from driving rain. The assessment notes that sea level rise poses particularly significant risks for the viability of coastal communities in low lying islands.
• Risks, across all parts of Scotland, to agricultural productivity from pests, pathogens and invasive species, as well as risks to agricultural soils and land from changing climatic conditions and sea level rise. The assessment also notes that there could be some opportunities in terms of new crop species becoming viable, but these cannot be expected to outweigh the negative impacts.

The Scottish Government is building resilience to the impacts of climate change through the implementation of our second statutory adaptation programme. The programme covers the period 2019 to 2024 and includes over 170 policies across Scotland. Examples of particular measures that will help protect our island communities include:

• We are investing in climate resilience as part of a green recovery from COVID-19, including a further £12 million for coastal change adaptation as well as an extra £150 million over this Parliament to manage the risks from flooding.
• Our National Transport Strategy includes an outcome to ‘adapt to the effects of climate change’ and the first Delivery Plan sets out policies that will ensure the transport system adapts to the projected climate change impacts.
• Transport Scotland is currently working with CMAL and CalMac to develop investment programmes for vessels and harbours with the aim of increased standardisation and improved resilience, which will improve connectivity for our island communities.
• The results from the second phase of Dynamic Coast, Scotland’s National Coastal Change Assessment, will be published in August 2021. Dynamic Coast 2 assesses the impact that global sea level rise will have on erosion rates, improving our understanding of the measures needed to protect our coastal and island communities.
• Our Housing to 2040 strategy sets out the intention to develop a new Housing Standard for Scotland, set in law. The aim of the new standard is to ensure that there will be no margins of tolerance, no exemptions and no “acceptable levels” of sub-standard homes in urban, rural or island communities, deprived communities or in tenements.
• The Farming for a Better Climate programme continues to promote practical and cost effective measures for both climate change mitigation and adaptation to farmers and land managers. Alongside this, the farmer-led soil regenerative agriculture network focus on positive actions that can be taken on Scottish farms to support, enhance and protect their soils.

Building resilience to the impacts of climate change on Scotland’s islands also lies at the heart of the Scottish Government’s National Islands Plan. This commits to putting in place adaptation plans on islands that are at greater risk and working closely with local stakeholders to ensure that the voices of islanders are fully heard in the just transition to a net-zero society. A part of this transition also includes our manifesto commitment to supporting Carbon Neutral Islands which would include pilots for some islands to run on 100% renewable energy, to create circular economies tackling and processing waste and exploring more sustainable transport options.

In light of the Climate Change Committee’s recently updated risk assessment, the Scottish Government is clear that more will need to be done to build resilience to the impacts of climate change as part of Scotland’s just transition. In the run up to COP26, we will host a National Climate Resilience Summit to connect leaders from across the public and private sectors to build momentum for such action . We will respond in full to the Committee’s updated risk assessment through the development of the next statutory adaptation programme, which is due for publication in 2024.

The Scottish Government has been supporting bioenergy development in Scotland for over a decade. Our current policy continues to promote biomass (wood fuel) systems which achieve the greatest possible energy efficiencies and deliver the highest possible carbon savings. We have assembled a Scottish Government working group to understand the extent to which bioenergy should be used in each of our sectors to ensure bioenergy is deployed where it has the greatest value in reducing emissions. By 2023, in time to inform the next Climate Change Plan, and to take account of decisions that are reserved to the UK Government, we will publish a Bioenergy Action Plan.

The Scottish Government has allocated almost £1.6 billion to support the accelerated deployment of renewable heat and energy efficiency measures in homes and buildings across Scotland. Over the next 5 years, this investment will help to cut emissions, create jobs, strengthen supply chains, and tackle fuel poverty.

As part of this investment, we will build upon and improve existing advice and support programmes to accelerate deployment. The SME loan scheme, run by Energy Saving Trust for the Scottish Government, has already provided over £63 million in loans and cashback to Scottish small and medium enterprises (SME), funding more than 1300 projects to install renewable heating and energy efficiency measures. We propose to continue to run our SME loan cashback schemes until at least 2023.

The Sustainable Energy Supply Chain programme, funded by the Scottish Government and administered by Energy Saving Trust, has provided support and assistance for businesses in Scotland since 2013. To augment this programme, we will develop an action plan, specifically focussed on strengthening the broad supply chains needed to deliver zero emissions heat and energy efficiency in buildings. Additional advice and support tailored for SME businesses can be accessed via our Energy Efficiency Business Support service.

The number of Home Energy Scotland Loan applications and offers handled during the pandemic, compared to the three previous years is:

The CYPFEI & ALEC Fund aims to support activities which build opportunities and improve outcomes for children, young people and their families.

The key components of the CYPFEI Fund are:

• Promote the GIRFEC wellbeing indicators and the implementation of the UNCRC.
• Delivery of prevention and early intervention activities.
• Improving parenting capacity and family support.

As part of the initial assessment process, applicants to the fund were asked to list up to 4 key national performance indicators that their organisation would contribute to improving. As part of the ongoing monitoring and evaluation process, all recipients of the CYPFEI and ALEC Fund are also asked to submit a 6-monthly monitoring report, outlining progress made against each of their identified outcomes.

The 5 outcomes which Scottish Youth Parliament have reported progress against are:

• Young people in Scotland influence, inform and contribute to policy making and practice.
• Young people who face inequality or barriers to participation are actively engaged in Scottish Youth Parliament.
• MSYPs have the skills, confidence, support and opportunities to carry out their role effectively.
• Young people in Scotland are aware of their rights are encouraged to participate and are seen as valuable contributors to a democratic society.
• Scottish Youth Parliament is an efficient and effective youth-led organisation, responsive to its MSYPs, young people other key stakeholders, and is robustly resourced in a sustainable way.

The Scottish Youth Parliament are provided with core funding through the Scottish Government’s Children Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning and Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) Fund. This fund is administered by the CORRA Foundation on behalf of Scottish Ministers.

When an unpaid work or other activity requirement is imposed by the court as part of a Community Payback Order, the management and delivery of that requirement – including determining what work is to be carried out - is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. There are a number of factors for local authority social work staff and unpaid work managers to consider when arranging unpaid work. Planning and assessment is informed by national Community Payback Order Practice Guidance and, while there is no prescribed list of activities, the guidance makes clear that activities should be appropriate to unpaid work taking account of a number of considerations.

Unpaid work schemes should make placements available across a wide range of work settings and types of activity and have regard to the circumstances and circumstances of the individual (such as employment, education, caring responsibilities, health, equality and diversity issues). For example, work which does not involve significant physical exertion may be the only appropriate option for some individuals (including for health-related reasons).

Unpaid work has a strong focus on reparation and providing opportunities to make amends and prevent reoffending though strengthening relationships with the community, and through developing useful skills. Justice social work staff and unpaid work managers in local areas are best placed to determine what unpaid work is suitable, taking into account each individual’s particular circumstances, to help ensure that individuals complete their unpaid work hours in a way which benefits the community.

The most recent reconviction rates show that 29% of people with a Community Payback Order (CPO) imposed in 2017-18 were reconvicted within a year, which is the lowest rate since they were introduced. These statistics are not typically broken down in regard to different requirements within CPOs such as unpaid work or supervision. However, Justice Analytical Services published ‘Community Payback Orders: What the Unit Level Data Tells Us So Far’ in February 2020 which found that the reconviction rate for those given unpaid work between 2012-13 and 2014-15 was 33% where this was accompanied by justice social work supervision, and 27% where it was not. These figures compare with 41% for those given orders with no unpaid work. While no conclusions can be drawn about the impact of unpaid work on offending behaviour, this may suggest that individuals who do not have unpaid work imposed are likely to have more complex and entrenched issues to address and may have greater likelihood of reoffending.

Overall, CPOs are an important aspect of a sustained focus on prevention and effective community interventions which has helped see Scotland’s reconviction rate fall to its lowest level since comparable records began more than 20 years ago.

CPOs offer opportunities for rehabilitation by requiring individuals to tackle the underlying causes of their offending behaviour. They also deliver real benefits to communities, and while capacity to deliver unpaid work has been significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, around 9 million hours of unpaid work have been carried out since CPOs were introduced.

The information requested is not held centrally and is a matter for the Parole Board for Scotland.

The Scottish Government has committed to dedicate £100 million funding, of the £180 million Emerging Energy Technologies Fund, to accelerate the development of the hydrogen economy in Scotland over the next five years and support the realisation of our ambition for 5GW installed hydrogen production capacity by 2030. More details on the proposed design and scope of the Fund will be published alongside the Hydrogen Action Plan later this year.