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We have recently announced that from the start of the 2024-25 academic year we will introduce a Special Support Loan across the main undergraduate and postgraduate packages of support.

The Special Support Loan will be equivalent to £2,400 and will be for the purpose of covering costs related to travel, childcare and study equipment – costs which are disregarded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) when assessing benefit entitlement. This means that students in higher education who remain entitled to welfare benefits whilst they study can access this additional support without any further reduction in their benefit entitlement.

The student loan repayment threshold will also increase from £27,660 to £31,395 from April this year as per the terms set out in the Repayment of Student Loans (Scotland) Regulations 2000.

Although we have not been approached by the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) for discussions on our proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill, we have written to the STUC to re-iterate that we would be happy to have such a discussion at any time - building on the wide-ranging engagement with stakeholders across Scotland that we have undertaken since our consultation was published.

Our consultation is currently open until 8 March ( Proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill: Consultation - Scottish Government consultations - Citizen Space ) and we encourage all organisations and households to respond.

We have not been approached by the Community Trade Union for discussions on our proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill. However, we would be happy to have such a discussion at any time - building on the wide-ranging engagement with stakeholders across Scotland that we have undertaken since our consultation was published.

Our consultation is currently open until 8 March ( Proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill: Consultation - Scottish Government consultations - Citizen Space ) and we encourage all organisations and households to respond.

As primarily a building maintenance issue it is the responsibility of building owners to maintain their properties. Local authorities manage their own budgets and allocate financial resources on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and jointly agreed national and local priorities.

The consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill includes a proposal to introduce a minimum energy efficiency standard. Privately owned housing would be required to meet this standard by the end of 2033.

A significant proportion of the housing stock will already meet the standard ahead of this date, with new homes built between now and 2033 already meeting or exceeding the standard and private rented homes being required to meet the standard by the end of 2028. In addition, we are proposing that owner occupied homes which have installed clean heating systems before 2033 won’t be required to meet the standard.

It is the intention to set a minimum energy efficiency standard at a level that is broadly equivalent to EPC C. The Scottish House Condition Survey 2022 shows that 48% of owner-occupied dwellings (around 788,000 dwellings) are already in EPC band C or better. It is likely that for many homes which do not yet meet the proposed standard, the amount of work needed to be carried out is modest.

We are also seeking views in our consultation on whether to introduce flexibility to the standard for specific groups or personal circumstances. These mechanisms may reduce the number of homes which need to meet the standard.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information . The Student Loans Company (SLC) collects and publishes data on student loan outlays, repayments, and borrower activity for Scottish SLC customers each year.

Student Loans in Scotland: Financial Year 2022-23 (Table 1 ) provides the Total amount of Income Contingent Repayment Loan outstanding (including loans not yet due for repayment) at the start of the financial year, including interest, of borrower who received loans as Scottish domiciled students studying in the UK or as EU domiciled students studying in Scotland.

Note: These statistics only include information on loan products and do not include information regarding grants and bursaries which make up part of the student support package offered to students in Scotland.

Energy Savings Trust (EST) have not reported to the Scottish Government any instance of a computer virus affecting the online application portal for Heat in Buildings Grant and Loan Schemes since the portal was introduced in December 2023. EST met the technical award criteria for cyber security requirements when the current contract was procured in 2023. In addition, their subcontractor who administers the online portal and their cloud service provider both hold Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 certifications, which include anti-virus measures.

The UK Government did not inflation-proof its capital budget which has resulted in nearly a 10% real-terms cut in the Scottish Government’s capital funding over the medium-term between 2023-24 and 2027-28.

The result of this cut is that new health capital projects have currently been paused. Our emphasis for the immediate future will be on addressing backlog maintenance and essential equipment replacement. However we are in active discussions with NHS Lanarkshire on the impact of this budget settlement on the proposal to replace University Hospital Monklands and therefore no final decision has yet been made.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information . The Student Loans Company (SLC) collects and publishes data on student loan outlays, repayments, and borrower activity for Scottish domiciled SLC customers each year.

Student Loans in Scotland: Financial Year 2022-23 (Table 2 ), provides (i) the number of borrowers with cancellations, write-offs or refunds and (ii) the average amount cancelled, written-off or refunded of borrowers who received loans as Scottish domiciled students studying in the UK or as EU domiciled students studying in Scotland each financial year.

The Minister for Housing and officials met with the Housing Convenor of Aberdeen City Council and officials on 4 March. Meetings routinely take place at official level including through engagement on the Housing Sub-group of the SG-led Cross Sector Working Group.