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The Cladding Stakeholder Group is operationally focused and so no expectation of ministerial attendance, however, I did attend the August meeting of the group to thank them for their on-going contributions to the evolving Cladding Programme.

The valuation of all non-domestic property, including sites of ATMs, is a matter for the Scottish Assessors who are independent of local and Scottish Government.

We are aware that Assessors have been considering the valuation of ATM sites and recently concluded that in most retail premises it is likely that such sites will be deleted from the Valuation Roll. Assessors are now commencing the process of identifying the ATM sites this will apply to.

Where a property is removed from the Valuation Roll, the ratepayer will be entitled to a refund of any overpaid rates back to the effective date of deletion.

As the Minister with responsibility for this area, I am the only Minister to attend the Cladding Stakeholder Group.

Edinburgh Tram tickets can be purchased in three ways: centrally via the Travel Management Team; via electronic procurement card (ePC); or the cost claimed back via a Travel and Subsistence (T&S) expenses claim. The total costs for Lothian Bus/Tram tickets are shown in the following table.

In all cases the tickets can be used on either Lothian Buses or Edinburgh Trams and it is not possible to disaggregate the cost for Trams only.

The cost of all tickets bought centrally in 2014 and 2015, and ePC transactions prior to 2019, are not held.

With the support of stakeholders across industry, the Single Building Assessment programme started in June 2021. All other recommendations are progressing and will further develop based on evidence from the Single Building Assessment pilot. The update to parliament on the 12 May 2022 provided more detail on progress: https://www.gov.scot/publications/update-cladding-remediation-programme-cabinet-secretarys-statement/ .

The Scottish Government does not collect information where work is progressed by building owners or developers outwith the Single Building Assessment programme.

The Scottish Government hold central records for its own and Transport Scotland’s fleet. A breakdown is provided in the following table.

Once operational Green Freeports will be subject to rigorous monitoring and reporting requirements. The Scottish Government will keep their performance under close review right across the fair work agenda. Provision of appropriate channels for effective voice, such as trade union recognition, is a key aspect of our Fair Work First approach.

I have met with Julie James, MS, Minister for Climate Change on 4 occasions to share best practice and to cultivate collaboration on building safety.

The Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning chaired all meetings of the working group, it met five times between 28 April 2020 and 15 March 2021.