Good morning. The first item of business is general question time.
A720 Sheriffhall Roundabout
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the A720 Sheriffhall roundabout project. (S6O-04760)
We continue to progress the proposed improvements at Sheriffhall through the statutory process. Given the large number of objections received following publication of the draft orders, a public local inquiry was held between 31 January and 8 February 2023. The independent reporter’s conclusions and recommendations have been submitted to the Scottish Government and are under active consideration prior to advice being provided to Scottish ministers, who will then decide whether the statutory process should be completed.
It is coming up to two years since the independent reporter submitted her conclusions to ministers. Can the cabinet secretary confirm whether the money allocated previously is still ring fenced and, given cost inflation, whether it is still adequate to meet the construction costs?
I assure Colin Beattie that the Government remains committed to the Edinburgh and south-east Scotland city region deal, which includes up to £120 million for grade separation at Sheriffhall roundabout. The financial risk for any cost over and above that figure lies with Scottish ministers.
As is the case for all other road infrastructure projects, the cost estimate will be updated once the statutory process has been completed and in advance of procurement. Funding to progress the construction stage will be determined as part of the annual Scottish budget-setting exercises.
This week, I launched a campaign so that people across Lothian can make their voices heard about this notorious junction. After 20 years of discussion and the spending of more than £6 million on consultation fees, we are no further forward. Motorists across Lothian have had enough of the delays. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that the project will be given the green light before the next Scottish Parliament election?
Although we are keen to see the improvements being delivered as soon as possible, the statutory right for individuals to have their say on proposals cannot be set aside. I am sure that the Conservatives would want the statutory processes for a number of projects to be concluded quickly. In this case, I have yet to receive the advice on the reporter’s recommendations, but the timetable for decision making and dealing with any implications for the budget process can be made thereafter.
I am not surprised that Miles Briggs has launched such a campaign—had he not, I would probably have done so myself. My constituents in the Borders and Midlothian have to use that junction all the time—as do I, because it connects to the A68 and the A7 in my constituency. I add my own concerns about the delay to the project going ahead, because it will only become more costly the longer that the delay continues.
I acknowledge the concerns raised by Christine Grahame and other members. The proposed new flyover arrangement at Sheriffhall would separate local traffic, including public transport, from strategic traffic on the Edinburgh city bypass. It would improve traffic flow on the bypass at that location, which would in turn improve road safety and journey times for users. In addition, the proposed new active travel facilities would provide cyclists and pedestrians with their own safer, dedicated alternative routes, by removing the existing barrier and transforming the way across the A720.
However, I remind members that 2,773 objections to the proposals were received. Advice on the matter will come to me once the Scottish Government has completed its analysis of the reporter’s recommendations. Although we have received those, I have yet to receive the subsequent advice. When I receive that, I will deal with it.
Housing (Scotland) Bill (Homelessness Prevention)
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to part 5 of the Housing (Scotland) Bill, when the homelessness prevention pilots will commence. (S6O-04761)
The procurement exercise to appoint the grant fund manager for the homelessness prevention pilots is under way. The contract is due to be awarded by 1 July 2025, and we expect the fund to open for bids shortly after that. Relevant bodies and their consortia partners that wish to participate in prevention pilots will be encouraged to apply.
Parliament will be asked to pass a bill that includes provisions that were meant to be informed by those pilots. However, it now seems that the pilots will not have started by the time the bill comes to stage 3 proceedings in the chamber. Does the minister accept that that represents a failure of planning on the part of the Scottish Government? What value does he think that the pilots will provide, given that they will conclude far too late for MSPs to change anything in the bill?
I do not share Mr Balfour’s view. It is important to remember that this is a £4 million investment by the Scottish Government. The pilots are very important for the success of the duties under the bill, so we would rather take our time and get it right. We have worked very closely—as has Mr Balfour—with Crisis and other stakeholders on that point. How we shape the development of the pilots is important, and the expected outcomes will be important, too. Obviously, there will be learning throughout the duration of the pilots, and we will continue to learn as we develop the bill.
Employer National Insurance Contributions (Third Sector)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any engagement it has had with the United Kingdom Government regarding the impact of the increase to employer national insurance contributions on the third sector in Scotland. (S6O-04762)
This Government has consistently made the case to the UK Government to fully fund the additional costs to public services of its increase in employer national insurance contributions. Those services include the vital services that third sector organisations provide. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations has highlighted that the increase will cost the voluntary sector in Scotland around £75 million and put those organisations in a very challenging situation.
A local charity has told me that Labour’s short-sighted hike to employer national insurance contributions will cost that charity a staggering £450,000. That funding could support vital local services. Does the cabinet secretary share my concern about the impact of Labour’s tax hike on the voluntary sector in Scotland? Does she agree that the UK Government should reverse it as a matter of priority?
I agree with that. I am deeply concerned about the impact of the increase on charities and other third sector organisations. As I said, I have made that clear to the UK Government on several occasions.
Last month, the UK Government confirmed that we would receive £339 million this year for the additional cost, which is less than half the estimated cost to public services of more than £700 million. It is unacceptable that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has failed to protect those organisations from the costs of the reserved tax rise. In February, this Parliament voted to call on the UK Government to reverse the tax hike. The chancellor must listen and take action.
Families in Temporary Accommodation
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is working to reduce the average time families spend in temporary accommodation. (S6O-04763)
Increasing affordable housing supply is the best way to reduce time in temporary accommodation. We have provided £80 million through our voids and acquisitions fund last year and this year to increase the supply of social and affordable homes. Eighty per cent of that funding has been targeted to the five local authorities facing the most sustained temporary accommodation pressures.
An estimated 2,669 households with children have been helped into affordable housing in the year ending December 2024. The most recent statistics show that 20 councils have reduced the number of children in temporary accommodation.
Constituents frequently contact me about waits with children in unsuitable temporary accommodation lasting years. We are now seeing a concerning rise in the number of children housed in hostels and bed and breakfasts. Given that Scottish National Party members voted down amendments from my colleague Mark Griffin to require consideration of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child when allocating temporary accommodation, how can the Scottish Government say that it is serious about ending the housing emergency and stopping the unacceptable increase in the number of children being housed in B and Bs?
There are a number of points to make. First, I mentioned the £80 million of funding this year and last year. That included £14 million in Foysol Choudhury’s region last year and £14 million this year.
We have also taken other actions, such as taking a targeted approach in five local authority areas, including Edinburgh. Edinburgh has seen a 50 per cent reduction in voids, and I thank the City of Edinburgh Council for its work on that. We are working with the local authority on the issue.
It is also important to consider the prevention duties under the Housing (Scotland) Bill, which Mr Balfour mentioned. Only last week, the cabinet secretary and I met registered social landlords to talk about their role in that.
We are taking a number of actions to reduce the numbers. As I said, the most recent statistics show that 20 local authorities have reduced the number of children who are in temporary accommodation.
“A Just Transition for Aberdeen and the North East”
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recently published report by the Just Transition Commission, “A Just Transition for Aberdeen and the North East”. (S6O-04764)
We welcome the report from the Just Transition Commission. As I set out in my statement on Tuesday, we accept the headline recommendations in principle. Before doing further planning, we first need clarity on the United Kingdom Government’s intentions in a range of key reserved areas, including the future regulatory and fiscal regimes for North Sea oil and gas and support for the Acorn carbon capture and storage project.
Aside from planning, the Scottish Government is taking action. We will continue to provide support to the region, including through the new £8.5 million round of the just transition fund for the north-east and Moray.
During Tuesday’s ministerial statement on a just transition, the minister did not mention communities or answer my question about community benefit and community participation in planning. Will he say today how communities can expect to benefit from the collective commons that are our renewables as we harness them for the future? How will communities genuinely be involved in the planning, which must happen with urgency?
Communities are important, and I attempted to touch on that issue in my statement. On the member’s point about community benefit, I think that she might be talking about onshore developments. The Scottish Government is in touch with the UK Government—because the issue of mandating community benefits is reserved—about ensuring that communities are the mandatory recipients of benefits in the future.
Question 6 was not lodged.
ScotRail Drivers (Recruitment and Training)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on ScotRail driver recruitment and training programmes, in light of reports of previous service reductions being attributed to staffing shortages. (S6O-04766)
We have worked hard in Scotland to ensure that employers are in a position to table and negotiate a fair and affordable settlement on pay. I am pleased that the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen accepted a multiyear pay offer for train drivers that meets inflation and gives drivers and their families security for the next two years.
ScotRail is taking steps to eradicate its reliance on rest-day and overtime working, which is all too common in the rail industry. With 160 drivers recruited per year, its recruitment is at a record level that is higher than that of any other operator in Britain.
Those highly skilled jobs require a carefully delivered training programme before recruited candidates can perform their roles safely. The number of trainee drivers is limited by ScotRail’s ability to safely deliver practical handling experience at any one time without disrupting service provision. With the efforts made on recruitment and training, ScotRail expects to see improvements in reliability from autumn this year.
Last summer, ScotRail removed Bishopbriggs and Lenzie from the Edinburgh service due to driver shortages, which significantly impacted commuters in my constituency. Will the minister confirm whether driver numbers have now recovered sufficiently to prevent a repeat of such timetable reductions, and whether full service retention is planned for those stations?
The previous temporary timetable related to historical issues of driver availability and was lifted in early October last year. ScotRail is working hard to address that historical issue, which was inherited from the previous private sector franchisees, by recruiting drivers, as I mentioned, in order to have full availability on all routes.
Last summer, industrial action restricted the availability of drivers who chose not to work their rest day, as is their right. That also affected timetables.
The process of training drivers is complex, and ScotRail is also dealing with significant staff attrition as drivers reach their retirement age. ScotRail has a robust recruitment process in place that will improve driver availability even further, including for stations at Lenzie and Bishopbriggs. I recognise the member’s constituency interest in the routes that she specified.
Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to local authorities to enable them to implement their local heat and energy efficiency strategies. (S6O-04767)
We are committed to supporting local authorities to deliver their LHEES and are continuously seeking their input on the process of doing so. The Scottish Government is providing £2.4 million per annum to local authorities to use at their discretion to support LHEES development and implementation. Zero Waste Scotland is also delivering capacity building to local authorities that is focused on LHEES implementation. In addition, we have committed more than £815,000 of grant funding to local authorities through our heat network support unit to take forward heat network opportunities.
Given the financial investment that is required, what additional financial support and advice will the Scottish Government give councils to enable them to develop not-for-profit heat networks, which have had huge success in Denmark over decades? Will there be specific financial support for regional networks, so that councils can maximise the benefits from heat networks and renewable generation?
As I mentioned, there is on-going support from the Scottish Government in a number of those areas. The Scottish Government is committed to developing heat networks as a key part of the way in which we will decarbonise our country in the future.
As I mentioned, we have funded Zero Waste Scotland to provide capacity building in support of local authorities. It is also worth pointing out that, in Edinburgh—which will be of interest to the member—the council has recently utilised its funding to further refine the zones that are identified in its LHEES and to seek legal counsel on the most appropriate delivery model to bring heat networks to market.
One of the challenges with local heat and energy efficiency strategies is that they cross local authority areas. What support is the Scottish Government giving across borders to local authorities so that they can work together on local heat strategies? How can that be advanced at a quicker pace than is happening at the moment?
The member is right to point out that some of these issues cross local authority boundaries. We work with local authorities to ensure that co-operation is there. We know that there is a particular enthusiasm around heat network development. We have information on grant funding that is allocated via the heat network support unit equating to more than £815,000, to support the development of city-wide, town-wide or cross-local-authority heat networks.
I encourage the member to contact the Scottish Government if he requires anything related to his local area. Co-operation is being promoted by the Scottish Government.
That concludes general question time.
11:57 Meeting suspended.