Chamber and committees

The Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013 provides that land transactions with a chargeable consideration of less than £40,000 are not notifiable and that no tax return is therefore required. As such, this information is not available.

An official ISO standard for the use of UHF in animal identification was published in December 2023. The Scottish Government is considering all evidence following the consultation on cattle identification and traceability held earlier this year, this includes delivery of any future ISO standards.

The Just Transition Fund has allocated £75 million to date, supporting projects and communities across the North East and Moray to create jobs, support innovation, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future.

Adult Disability Payment provides financial support to disabled adults to help mitigate the additional costs of being disabled or having a long-term ill health condition so they can lead their lives more independently and fully. It is not an income replacement benefit and eligibility for Adult Disability Payment is not related to employment.

The Scottish Government are working to improve employment opportunities for those who face barriers in the labour market, including disabled people and those with ill health conditions. Through No One Left Behind, the Scottish Government are delivering person-centred, tailored employability services and in-work support through locally designed services. Between April and June 2024, 30% of participants accessing the service reported a disability, the largest proportion in a single quarter to date.

Work is underway to drive forward the commitment to implement Specialist Employability Support for disabled people across all 32 Local Authorities from Summer 2025 so that they can access secure fulfilling jobs.

Discussions continue between the main funding partners in relation to financial packages and legal agreements as part of the business case and cost review exercise. Officials are progressing these matters as quickly and robustly as possible and will look to provide updates when notable progress is made.

Social Security Scotland routinely publishes information on Adult Disability Payment applications and caseload, broken down by disability condition. No information on the number of indefinite awards made as a result of Adult Disability Payment applications is currently published.

As of 31 October 2024, statistics showed that there were 374,655 clients on the Adult Disability Payment caseload, of which 142,480 had the primary disability condition “Mental and Behavioural Disorders”.

The latest Adult Disability Payment official statistics publication can be found at: https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/statistics. The next release of Adult Disability Payment statistics which will cover the period to the end of January 2024, is due to be published on 18 March 2024.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-32072 on 7 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

In England, the standard multiplier in 2025-2026 is being uprated to 55.5p, from 54.6p in 2024-2025. In Scotland, the proposed Higher Property Rate for 2025-2026 is 56.8p, increasing from 55.9p in 2024-2025.

Table 1 shows the estimated cost of setting the Higher Property Rate at 55.5p, compared to 56.8p, broken down by property class. The Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100,000, and may not sum due to rounding.

The Scottish Government recognises that the present system of presenting paper copies of powers of attorneys as proof of authority to act could be improved by digitisation of the process. Digital activation codes are used in England and appear to be a successful way of doing this. Digitisation of this process in Scotland is an operational decision within the remit of the Office of the Public Guardian, which is part of the independent Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service.

The Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) applies the Scottish Government Fair Work First criteria to grant awards. The conditions of award ensure organisations commit to the Fair Work First Criteria in a way that is relevant and appropriate for the organisation. This does not apply where the jobs relate to workers who are a 'share fisherman', who are classed as self-employed by HMRC.

With regard to fishing quota, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-29467 on 10 September 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers