Chamber and committees

Funding of £1 million has been prioritised to support Clyde Gateway Urban Regeneration Company from the budget available to support regeneration programmes. Ministers are considering the implications of the budget and options for the delivery of the remaining budget in 2024-25, and the Scottish Government will clarify how the budget will be allocated in due course.

There are a total of 30 current projects supported by regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) and 15 current projects supported by Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP) being delivered over the course of 2023/24 and 2024/25 with grant expenditure anticipated in these two financial years.

Due to the nature of the delivery of capital projects grant profiles can change depending on the progress of the project and we continually work with local authorities to monitor draw down requirements. Final year end grant claims will continue to be submitted over the course of March and early April. This means we cannot confirm the final grant profile for 2024-25 at this time. However information on the current projects supported and the total grant awarded are provided in the following tables:

The Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme has not supported any projects within the Cowdenbeath constituency since its launch in 2021. However it has supported one project in the Fife local authority area, the Ravenscraig Skills Hub, with nearly £500k investment.

The funding awarded through the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) and the Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP) over the last five years, from 2019-20 to 2023-24 by local authority area, is detailed in the following table. This table excludes projects that were subsequently withdrawn by local authorities.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of building and preserving a society where the rights and freedoms of individuals are respected and communities can trust their elected representatives.

The Scottish Government has set out its plans, on preventing individuals included on the sex offenders register from being councillors or MSPs, to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee who are currently considering the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill.

Ministers are considering the implications and options for delivery of the regeneration budget in 2024-2025 and we have yet to make decisions on a future application round for the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund.

In November 2023, the NHS Scotland Chief Executive wrote to all Health Boards, requesting that they review their financial forecast for the remainder of the 2023-24 financial year and minimise any discretionary spend.

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) play a critical role in supporting the education, training and wider development of the NHS Scotland workforce and is responsible for ensuring best use of available resources to support delivery of services and strategic objectives.

NES will continue to provide training and education, taking a flexible approach to its delivery across Scotland, while ensuring quality is maintained.

The Town Centre Action Plan (TCAP) sets out our shared ambition for the future of town centres and is a call to action for partners, both locally and nationally, to re-build, re-energise and re-imagine our towns. This is a joint endeavour with responsibilities shared across the sectors.

We continue to take forward actions that we have direct responsibility for, working closely with cross-sector partners to support the delivery of TCAP. In collaboration with Scotland’s Towns Partnership, progress towards town centre regeneration has been showcased via a number of forums, including recent workshops on town centre living, place-based investment and the annual Scotland’s Towns conference.

Support for town centre action is also backed by our multiple capital investment programmes, including the Place Based Investment Programme, Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and the Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme, all of which help to accelerate shared ambitions for town centre action. However, following the UK Government's Autumn Statement and Spring Budget, a reduction in our capital budget will adversely impact the support that we can provide in 2024-25.

The independent reporter was required to make their decision on the planning merits of the case and in overall accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicated otherwise. The reporter concluded that the main issues in this case were the principle of the development and its potential benefits; the landscape and visual impact of the proposal; and its ecological impact. The reporter took full account of all submissions made by parties, including those from North Ayrshire Council and views expressed by members of the local community, consultees and other third parties with an interest in the proposal. A site inspection took place on 13 October 2023.

The reporter took full account of all the submissions made by parties, including the potential impact on the island's birds. This included the appellants Ecological Appraisal and comments from members of the local community.

The reporter concluded that the proposed development complied with development plan policies relating to biodiversity.

The reporter has included a condition to this permission setting out that prior to the commencement of the development a Construction Management Plan shall be submitted to the council for approval. This Plan will set out, unless otherwise agreed by the planning authority, that vegetation removal should be scheduled to occur outside of the nesting bird season.