Chamber and committees

All projects are subject to ongoing review and consideration. It is for NHS Grampian’s project team, in discussion with the contractor, to determine whether any client changes are actioned.

The cost crisis created an unprecedented challenge with the Scottish Government exploring all financial options to support the emergency response to help people and businesses through its Emergency Budget Review (EBR) in 2022.

The then DFM and Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, John Swinney MSP, publicly confirmed to Parliament in his EBR statement that the deferred budget of £33 million would be returned to the sector in future years, ensuring this money is ultimately used to deliver on Scotland's rural priorities.

Future budgets are set through the annual parliamentary Budget Bill process and the appropriate profile for returning this funding will be considered as part of the 2024-25 process.

We expect all eligible premises within R100 contract build plans to have been connected by the time of the programme’s completion. As the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme is demand-led, it is not possible to know with certainty the percentage of properties that will secure a connection via the Scheme upon completion.

The Scottish Government provided £223 million of support to bus services throughout the Covid pandemic. The Network Support Grant Plus was always a temporary fund put in place to support bus services as patronage recovered following the Covid 19 Pandemic. Travel has changed following the pandemic with amended service levels and new passenger travel patterns, therefore it is important that the support we give transport operators continues to evolve as the network adapts and make sure it remains fit for purpose and is sustainable long term.

The Scottish Government is aware of the importance of bus services and is committed, in conjunction with operators and local authorities, to looking at ways of improving services. The Scottish Government continues to invest in the bus network to support long term growth The Network Support Grant, which keeps fares more affordable and networks more extensive than would otherwise be the case, continues to be available in 2023 - 2024 and the Scottish Government is providing extra funding to support a marketing campaign to encourage people back to bus.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-02058 on‎ 17 April 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the Official Report can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-23-03-2023?meeting=15218

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13958 on‎ 26 January 2023. 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 an update published to their website on 2 February 2023, Ofcom’s latest figures show that full fibre coverage in Scotland has been extended to around 1.1 million properties – 41% of all properties, which is the same percentage coverage as England (source: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/multi-sector-research/infrastructure-research/connected-nations-2022 ).

This is, in large part, a direct result of the policies we have put in place to enhance Scotland’s digital infrastructure and improve digital connectivity. This includes our R100 programme, where the vast majority of connections delivered through the R100 contracts are full-fibre and gigabit-capable, delivering speeds up to 30 times faster than our original superfast commitment.

The demand management research referred to in S6W-16545 considers carefully the analysis of possible equality impacts of demand management options including road pricing, along with potential mitigations such as exemptions, allowances and complementary measures which may be applied to those on low incomes and those living in remote rural areas. Monitoring of potential future road pricing schemes is not possible until if and when such schemes have been developed together with appropriate monitoring and evaluation approaches.

Forecasts for the 2023-2024 Budget were produced by the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC), and published on 15 December 2022. The change to the rateable value threshold for Fresh Start relief from £95,000 to £100,000 was judged by the SFC to be below the materiality threshold, and was not costed separately. Fresh Start relief overall is forecast by the SFC to cost £5 million in 2023-24.

There is strong national planning policy support for approval of good quality conversions to residential development following thorough planning assessments. We have no plans to introduce new permitted development rights providing for the conversion of business premises to housing without a planning application. We sought views on this during the second phase of the ongoing review of permitted development rights. More than 90% of respondents agreed this should not be taken forward and that residential development should continue to be plan-led. National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) was adopted in February 2023 and is now part of the development plan. Policy 9 (Brownfield, vacant and derelict land and empty buildings) of NPF4 supports the sustainable reuse of brownfield land including vacant buildings. Furthermore, Policy 27 of NPF4 (City, town, local and commercial centres) specifically supports town centre living and the re-use of vacant buildings within city and town centres for residential development.