- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 9 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it and (b) Circularity Scotland will receive a share of the packaging recovery note value of any packaging waste collected by Biffa under the proposed Deposit Return Scheme.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17190 on 5 May 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
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the objectives are of the ScotRail timetable consultation for the upcoming May 2023 timetable, and for what reasons each objective has been chosen.
Answer
As required by the Grant Agreement, ScotRail has consulted its May 2023 timetable with statutory consultees including Regional Transport Partnerships, Transport Focus and other public transport operators such as Calmac. No specific objectives are set by the Grant Agreement for consultation with statutory consultees. The May 2023 timetable is an interim position which seeks to deliver as reliable as possible a service for customers with the resources ScotRail currently has available, specifically traincrew.
ScotRail has developed further timetable proposals for Ayrshire, Inverclyde, Glasgow South Electrics and Edinburgh to Glasgow via Shotts routes and aims to publicly consult these in the coming months. The objectives set for the public consultation are:
1. To encourage customers and stakeholders to have their say and help shape the future of Scotland’s Railway.
2. To promote the proposed timetable changes and consultation as a positive step in the railway’s road to recovery.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 9 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many Private Rented Sector Landlord Loans have been provide by Home Energy Scotland to help registered private landlords improve the energy efficiency of their properties in each month since January 2022.
Answer
The Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan Scheme supports landlords with the cost of installation for energy efficiency improvements, renewable systems and energy storage systems.
The scheme is delivered through a demand-led model where funding is applied for by the applicant directly, who in turn is responsible for sourcing an approved installer and paying funding to them once works are complete.
Once a funding agreement has been put in place, applicants have 12 months to claim the funding.
The number of funding agreements put in place and number of loans that have been claimed by applicants through the scheme since January 2022 are outlined in the following table:
Month | Number of Funding Agreements | Number of Loans Claimed |
2022 |
January | 7 | 8 |
February | 6 | 10 |
March | 12 | 8 |
April | 3 | 8 |
May | 6 | 6 |
June | 2 | 5 |
July | 4 | 3 |
August | 8 | 4 |
September | 8 | 1 |
October | 13 | 10 |
November | 5 | 11 |
December | 3 | 4 |
2023 |
January | 5 | 8 |
February | 9 | 8 |
March | 10 | 2 |
April | 6 | 2 |
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when the ScotRail timetable consultation for the upcoming May 2023 timetable concluded, and when the findings will be published.
Answer
Consultation with statutory stakeholders was completed in January 2023. It was agreed through this process that given the May 2023 timetable was an interim step due to resource constraints, it could not be viewed in isolation and it was appropriate to hold a public consultation on the longer term proposals. ScotRail advises that this public consultation will be held in the coming months.
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue was raised under each income tax band, and what proportion each amount represents of the total income tax take, broken down by each financial year since the introduction of the Scottish Rate of Income Tax to 2022-23.
Answer
Control over the rates and bands of non-savings non-dividends income tax has been devolved to the Scottish Parliament since 2017-18.
His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publish Outturn statistics annually, showing the revenue raised from Scottish Income Tax for the tax year prior. These statistics show revenue raised from taxpayers at their highest marginal rate, that is, the Income Tax band that a taxpayer would pay their next pound of Income Tax into.
Outturn statistics from 2016-17 to 2020-21 are available on the UK Government website, with the most recently available publication being found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/scottish-income-tax-outturn-statistics-2020-to-2021/scottish-income-tax-outturn-statistics-2020-to-2021.
For figures relating to 2021-22 and 2022-23, the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) are responsible for forecasting Scottish Income Tax revenue. The SFC do not currently publish a breakdown of this forecast in terms of revenue raised by taxpayers at their highest marginal rate.
The next Outturn publication is expected to be in July 2023, and will outline the revenue raised by marginal rate by band for the tax year 2021-22. Figures for 2022-23 will be available in Summer 2024.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on (a) which local authorities currently have hardship funds and (b) how much funding has been dispersed from any such funds in each local authority area in the last 12 months.
Answer
This is a matter for individual local authorities. The information is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 9 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the average real terms spending, based on current prices, was for a Scotland-domiciled student in receipt of (a) a young students' bursary, (b) an independent students' bursary, (c) a care experienced students' bursary, (d) a lone parents' grant, (e) a dependants' grant, (f) a care experienced accommodation grant, (g) placement expenses, (h) a paramedic, nursing and midwifery bursary and (i) a disabled students' allowance, in each year since the support scheme was introduced.
Answer
Tables 1 and 2 reflect the relevant bursaries and grants since 1997-98 when consistent data recording started. The types of relevant bursaries and grants that were available each year varied. Bursaries and grants available to students depended on their circumstances as well as the type of course they were studying.
Table 1: Average Bursary Spend, 1997-98 to 2021-22 |
Year | Young Students' Bursary | Independent Students' Bursary | Care-experienced Students' Bursary | Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery Bursary |
Cash terms | real terms (2021-22 prices) | Cash terms | real terms (2021-22 prices) | Cash terms | real terms (2021-22 prices) | Cash terms | real terms (2021-22 prices) |
1997-98 | | | | | | | £3,408 | £5,579 |
1998-99 | | | | | | | £4,584 | £7,374 |
1999-00 | | | | | | | £4,710 | £7,483 |
2000-01 | | | | | | | £4,809 | £7,545 |
2001-02 | £1,309 | £2,012 | | | | | £6,204 | £9,539 |
2002-03 | £1,380 | £2,074 | | | | | £5,355 | £8,049 |
2003-04 | £1,407 | £2,065 | | | | | - a | - a |
2004-05 | £1,445 | £2,059 | | | | | - a | - a |
2005-06 | £1,862 | £2,580 | | | | | - a | - a |
2006-07 | £1,914 | £2,576 | | | | | £5,831 | £7,847 |
2007-08 | £1,955 | £2,571 | | | | | £6,776 | £8,908 |
2008-09 | £1,988 | £2,523 | | | | | £6,057 | £7,685 |
2009-10 | £2,051 | £2,568 | | | | | £2,021 | £2,530 |
2010-11 | £1,665 | £2,050 | £935 | £1,151 | | | £6,117 | £7,534 |
2011-12 | £2,093 | £2,532 | £923 | £1,117 | | | £6,024 | £7,290 |
2012-13 | £2,104 | £2,502 | £927 | £1,102 | | | £5,098 | £6,064 |
2013-14 | £1,226 | £1,428 | £710 | £827 | | | £6,059 | £7,060 |
2014-15 | £1,235 | £1,423 | £710 | £818 | | | £6,136 | £7,072 |
2015-16 | £1,252 | £1,432 | £712 | £815 | | | £6,158 | £7,041 |
2016-17 | £1,390 | £1,557 | £826 | £926 | | | £6,216 | £6,965 |
2017-18 | £1,406 | £1,550 | £822 | £906 | £7,017 | £7,733 | £6,177 | £6,808 |
2018-19 | £1,407 | £1,523 | £825 | £893 | £7,621 | £8,252 | £6,178 | £6,689 |
2019-20 | £1,540 | £1,625 | £945 | £997 | £7,638 | £8,061 | £7,602 | £8,023 |
2020-21 | £1,543 | £1,532 | £960 | £954 | £7,716 | £7,662 | £9,379 | £9,314 |
2021-22 | £1,503 | £1,503 | £942 | £942 | £7,591 | £7,591 | £9,270 | £9,270 |
Table 2: Average Grant Spend, 1997-98 to 2021-22 |
Year | Lone Parents' Grant | Dependents' Grant | Care-experienced Accommodation Grant | Placement Expenses | Disabled Students' Allowance |
Cash terms | real terms (2021-22 prices) | Cash terms | real terms (2021-22 prices) | Cash terms | real terms (2021-22 prices) | Cash terms | real terms (2021-22 prices) | Cash terms | real terms (2021-22 prices) |
1997-98 | £920 | £1,506 | £2,225 | £3,643 | | | - | - | £1,867 | £3,056 |
1998-99 | £949 | £1,527 | £2,265 | £3,644 | | | - | - | £2,187 | £3,518 |
1999-00 | £964 | £1,531 | £2,271 | £3,607 | | | - | - | £2,472 | £3,927 |
2000-01 | £980 | £1,538 | £2,266 | £3,556 | | | - | - | £2,460 | £3,860 |
2001-02 | £1,029 | £1,582 | £2,349 | £3,612 | | | - | - | £2,456 | £3,777 |
2002-03 | £1,064 | £1,600 | £2,432 | £3,655 | | | - | - | £2,516 | £3,782 |
2003-04 | £1,094 a | £1,606 a | £2,473 a | £3,629 a | | | - | - | £2,252 | £3,304 |
2004-05 | £1,099 a | £1,565 a | £1,971 a | £2,807 a | | | - | - | £2,364 | £3,367 |
2005-06 | £1,125 a | £1,559 a | £2,041 a | £2,829 a | | | - | - | £2,221 | £3,078 |
2006-07 | £1,148 | £1,545 | £2,522 | £3,394 | | | - | - | £2,232 | £3,003 |
2007-08 | £1,227 | £1,613 | £2,974 | £3,909 | | | - | - | £2,223 | £2,923 |
2008-09 | £1,184 | £1,502 | £2,601 | £3,301 | | | - | - | £2,168 | £2,750 |
2009-10 | £998 | £1,249 | £1,181 | £1,478 | | | - | - | £2,074 | £2,597 |
2010-11 | £1,188 | £1,463 | £2,581 | £3,178 | | | - | - | £1,902 | £2,342 |
2011-12 | £1,193 | £1,444 | £2,599 | £3,145 | | | £592 | £717 | £2,172 | £2,628 |
2012-13 | £1,138 | £1,353 | £2,214 | £2,634 | | | £450 | £536 | £1,809 | £2,151 |
2013-14 | £1,197 | £1,394 | £2,522 | £2,939 | | | £534 | £622 | £1,815 | £2,115 |
2014-15 | £1,206 | £1,390 | £2,587 | £2,982 | | | £688 | £793 | £1,695 | £1,954 |
2015-16 | £1,208 | £1,381 | £2,686 | £3,071 | | | £725 | £829 | £1,776 | £2,031 |
2016-17 | £1,199 | £1,344 | £2,743 | £3,074 | | | £752 | £843 | £1,780 | £1,995 |
2017-18 | £1,425 | £1,570 | £3,481 | £3,836 | | | £750 | £827 | £1,837 | £2,025 |
2018-19 | £1,446 | £1,566 | £3,478 | £3,765 | £1,087 | £1,177 | £837 | £906 | £1,989 | £2,153 |
2019-20 | £1,460 | £1,541 | £3,519 | £3,714 | £1,777 | £1,875 | £563 | £594 | £1,903 | £2,009 |
2020-21 | £1,499 | £1,489 | £3,547 | £3,523 | £1,842 | £1,830 | £929 | £922 | £2,028 | £2,014 |
2021-22 | £1,496 | £1,496 | £3,473 | £3,473 | £1,288 | £1,288 | £936 | £936 | £2,066 | £2,066 |
Source: SG Analysis of SAAS and HM Treasury Data
Notes:
1. Blank entries indicate that the bursary or grant was either discontinued or did not exist at that time
2. The dash symbol denotes missing data for an available bursary or grant.
3. SAAS have advised that Placement Expenses student support funding was recorded under ad-hoc payments until 2011-12. Therefore the total value of Placement Expenses student support funding up to that year cannot be accurately determined.
4. Letter (a) is used to indicate that there was no data for Nursing and Midwifery students between 2003-04 and 2005-06, therefore there is no entry for the corresponding years under Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery Bursary.
5. The missing Nursing and Midwifery data between 2003-04 and 2005-06 also impacted the corresponding datasets for Lone Parents’ and Dependents’ students. The letter (a) is also used to indicate that the average Lone Parents’ and Dependents’ grants values for those years are also impacted because of this.
6. The Paramedic Science Bursary, included under Paramedic, Nursing, and Midwifery Student Bursary, started in year 2021-22.
7. SAAS have advised that there are data record issues in years up to and including 2012-13, therefore average bursary and grant values from 1998-99 to 2012-13 are likely to be less accurate than more recent years.
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 9 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the average real terms spending, based on current prices, was for a Scotland-domiciled student attending a Scottish university and in receipt of a (a) bursary and (b) grant, in each year since 2007.
Answer
The following table reflects the various bursaries and grants that existed since 2007. The types of bursaries and grants that were available each year varied and some replaced others. The bursaries and grants available to students depended on their circumstances as well as the type of course they were studying.
Table 1: Average Bursary and Grant spend in cash and real terms (2021-22 prices), 2007-08 to 2021-22 |
Year | Average Bursary | Average Grant |
Cash terms | Real terms (2021-22 prices) | Cash terms | Real terms (2021-22 prices) |
2007-08 | £3,255 | £4,279 | £2,295 | £3,018 |
2008-09 | £3,041 | £3,859 | £2,180 | £2,766 |
2009-10 | £2,028 | £2,539 | £2,157 | £2,701 |
2010-11 | £2,867 | £3,531 | £1,799 | £2,216 |
2011-12 | £2,713 | £3,283 | £2,395 | £2,898 |
2012-13 | £2,476 | £2,945 | £1,927 | £2,292 |
2013-14 | £2,084 | £2,429 | £2,027 | £2,362 |
2014-15 | £2,150 | £2,478 | £1,994 | £2,298 |
2015-16 | £2,239 | £2,560 | £2,048 | £2,342 |
2016-17 | £2,327 | £2,607 | £2,049 | £2,295 |
2017-18 | £2,369 | £2,611 | £2,361 | £2,602 |
2018-19 | £2,424 | £2,624 | £2,444 | £2,646 |
2019-20 | £2,903 | £3,064 | £2,553 | £2,695 |
2020-21 | £3,468 | £3,444 | £2,653 | £2,635 |
2021-22 | £3,657 | £3,657 | £2,609 | £2,609 |
Source: SG analysis of SAAS and HM Treasury data;
Notes:
1. Bursary includes: Young Student Bursary, Independent Student Bursary, Young Student Outside of Scotland Bursary, Student Outside of Scotland Bursary, Nursing and Midwifery Student Bursary (NMSB), and Scottish Government Health Department Bursary.
2. Grant includes: Dependents Grant, Lone Parent Grant, Lone Parent Childcare Grant, Disabled Students Allowance, and Undergraduate and Postgraduate Standard Maintenance Allowance.
Bursaries such as NMSB were only available to a specific cohort of students.
3. SAAS have advised that there are data record issues in years up to and including 2012-13, therefore average bursary and grant values from 2007-08 to 2012-13 arelikely to be less accurate than more recent years.
4. Real terms figures are presented in 2021-22prices, based on HM Treasury's GDP deflators at market prices, and money GDP March 2023 (Quarterly National Accounts) series, published 3 April 2023.
Table 1: Average Bursary and Grant spend in cash and real terms (2021-22 prices), 2007-08 to 2021-22 |
Year | Average Bursary | Average Grant |
Cash terms | Real terms (2021-22 prices) | Cash terms | Real terms (2021-22 prices) |
2007-08 | £3,255 | £4,279 | £2,295 | £3,018 |
2008-09 | £3,041 | £3,859 | £2,180 | £2,766 |
2009-10 | £2,028 | £2,539 | £2,157 | £2,701 |
2010-11 | £2,867 | £3,531 | £1,799 | £2,216 |
2011-12 | £2,713 | £3,283 | £2,395 | £2,898 |
2012-13 | £2,476 | £2,945 | £1,927 | £2,292 |
2013-14 | £2,084 | £2,429 | £2,027 | £2,362 |
2014-15 | £2,150 | £2,478 | £1,994 | £2,298 |
2015-16 | £2,239 | £2,560 | £2,048 | £2,342 |
2016-17 | £2,327 | £2,607 | £2,049 | £2,295 |
2017-18 | £2,369 | £2,611 | £2,361 | £2,602 |
2018-19 | £2,424 | £2,624 | £2,444 | £2,646 |
2019-20 | £2,903 | £3,064 | £2,553 | £2,695 |
2020-21 | £3,468 | £3,444 | £2,653 | £2,635 |
2021-22 | £3,657 | £3,657 | £2,609 | £2,609 |
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 9 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the total number of students is that attended a Scottish further education college, in each year since 2007.
Answer
Information on the number of students attending a college in Scotland is published by the Scottish Funding Council. The latest publication contains a 10 year timeseries.
College Statistics 2021-22 (sfc.ac.uk)
Due to a recent methodology change, a timeseries isn’t available back to 2007. The below table provides a consistent timeseries of student headcount, enrolments and full-time equivalent figures back to 2007.
Academic Year | Headcount | Enrolments | Full-time Equivalent |
2006-07 | 354,152 | 468,155 | 129,378 |
2007-08 | 368,717 | 489,610 | 131,423 |
2008-09 | 364,998 | 483,472 | 133,374 |
2009-10 | 338,223 | 438,522 | 134,918 |
2010-11 | 298,578 | 383,005 | 134,547 |
2011-12 | 252,132 | 320,646 | 133,199 |
2012-13 | 238,758 | 297,586 | 131,421 |
2013-14 | 238,371 | 299,828 | 132,942 |
2014-15 | 226,898 | 297,011 | 131,619 |
2015-16 | 226,795 | 281,051 | 129,500 |
2016-17 | 235,187 | 291,849 | 132,493 |
2017-18 | 242,488 | 303,115 | 131,953 |
2018-19 | 264,858 | 328,889 | 129,821 |
2019-20 | 239,004 | 302,092 | 127,683 |
2020-21 | 213,135 | 277,620 | 128,559 |
2021-22 | 236,730 | 322,332 | 129,175 |
Source: Scottish Funding Council
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 9 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the risk of infection in Scotland of the tick-borne encephalitis virus, which has been detected in the UK and reportedly can be fatal, in light of the UK Health Security Agency recommendation to implement changes to testing in hospital so that new cases can be detected promptly.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to monitoring the risk and prevention of the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus.
The identification of one probable case of TBE in Scotland is insufficient evidence to conclude that there has been a significant change to the risk to human health in Scotland from TBE. On 5 April, the HAIRS group published an updated TBE Risk Assessment which states that the risk of infection to the general population in the UK remains very low, and low for high risk groups (such as those living, working or visiting affected areas, as determined by duration of time spent outside).
However, the potential seriousness of TBE infection and this finding has prompted increased clinical surveillance. Furthermore, Public Health Scotland have requested the UK Health Security Agency undertake tick capture and testing in Lochearnhead this spring to assess whether TBE infection can be identified in ticks in Scotland.
