Chamber and committees

We continue to keep these estimates under review and will provide updates later in the year, after our planned consultation on a proposed Heat in Buildings Bill.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14814 on 7 March 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

Our National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Delivery Programme, published November 2022, stated that we would commence establishment and agree membership of the Planning, Infrastructure and Place Advisory Group following adoption of NPF4. NPF4 was adopted on 13 February 2023. We are on target to meet our commitment to hold the first meeting of the group, agree Terms of Reference and discuss an outline work programme within 3 months of adoption of NPF4. We will update stakeholders on the work of the group on our website www.transformingplanning.scot .

Assessing the future needs of places, in collaboration with communities, is a core part of the local development plan process and infrastructure needs should be considered early in the process as part of an evidence based approach.

We continue to engage closely with COSLA and Heads of Planning Scotland to understand the pressures faced by the planning service, including skills shortages, and to promote a highly performing system.

Along with other key stakeholders including Partners in Planning we will develop a skills strategy which will identify the specialist skills required to address the requirements of National Planning Framework 4, and the wider skills required to ensure we have planners with the expertise to deliver on our ambitions for Scotland.

In 2022 we commissioned work on the pipeline of new planners coming into the system. The research report is available at Future Planners Project Report (rtpi.org.uk) . We are working with the Royal Town Planning Institute Scotland and Heads of Planning Scotland to implement the report’s recommendations, and will focus on this as we move forward with delivery of NPF4.

The forthcoming development planning guidance will set out the various stages in plan preparation.

Permitted development rights already allow solar panels to be retro-fitted on domestic properties without a planning application, subject to relevant criteria being met. Permitted development rights grant planning permission for specified types of development through legislation. In doing so, they help provide certainty and save the time and expense associated with applying for planning permission.

The permitted development rights for domestic solar panels do not, however, apply to domestic properties located within a conservation area, meaning a planning application is required. This allows the planning authority to consider the potential negative impacts of solar panel installations on the visual amenity and character of the conservation area. Under the new fees regulations introduced by the Scottish Government in 2021, such applications qualify for a 25% reduction of the normal application fee.

The Scottish Government is currently considering potential for extending the permitted development rights for renewable energy installations, including domestic solar panels, in the light of the current climate and cost crises. We will be publishing a consultation on our proposals shortly.

The responsibilities of Scottish Ministers and the Water Industry Commission for Scotland are set out in the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, as amended. The Principles of Charging, available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/principles-of-charging-2021-2027/ , specify how Scottish Water is to charge for its services, together with the discounts, exemptions and reductions which must be applied.

Scottish Government officials met with representatives from Scottish Power on 10 January 2023 to discuss the publication of the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan. Officials also met with Scottish Power on 15 February 2023 to discuss the use of diesel generators at Arecleoch and Glen App wind farms.

The Scottish Government holds limited information on pension contributions and these are contained within the Local Financial Returns (LFRs). Data on LFRs is published as part of the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics.

Teachers

There are currently two occupational pension schemes for teachers in Scotland. These schemes are administered by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The SPPA is the definitive source of information on teachers pensions.

Non-Teachers

The Local Government Pension Scheme in Scotland is a funded, defined benefit, statutory occupational pension scheme. It's one of the main public service pension schemes in Scotland, serving more than 236,000 active members, over 140,000 deferred members and more than 169,000 pensioners and dependents.

The scheme is administered by 11 local government administering authorities. These are:

• Dumfries and Galloway Pension Fund
• Falkirk Council Pension Fund
• Fife Council Pension Fund
• Highland Council Pension Fund
• Lothian Pension Fund
• North East Scotland Pension Fund
• Orkney Islands Pension Fund
• Scottish Borders Pension Fund
• Shetland Islands Pension Fund
• Strathclyde Pension Fund
• Tayside Superannuation Fund

These eleven funds provide information on employee and employer pension contributions, as shown in the table below. The contributions cover all employers in the schemes, and this is broader than just Scotland’s 32 councils. It is not possible to separate out the individual local authority contributions in the data held centrally by Scottish Government.

While the Scottish Government holds some relevant information relating to tree removal as a result of onshore windfarm developments on Forestry and Land Scotland sites, it does not hold information relating to all onshore windfarms. Further data is held by Local Planning Authorities.

Where trees are proposed to be felled for the purpose of building an onshore wind farm it is most likely that there would be a condition attached to the consent requiring compensatory planting. This is to accord with the Scottish Government’s policy on the control of woodland removal – The Scottish Government's Policy on Control of Woodland Removal (forestry.gov.scot)

The monitoring and enforcing of such conditions are undertaken by the Local Planning Authority.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) was adopted on 13 February 2023. Our NPF4 Delivery Programme, published November 2022, provides an overview of actions to be taken to support delivery, including the preparation of a number guidance documents throughout 2023 and beyond. NatureScot’s Developing With Nature guidance, to support policy 3c, has already been published (13 February 2023). Guidance on Local Development Planning and a draft consultation on Local Living and 20 Minute Neighbourhoods will be published in the spring. We will provide an update on the production of other guidance documents when we publish our second iteration of the Delivery Plan in the summer.