Chamber and committees

The expansion of the water charges reduction scheme (WCRS) from April 2021 is worth £86m across the 2021-27 period and it will provide support for over 470,000 households. The increase in discount from 25% to 35%, again from 2021, means that customers in receipt of the WCRS will be protected from price increases over the regulatory period. There are therefore no plans to review the scheme at this time but it will be part of the strategic review of charges ahead of the next regulatory period.

Scottish Water is the only shareholder in Scottish Water Horizons Holdings Ltd, Scottish Water Horizons Holdings Ltd is the only shareholder in Scottish Water Business Stream Holdings Ltd and Scottish Water Business Stream Holdings Ltd is the only shareholder in Scottish Water Business Stream Ltd.

The £10m of equity invested by Scottish Water Business Stream Holdings Ltd in Scottish Water Business Stream Ltd (SWBS) was part of the precautionary funding facilities which were put in place for SWBS during 2020-2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and will be eligible to receive future dividends from Scottish Water Business Stream Ltd.

It is possible for Scottish Water Business Stream Holdings Ltd to pay dividends to Scottish Water Horizons Holdings Ltd and this has been done in the past. It is not possible for Scottish Water Business Stream Holdings Ltd to pay a dividend to Scottish Water as Scottish Water is not a direct shareholder and this has not happened in the past.

It is possible for Scottish Water Horizons Holdings Ltd to pay dividends to Scottish Water but this has not happened to date.

The information requested on vacancy rates for retail and hospitality units is not held centrally but is held by Local Authorities.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS currently has no plans to invite Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to assess HMP Barlinnie for listed building status.

The 2016 Consultation on Social Security in Scotland asked correspondents if the new Scottish social security system should continue to support access to the Motability scheme. Of the 200 respondents, 97% answered 'Yes'. During the subsequent consultation on Disability Assistance in 2019, the Government confirmed that a scheme equivalent to the Motability scheme would be put in place in advance of the delivery of Disability Assistance.

The Scottish Government believes that giving disabled people a range of suppliers to choose from will encourage value and promote choice. When the Accessible Vehicles and Equipment Scheme was launched in 2019, we therefore set out an intention to invite further applicants at regular intervals. Work to re-open further accreditation rounds will begin later this year.

Any future accreditation of providers under the Scheme will not affect people who have already leased a vehicle under the scheme.

Work towards a draft bill to provide local authorities with a discretionary power to apply a visitor levy, including a series of roundtable stakeholder events and formal consultation, was at an advanced stage but was necessarily paused at the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic in March 2020.

Our Budget confirmed that we would re-commence this work. Given the continuing impact of the pandemic on the tourism sector in Scotland, we consider it prudent to carefully review the work done to date and undertake further stakeholder engagement before making a firm decision on the next steps.

We encourage any owner of a traditional building to explore the best available methods of repair and maintenance for their properties, including shop-owners and we welcome local shopfront improvement schemes which seek to increase the attractiveness and conserve the distinctiveness of high streets.

Draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) recognises the importance of our historic environment in defining the character of our places, and in promoting a sense of place, belonging and cultural identity.

Draft NPF4 also encourages Distinctive Places. Universal Policy 6, on Design, Quality and Place, sets out the six qualities of successful places. One of these is ‘distinctive’ which refers to attention to local architectural styles, with designs reinforcing identity, by drawing on historic environment assets, as well as examining building types, colours and materials and acknowledging the sense of place, heritage and identity.

Shopfront requirements around design, colour and materials are more appropriately covered in local guidance, to reflect and reinforce local styles and character of places.

Local planning authorities are best placed to advise property owners regarding the necessary consents for any restoration or renovation. It is important to ensure these consents remain appropriate and not unnecessarily restrictive. This maximises the ability of the local economy to flourish, while we continue to carefully preserve the distinctive characteristics of local spaces.

The Scottish Government is aware of the roof issues in the 14 fire stations, which are as a result of the materials used when the buildings were constructed by Local Authorities. SFRS has confirmed that remedial action has been taken in all 14 fire stations to ensure that the buildings are safe and that there are no immediate safety concerns.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with SFRS in relation to its resource and capital funding requirements but decisions on the use of those funds is a matter for SFRS.

This is a matter for Crown Estate Scotland (CES) as the assessment and evaluation of the ScotWind applications was undertaken by CES. Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage activity was considered as part of the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy's Sustainability Appraisal, particularly the Social and Economic Impact Assessment and in the Regional Locational Guidance. Those documents can be found at the links below.

Social and Economic Impact Assessment: https://www.gov.scot/publications/draft-sectoral-marine-plan-social-econimic-impact-assessment/documents/

Regional Locational Guidance: https://www.gov.scot/publications/sectoral-marine-plan-regional-locational-guidance/documents/