Chamber and committees

In relation to the EIR request 202100240457, the information was collected via a portal that included a privacy notice where applicants were made aware that the information they provided would not be shared outwith the Scottish Government.

This EIR was reviewed and the outcome of that review will be published on the Scottish Government website.

Rents for social rented homes should not be set without regard to the importance of affordability for tenants. The Scottish Government therefore considers the proposed rents for Registered Social Landlord social rented homes at the point of first let as part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme grant assessment process.

Applications from Registered Social Landlords for grant funding to deliver projects through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme at tender stage contain information on any projected rent levels at the date of completion which are more than 5% above the relevant social rent benchmark published by the Scottish Government.

Information on the number of units which were approved at tender stage which contained Registered Social Landlord projected rent levels at the point of completion which exceeded the relevant social rent benchmark by more than 5% began to be collected in 2018-19.

The following table shows the number of units approved at tender stage – by Registered Social Landlord – where the projected rent levels at the date of completion were more than 5% and up to 10% above, and more than 10% above, the relevant social rent benchmark. The table also shows – by Registered Social Landlord – the average forecast yield above benchmark (calculated as the weighted average of the rent as a percentage above benchmark) where the projected rent levels at the date of completion were more than 5% and up to 10% above, and more than 10% above, the relevant social rent benchmark.

The Help to Buy (Scotland) Smaller Developers scheme continues to be available to help people purchase a new build home throughout 2021/22. The scheme will close on 31 March 2022.

The Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers, which includes the Open Market Shared Equity and New Supply Shared Equity schemes will continue to be available. These schemes are aimed at first time buyers and priority access groups and count towards the Affordable Housing Supply Programme commitment to deliver a further 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.

The Scottish Government will shortly commence a national marketing campaign to increase awareness of the support available to people and their families, including financial support, and encourage them to take it up. This campaign will ensure that information on the availability of, and access to, free debt advice will be available, planned to begin in January 2022. We will signpost to free debt advice providers which offer a full range of support with problem debt – from budgeting through to statutory solutions – and to services across the public sector.

The following table shows the actual funding provided to Cunninghame, Irvine and Trust Housing Associations between 2011-12 to 2020-21, and planned funding levels for 2021-22, through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) to deliver affordable homes. The AHSP supports delivery of new build homes, rehabilitation projects, conversions and off-the-shelf purchases of both new and second hand homes.

Figures for future years planned investment by housing associations have not been agreed. Each Local Authority prepares and publishes its Strategic Housing Investment Plans (SHIPs) annually, setting out their strategic priorities for affordable housing over a 5 year period. SHIPs for the period 2021-26 currently published by local authorities, may include information relating to housing projects for these associations which have been identified as priorities.

Funding provided through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme to Cunninghame, Irvine and Trust Housing Associations 2011-12 to 2021-22*

The Programme Business Case, published in February 2020, provides future forecasted operating costs for Social Security Scotland. The link to the Business Case can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/social-security-programme-business-case-executive-summary/documents/

The 2021-22 Autumn Budget Revision, published on 27 September 2021, set out the financial position for Social Security in the current year. The Social Security budget line captures staff and running costs, and Social Security Assistance covers benefits expenditure. The document can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/2021-22-autumn-budget-revision-budget-scotland-act/

The 2022-23 Scottish Budget, which is set to be announced on 9 December 2021, will set out what the Scottish Government will invest in Social Security over the next financial year. The 2021 Medium Term Financial Strategy will be published alongside the new Budget and will focus on the fiscal position within the Parliamentary term.

Tackling child poverty is a national mission for this government and we are making considerable investment to increase family incomes and reduce household costs. In 2020-21 we spent £2.5 billion in targeted support for low-income households, including nearly £1 billion to support low income families with children.

This year, through our Scottish Child Payment and Bridging Payments, we will put around £130 million directly in the pockets of low income families across Scotland. By the end of June over £351,000 was awarded to families in South Ayrshire through the Scottish Child Payment, and over £645,000 was awarded through Bridging Payments by the end of August. We will further increase the support available to families by doubling the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per week as early as possible and will set out how we will do this as part of the budget bill process.

We also made a £130 Low Income Pandemic Support Payment by the end of October for every household who received Council Tax Reduction in the month of April – an investment of up to £65 million, expected to benefit over 500,000 households across Scotland, including an estimated 10,600 in South Ayrshire.

To help raise educational attainment, to date, we have made more than £15 million available to South Ayrshire Council through the Attainment Scotland Fund, of which £3.5 million is available this year. And to help parents with the cost of the school day we have further increased the value of school clothing grants, and also started expansion of universal Free School Meals and school holiday provision, for which South Ayrshire Council will receive around £1 million.

In 2021-22, South Ayrshire Council will receive a total funding package of £232.7 million to support local services, which includes an extra £6.3 million to support vital day to day services, equivalent to an increase of 2.9 per cent compared to 2020-21.

To date, the council have been allocated an additional £30 million to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, through the local government settlement - over and above their regular grant payments.

However, the Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

We will continue to work closely with local authorities to deliver the action required on child poverty and will publish our next Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan in March 2022 which will set us on a critical path to achieve our shared child poverty targets.

By contrast, the UK Government’s decision to cut Universal Credit from the start of October could remove over £460 million in social security spending from Scotland by 2023-24. Based on the latest data available (May 2021), the Scottish Government estimate that around 4,800 children in South Ayrshire will be affected by the cut from the start of October.

The Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland (PHS) continue to work with health boards to support their planning and the safe delivery of immunisation services during the pandemic.

The latest HPV immunisation statistics published by Public Health Scotland (PHS) for academic year 2019/20 show that uptake for the HPV vaccine remains high. Further information is available online on the PHS website: HPV Immunisation Statistics Scotland 22 December 2020 - Data & intelligence from PHS (isdscotland.org).

Public Health Scotland collate data on the HPV vaccination programme for the previous school year every autumn. Data for school year 2020-21 will be collated in autumn 2021 and published in December 2021. Therefore, we cannot provide information on the most recent school year.

Completions dates for housing projects change on a regular basis for a variety of reasons and overwrite previous estimated dates. We are therefore unable to advise on the exact number of approvals where completion dates have been revised.

Due to the pandemic, construction was paused for three months in 2020-21 followed by a phased re-opening of sites in compliance with COVID guidance and restrictions. That impact has now been compounded by the current difficulties with the rising cost of materials and shortages in supplies and labour.

As a result and, based on management information, at the end of 2020-21 there were 9,017 less affordable homes delivered than were originally estimated to be completed at the start of 2020-21 and the estimated completions for 2021-22 have decreased by 267 since the start of this financial year.