Chamber and committees

Historic Environment Scotland has responded to address the precautionary closures within the funding already available. The Scottish Government provided Historic Environment Scotland with £72.9m in 2020-21 and are providing £55.9m to support Historic Environment Scotland in 2021-22. We are also providing this financial year a further £20m in covid consequentials, taking our total support in 2021-22 to £75.9m, an increase of £3m from 2020-21.

The Scottish Government will continue to discuss the closures with Historic Environment Scotland, whose programme of prioritised inspections will inform a timescale for reopening.

No. The Tenant Hardship Loan Fund is administered separately on behalf of the Scottish Government. Where an applicant is unsuccessful they are provided with information on where they can get further advice and on alternative support available. The loan and the grant are not interchangeable. 

The tenant grant funding cannot be paid in advance of need and is based on a needs assessment by the local authority taking into account all the circumstances of an individual.

No, there is no right to convert a loan to a grant. The Tenant Hardship Loan Fund is an interest free loan paid to remove the risk of eviction. Debtors have demonstrated their ability to make loan repayments during the application process.

The tenant grant funding cannot be paid in advance of need and is based on a needs assessment by the local authority taking into account all the circumstances of an individual.

National statistics (UK) released on 17 June show that 10,660 hectares of new woodland was created in Scotland in 2020/21, the equivalent of over 21 million trees in the ground and around 80% of all trees planted across the UK

However COVID restrictions, combined with heavy rain and snow across most of Scotland in March, resulted in unavoidable delays to planting. Despite this we achieved 89% of the woodland creation target in 2020-21 and the remaining 11% was planted during the remainder of the planting season in April, May and June, during the first 100 days

The work on the Home Report Review had been delayed to allow for available resources to support the Scottish Government’s continuing response to the pandemic, though preparatory work for the review has been progressed.

The timetable for initiating this review, which will include substantial engagement with key stakeholders, will be subject to resources and kept under review.

Zero Waste Scotland does not have an impact target for achieving the 2020 household waste recycling target.

The 60% household waste recycling target is a Scotland wide target. Making progress towards all of our ambitious waste and recycling targets requires a collaborative effort between a range of stakeholders, including Scottish Government, local government, SEPA and Zero Waste Scotland, as well as businesses and the wider public across Scotland.

We are taking forward this commitment as part of our work to implement an electronic waste tracking system, as set out in our update to the Climate Change Plan.

We are working with the UK Government, other devolved governments, and agencies such as SEPA, to develop and implement an electronic waste tracking system. This will provide a step change in the quality and timeliness of waste data to support decision-making and underpin the key building blocks required to drive delivery on existing waste and recycling targets and move towards a circular economy.

A joint consultation was originally planned for summer, but is now being planned for this autumn on behalf of all four nations of the UK. This consultation will seek views on how and when mandatory digital waste tracking should be implemented, including the types of waste that should be included.

SEPA requires adequate financial provision to be in place for all incineration facilities to ensure the site is closed safely and cleared of waste should it cease operation.

As with other industrial facilities, the financial provision required by SEPA does not include the costs of full de-commissioning of the facility.

Zero Waste Scotland has not commissioned any pilot or exploratory schemes for biostabilised waste being sent to landfill. However, Zero Waste Scotland has commissioned a study to better understand the potential for biostabilisation as a municipal residual waste treatment process in Scotland.

Within the Cultural Collections budget line for 2021-22 the 3 National Collections (National Galleries of Scotland, National Library of Scotland, and National Museums Scotland) saw increases to resource budgets of over £1 million to support the public sector pay settlement.

There was a reduction to capital budgets within the cultural collections and other cultural capital lines of £4.75 million due to the profile of capital commitments. In 2021-22 the capital allocation for the cultural collections decreased due to the commitment to the Scottish National Gallery project reducing compared to 2020-21; and completion of some capital commitments for National Museums Scotland.

The Other Cultural Capital budget line saw a reduction of £3.4 million due to the Scottish Government completing its funding commitments to several capital projects in 2020-21. These include the Paisley Museum project with £2 million committed in total, £750k of which was provided in 2020-21; Citizens Theatre project with £2 million committed in total, £1.25 million of which was provided in 2020-21; and Burrell Collection project with a £5.75 million total commitment including £650k in 2020-21, and an uplift of £750k in Covid emergency support delivered in 2020-21.