Chamber and committees

Income replacement benefits such as Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit, which provide financial support to people of working age who are unable to work due to illness, are fully reserved to the UK Government. However our Adult Disability Payment provides financial support to recognise the additional costs of living with a disability or long-term health condition.

The Scottish budget has provided support to the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service in order that a new case management system for the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) can be introduced. The project to deliver a new system for OPG is due to be delivered over three phases. The first phase, which will enable faster processing of Power of Attorney applications, is due to be launched in 2025 and will enable OPG to bring down the processing time for cases. Phases two and three are anticipated to also be rolled out during 2025. It is estimated that the project, once all phases are delivered, will provide annual recurring savings alongside significant service improvements, and a more stable, resilient system.

Operational decisions relating to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) are for the independent Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS). SCTS is rolling out a new case management system for OPG. Activation codes are not in scope for the first stages of the project, but will be considered for phases beyond 2025-26 should funding be available.

As transactions with a value of under £40,000 are not liable to make an LBTT return, this information is not held.

Discussions continue between the main funding partners in relation to financial packages and legal agreements as part of the business case and cost review exercise. Officials are progressing these matters as quickly and robustly as possible and will look to provide updates when notable progress is made.

Social Security Scotland routinely publishes information on Adult Disability Payment applications and caseload, broken down by disability condition. No information on the number of indefinite awards made as a result of Adult Disability Payment applications is currently published.

As of 31 October 2024, statistics showed that there were 374,655 clients on the Adult Disability Payment caseload, of which 142,480 had the primary disability condition “Mental and Behavioural Disorders”.

The latest Adult Disability Payment official statistics publication can be found at: https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/statistics. The next release of Adult Disability Payment statistics which will cover the period to the end of January 2024, is due to be published on 18 March 2024.

The Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) applies the Scottish Government Fair Work First criteria to grant awards. The conditions of award ensure organisations commit to the Fair Work First Criteria in a way that is relevant and appropriate for the organisation. This does not apply where the jobs relate to workers who are a 'share fisherman', who are classed as self-employed by HMRC.

With regard to fishing quota, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-29467 on 10 September 2024. 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

The Scottish Government has increased revenue funding for inter-island connectivity by £8.6 million in 2025-26, including extending free ferry travel between islands to under 22s. Provisional local authority allocations are included in Annex E of Local Government Finance Circular 10/2024.

Comparisons of 2024-25 Autumn Budget Revision (ABR) to 2025-26 Budget are misleading in the context of local government funding as the 2024-25 ABR includes an agreed transfer of £13.9 million. This transfer will also be processed at the 2025-26 ABR, increasing the Inter Island Connectivity funding included in table 4.14 of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget from £36.4 million to £50.3 million.

As the latest associated published data remains unchanged, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26239 on 2 April 2024 and to question S6W-26655 on 15 April 2024. 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

With the goal of providing a full response to the member, Scottish Government officials have liaised with a range of organisations including those reserved to the UK Government. This includes the UK National Shipbuilding Office - responsible for the UK National Shipbuilding Strategy - who have confirmed that they and UK Export Finance also do not hold a list of financial institutions that offer shipbuilder’s refund guarantees. Officials from both the Scottish Government and National Shipbuilding Office will continue to explore if such information is held centrally by the UK Government.