Chamber and committees

As I stated in my previous answer to S6W-29868 on 24 September 2024, I wrote to the new Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray MP, on 12 August 2024 seeking his in-principle agreement to proceed with this section 104 Order. I have still not received a reply.

My officials have asked officials in the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland when I can expect to receive a reply.

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

There are no plans to expand the eligibility criteria for our No One Left Behind approach as it already delivers an all-age, place-based employability support system that tackles inequalities in Scotland’s labour market.

No One Left Behind is the approach to devolved employability support between Scottish and Local Government. It builds on the values established at the outset of devolution, and the principles that underpin our policy and delivery:

• provides flexible and person-centred support;

• is more straightforward for people to navigate;

• is better integrated and aligned with other services;

• provides pathways into sustainable and fair work;

• is driven by evidence, including data and the experience of participants; and

• supports more people – particularly those facing multiple barriers – to move into the right job, at the right time.

Given the range of barriers individuals may experience, and that these barriers are often intersectional, the eligibility criteria for individuals to receive employability support in relation to training for employment from No One Left Behind is purposefully broad to ensure local areas have the flexibility they need to respond to local demand.

Statutory consultees are key stakeholders in the consenting process.

The ‘Verity House Agreement’ and the ‘New Deal for Business’ have set out how the Scottish Government intends to work collaboratively with local authorities and others to deliver a just transition to net zero.

The reform process launched by this consultation creates an opportunity to re-set the expectations on the bodies providing essential support to the application process, taking account of their views, suggestions and their specific circumstances.

The Scottish Government has awarded over £210 million of regeneration funding to Clyde Gateway Urban Regeneration Company (URC) from 2007 for the purpose of supporting the delivery of its 20-year operating plan. This includes direct support through annual capital and resource funding to develop and regenerate key sites identified in the plan, support core running costs and other activities it delivers in support of local communities.

Grant awards were made in each financial year are provided in the following table:

The proposed reforms include new standardised processes for developers to share information and consult with local communities and wider stakeholders on plans for new clean energy infrastructure before submitting an application.

This will help to involve communities at an earlier stage where they can most effectively influence outcomes, drive improvement in the quality of applications and speed up the determinations process, with new powers for Scottish Ministers to reject applications that do not meet requirements.

The Scottish Government has spent around £1.2 billion in the past 14 years mitigating the impacts of UK Government welfare reforms such as the bedroom tax and benefit cap, introduced since 2010. Of that, £133 million is being invested in the current financial year (2024-25), and over £631 million has been spent in the last five financial years (2019-20 - 2023-24), funding Discretionary Housing Payments, the Scottish Welfare Fund, money advice services, and Universal Credit Scottish choices.

In addition to the above support, between February 2021 and September 2024, we have invested £905.6 million in the Scottish Child Payment, giving support to the families of over 325,000 under 16s who currently receive it. While we are doing what we can within our limited powers and fixed budget, the UK Government must do more to ensure the UK social security system at least covers essential living costs.

Table 1 provides a breakdown of spending on UK Government welfare mitigation in the last five years, plus the current financial year (six years in total).

Table 1: breakdown of spending on UK Government welfare mitigation (2019-20 - 2024-25)

To ensure the delivery of the intended environmental outcomes and value for public money, applicants are required to provide a level of evidence when applying to the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS).

The Scottish Government continues to contribute to UK-wide monitoring of rodenticide use and exposure in wildlife. There is evidence that many users of rodenticides are complying with the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use’s (CRRU) Rodenticide Stewardship Scheme (RSS), and that in Scotland rodenticide use in agriculture has substantially declined since the introduction of the scheme. But, despite this, recent environmental data for Scotland indicate that it has not yet achieved the aim of significantly reducing wildlife exposure.

Both the UK Government Oversight Group, which includes Scottish Government representation, and CRRU have acknowledged that rodenticide residues in UK wildlife have not declined as hoped. The RSS is being updated firstly to ban the use of second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) bromadiolone and difenacoum for open area use from the end of this year. This means no SGARs will be available for open area use; this is also intended to reduce accidental or deliberate misuse of other products in open areas. Secondly, training requirements for the farming sector are also being brought in line with other sectors from end 2025 to ensure a consistent level of professional training across all sectors and reduce the risk of poor practice.

As outlined in a previous answer by Christina McKelvie on 31 July (S6W-28596), the Scottish Government commissioned Public Health Scotland (PHS)to carry out monitoring and evaluation of the residential rehabilitation programme throughout the course of the National Mission.

Information on the number of Scottish Income Tax payers by age and band are only available from the Survey of Personal Incomes and the latest data is for 2021-22. Table 1 provides the number of taxpayers of State Pension age by band in Scotland.

Given this data is for 2021-22 it does not include estimates of those who are of State Pension age paying the Advanced Rate. Forecasts of the number of taxpayers over State Pension age by band are not available.

Table 1: Taxpayers above State Pension Age by Band