Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government will invest £60 million to renew play parks in Scotland, so children have access to high-quality outdoor play in their own communities. This funding is for public, free-to-access parks and will be distributed to local authorities over the course of this parliamentary term.

In 2021-22, Glasgow City Council received £525,000 funding. For the financial year 2022-23, the Scottish Government and COSLA have agreed an allocation of £514,000 to Glasgow City Council to support the renewal of play parks. We wrote to all local authorities to confirm their second allocation of funding on 24 February 2022.

The 22 zero-emission electric buses owned by First Bus, which were partly funded through Transport Scotland's Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme (SULEBS), are all now in service on routes in Glasgow following COP26 in October.

We provided £0.5 million to Care and Repair in September 2021 and in response to levels of demand, have provided a further £0.5 million in February 2022. This £1 million funding will enable Care and Repair to support eligible older and disabled households with making the necessary changes. We continue to work closely with Care and Repair to understand how best to support them and their clients.

As the First Minister set out we are developing a managed transition plan which will ensure that Scotland continues to have a proportionate and effective testing response as we learn to live with COVID. As part of this we are reviewing the groups of individuals who will need to access a COVID test for treatment in line with the latest clinical advice and risk assessments. We will outline our plans later this month.

The Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011 sets minimum standards for the property management industry (including land maintenance companies). It provides protections for homeowners who use their services. The Act requires all factors to be on a national register and abide by a statutory Code of Conduct.

Homeowners who have complaints about the level of the service of their property factors can apply to the First-Tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) for redress. Further information at: https://www.mygov.scot/property-factors/ .

If no property factor as defined in section 2(1) of the 2011 Act is appointed to maintain greenspace when it moves into private ownership, then homeowners should make contact with the owner of the land to establish the obligations that were agreed at hand over or sale of the greenspace. Enforcement may be required by the local authority or through the court. Homeowners may also wish to consult their title deeds and may wish to seek independent legal advice from an advice agency or solicitor.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to legislate on the model adopted by land-owning land maintenance companies.

We are however, currently working on a non-statutory voluntary Code of Practice in relation to the dismissal and replacement of land-owning land maintenance companies. The Code would introduce guidance on the minimum standards expected from any land-owning land maintenance company following a request from homeowners formally requesting to dismiss and replace them. This would include information that such companies should provide to homeowners, following the transfer of the ownership of the land, and future arrangements for maintaining the land.

The Scottish Government is not aware of reports that Greenbelt is selling off its land. Scottish Ministers have no powers to intervene to stop individuals or companies from selling land in private ownership.

The Scottish Government will be providing a £150 cost of living award to all households in council tax bands A to D, including those who are not receiving a reduction under the Council Tax Reduction scheme. Local authorities will also be provided with funds from which to make £150 payments to certain categories of low income households which are exempt from council tax, including those accessing housing support services or living in temporary accommodation. In addition, we are providing an extra £10m to continue our Fuel Insecurity Fund to help households at risk of self-disconnection, or self-rationing energy use.

The Scottish Government published Coronavirus (COVID-19): face covering and masks guidance which provides information on the requirement to wear face coverings (unless exempt) including enforcement measures.

Enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions is a matter for Police Scotland and any breaches of these regulations can be reported to Police Scotland directly.

The police have enforcement powers to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice of £60 (halving to £30 if paid within 28 days) if members of the public do not comply with this law without a reasonable excuse. Officers have been asked to Engage, Explain, and Encourage with Enforcement only as a last resort.

We continue to keep the regulations and guidance under regular review.

Universities and colleges have a duty of care to support their students, and if any have experienced difficulty or have concerns about studying remotely they should contact their institution as soon as possible in order to access the support they need.

We are aware of the impact of the pandemic on student mental health and wellbeing, and have continued to address this, through that period, by providing additional funding to help students deal with the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, support to NUS Scotland and student associations for vital welfare support for students in colleges and universities and additional funding for colleges to help students and staff respond to the pandemic.

The Scottish Government is committed to the development of a research and evidence informed Student Mental Health Action Plan and we are re-establishing the Student Mental Health and Well Being Working Group to help take this forward.