Chamber and committees

We have been clear we expect health boards to minimise wasted doses of vaccine, and have provided them with best practice advice on how to achieve this.

Some wastage is unavoidable for a variety of reasons based on the characteristics of the vaccine, logistical issues with cold chain supply, storage failure and/or specific clinical situations such as a breakout of COVID-19 in a care home. To date, our latest management information indicates a wastage rate of around only 1.8% - well below our planning assumption of 5%, which is a precautionary approach for worst case scenarios and in line with global best practice.

Any wastage is reviewed to ensure any preventable loss is avoided in the future. We will continue to monitor wastage rates and regularly report back.

A waste management tool is now in place to learn why waste is arising so that solutions can be put in place to minimise waste. It will also provide the ability to extract data on the number of doses not able to be used for various reasons. On the 9 February, NHS Lothian shared online the opportunity for staff who had not yet received a first or second dose of the Pfizer vaccine to attend as the adverse weather meant appointments were available at short notice. We are pleased to see Boards acting pragmatically to ensure we adhere to the JCVI priority list whilst continuing to minimise vaccine waste.

Data on COVID-19 and on our COVID-19 vaccination program is published weekly on the Scottish Government Website and is available here : Coronavirus (COVID-19): daily data for Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

This is in addition to frequent televised briefings which include questions from the media and members of the public.

Following the 66.5% reduction in Financial Transactions from the UK Government in 2021-22, the Scottish Government has prioritised support for first-time buyer support schemes, including the First Home Fund and Open Market Shared Equity. These schemes have higher additionality than Help to Buy (Scotland). We will continue to support small and medium-sized developers next year through our Help to Buy Smaller Developers Scheme.

Evaluations of the First Home Fund and the other shared equity schemes can be found at First Home Fund Evaluation Synthesis of Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) & Shared equity schemes: evaluation reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The First Home Fund will reopen on 1 April 2020 with a budget of £60 million. If more Financial Transactions become available as a result of the UK Budget, the Scottish Government will consider how to best deploy these, given all of the pressures and priorities across Government.

There has been a significant cut of 66.5% to the total Scottish Government Financial Transactions budget in 2021-22 arising from the UK Government’s Spending Review in late November. This amounts to a reduction of £412 million. The Scottish Government has mitigated this as far as possible by agreeing with the UK Government that £41.5 million Financial Transactions, that came as late consequentials in 2020-21, could be spent in 2021-22, and drawing down £200 million from the Scottish Reserve. However, the funding cut from UK Government led to difficult choices about use of the allocation in 2021-22, and resulted in a reduction in the First Home Fund budget and the need to close the main Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme.

The Open Market Shared Equity scheme will continue in 2021-22. Open Market Shared Equity is targeted at buyers on low to moderate incomes and social tenants are a priority group for access.

There has been a significant cut of 66.5% to the total Scottish Government Financial Transactions budget in 2021-22 arising from the UK Government’s Spending Review in late November. This amounts to a reduction of £412 million. The Scottish Government has mitigated this as far as possible by agreeing with the UK Government that £41.5 million Financial Transactions, that came as late consequentials in 2020-21, could be spent in 2021-22, and drawing down £200 million from the Scottish Reserve. However, the funding cut from UK Government led to difficult choices about use of the allocation in 2021-22, and resulted in a reduction in the First Home Fund budget.

The First Home Fund has not yet reopened and we do not know how quickly we will receive applications. It is a demand-led scheme and uptake is influenced by many factors. The Fund will remain open until the budget is fully committed.

There has been a significant cut of 66.5% to the total Scottish Government Financial Transactions budget in 2021-22 arising from the UK Government’s Spending Review in late November. This amounts to a reduction of £412 million. The Scottish Government has mitigated this as far as possible by agreeing with the UK Government that £41.5 million Financial Transactions, that came as late consequentials in 2020-21, could be spent in 2021-22, and drawing down £200 million from the Scottish Reserve.

The considerable reduction in Financial Transactions available to the Scottish Government has resulted in some difficult choices about use of the allocation in 2021-22. The Financial Transactions available have been shared across the Scottish National Investment Bank, low carbon initiatives and housing, reflecting the Scottish Government’s strategic priorities.

There has been a significant cut of 66.5% to the total Scottish Government Financial Transactions budget in 2021-22 arising from the UK Government’s Spending Review in late November. This amounts to a reduction of £412 million. The Scottish Government has mitigated this as far as possible by agreeing with the UK Government that £41.5 million Financial Transactions, that came as late consequentials in 2020-21, could be spent in 2021-22, and drawing down £200 million from the Scottish Reserve. However, the funding cut from UK Government led to difficult choices about use of the allocation in 2021-22, and resulted in a reduction in the First Home Fund budget.

We estimate that the First Home Fund will help over 2,500 households into home ownership in 2021-22, based on a budget of £60m. We expect it to support over 8,000 households into homeownership in 2020-21.

There has been a significant cut of 66.5% to the total Scottish Government Financial Transactions budget in 2021-22 arising from the UK Government’s Spending Review in late November. This amounts to a reduction of £412 million. The Scottish Government has mitigated this as far as possible by agreeing with the UK Government that £41.5 million Financial Transactions, that came as late consequentials in 2020-21, could be spent in 2021-22, and drawing down £200 million from the Scottish Reserve. However, the funding cut from UK Government led to difficult choices about use of the allocation in 2021-22, and resulted in a reduction in the First Home Fund budget.

The latest data shows that the Scottish housing market is performing strongly, with transaction volumes increasing by 10.7% year-on-year in January 2021 (Revenue Scotland data). House prices rose by 8.4% in December 2020 (ONS House Price Index data).

The evaluation of the First Home Fund considers the impact of the scheme on the wider housing market First Home Fund Evaluation Synthesis of Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

NatureScot has provided statutory conservation advice for a flapper skate nursery area identified in the Inner Sound. Scottish Ministers are currently considering what action should be taken to provide interim protection to the flapper skate nursery area and an announcement will be made in due course.