Chamber and committees

Forestry Commission Scotland provides advice and support to Scottish ministers and is part of the Scottish Government’s Environment and Forestry Directorate. Although forestry was devolved under the 1998 Scotland Act and forestry policy in Scotland is determined by Scottish ministers, Forestry Commission Scotland is still part of the cross-border Forestry Commission, with the powers and duties in relation to the exercise of a range of forestry functions in Scotland, and the management of Scotland’s National Forest Estate, resting with the forestry commissioners.

The Scottish Government announced in June 2015 that it is time to complete the devolution of the arrangements for the management of forestry in Scotland, by working with the UK Government to agree a transfer of forestry commissioners’ powers and duties, as they relate to Scotland, to Scottish ministers. We are working jointly with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to consider options for taking forward this work.

Proposals from local partnerships for the initial £15 million innovation/Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) funding have already been approved and resources allocated.

The next phase of investment we will announce will be further support for improving access to mental health services. This will include investment to increase capacity in NHS boards, workforce development to increase the supply of staff to deliver evidence-based psychological therapies and improvement support to deliver more efficient and effective services.

Priorities for the additional £85 million are:

Continue supporting faster access to treatment for people of all ages.

Deliver a three year programme (£1 million) to support the CAMHS workforce, including further training and to train more specialised supervisors.

Support development of innovative approaches in mental health delivery, including the provision of support in community settings and improvements to wellbeing (through physical activity).

We have already announced that a minimum of £10 million over three years will be used to test new approaches to meeting the needs of people with mental health problems in primary care.

Universities are autonomous institutions, the Scottish Government has had no involvement in any any University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) tendering exercise for student residencies. Furthermore the UHI’s Shetland student residencies projects have received no Scottish Government funding.

Universities are autonomous institutions and the Scottish Government has had no involvement in any associated tendering exercise or in approving the contract with CityHeart. The University of the Highlands and Islands’ Shetland student residencies projects have received no Scottish Government funding.

There is nothing in the classification process which would automatically result in crofting apportionments or improved pasture classified as PGRS being classed as region 3 payment. The Scottish Government used objective criteria which took account of a parcel’s Land Cover of Scotland 1988 (LCS88) data, Less Favoured Area Support Scheme grazing category, and the crop code used to claim Single Farm Payment Scheme (SFPS) on the Single Application Form 2014. Land parcels with either 40% or more SFPS eligible arable crops and rotational grass (excluding permanent grass) or 50% or more permanent grass and LCS88 smooth grassland were assessed as payment region 1. This methodology was discussed and agreed with industry stakeholders.

However, any crofter or other individual who feels that the payment region allocated to them was incorrect can of course seek a review. My officials are always willing to adjust the payment region classification when appropriate documentary evidence is provided to support an adjustment. In the case of Shetland 1,413 fields have been subject to a request for a review, with an adjustment to the payment region accepted for 774 fields, no change accepted for 523 fields, and reviews still to complete for the remaining 116 fields.

We explained during the common agricultural policy roadshows in the autumn of 2014 that we estimated that the combined budget for the Basic Payment Scheme, Greening, voluntary coupled support schemes, the young farmer supplement, and the National Reserve would be approximately 314.3 million. We indicated that we expected the budget would be split over the three payment regions as follows:

We were not in a position then to provide a breakdown by Rural Payments and Inspections Division area office because of the number of variables that might affect the calculation, such as the amount of new land that might be claimed, or land currently on the system where the land manager might not meet the new eligibility requirements.

The latest estimate which we provided for the European Commission in June 2015 provides more information on the estimated breakdown in percentage terms over the period 2015-19 (presented in percentage terms as the final budgets are not yet known):

We need to complete all of our processing work before we can provide further breakdown to area office level.

Figures for (a) public debt and (b) additional spending contained in Increasing Public Spending: Comparison of Policy Costings are available on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0047/00472778.pdf

Figures were not produced for the current budget balance. This publication was not updated after the March 2015 Budget.

Figures for (a) public debt, (b) additional spending and (c) the current budget balance contained in Options for the UK Fiscal Mandate are available on the Scottish Government website at:

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Economy/Publications/Options-for-the-UK-Fiscal-Mandate

Figures are published on the Scottish Government website at:

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Economy/Publications/Options-for-the-UK-Fiscal-Mandate

Both papers calculated the extra funds that would be available for investment in public services if the UK Government changed its policy of fiscal austerity and the impact of such a change on key fiscal aggregates.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-27989 on 27 October 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.