Chamber and committees

As noted in the answer to question S6W-29325 on 16 September 2024, the Bank cannot invest in local authorities and it does not make sub-commercial investments or provide grant funding.

As the Bank has operational independence it can work with local authorities and create joint venture structures, as long as the Bank is not investing in the local authority.

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 does not provide funding in support of the Mixed Tenure Improvement Service operated by the City of Edinburgh Council.

The total amount of grant claimed as part of the Area Based Schemes programme by the City of Edinburgh Council since 2020 is published on the Scottish Government website. Area-Based Schemes - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

With energy bills remaining significantly high, the Scottish Government has offered to work with the UK Government to ensure energy consumers are supported, including through driving improvement to the energy efficiency of our housing stock, in order to tackle fuel poverty and ensure the energy market is fit for purpose as we transition towards net zero.

Our consultation on a Heat in Buildings Bill, which closed on 8 March 2024, included proposals for setting a cap on the costs to property owners of meeting the proposed Heat in Buildings Standard. This proposal was included in recognition of our overall aim to ensure our proposals are fair, proportionate and affordable.

We are currently considering responses to the consultation to inform our thinking and development of future proposals.

The Mixed Tenure Improvement Service is not a Scottish Government initiative and was established and is led by the City of Edinburgh Council.

The Mixed Tenure Improvement Service is delivered by the City of Edinburgh Council using powers as set out in the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004. The Scottish Government does not collect or collate information about the management fees charged by local authorities or housing associations as part of Tenement Management Schemes.

The guidance issued by the Scottish Government about the design and delivery of Area Based Schemes (ABS) allows for councils to claim up to 20% of their grant award as enabling costs. This ensures that participating households are not asked to help meet wider household engagement, survey, scaffolding and management costs for ABS projects as a whole.

Under its remit, the Scottish National Investment Bank (‘the Bank’) cannot invest in local authorities or give guarantees. However, they can work with local authorities and create joint venture structures, as long as the Bank is not investing in the local authority.

The Bank is operationally independent. As such it makes its investment decisions independent of the Scottish Government and Scottish Ministers.

The level of grant-in-kind potentially available to households participating in Area Based Schemes is not affected by these fees. Councils are required to separately claim a proportion of overhead costs such as surveys, scaffolding and project management as enabling funding.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

In the period 2021-2024 there has only been one period of Emergency Release (ER). This took place over 4 tranches during June – July 2024.

SPS have proactively published total numbers released following each tranche. We recently published a summary report which includes breakdown of data at health board and Local Authority level. We are unable to publish data at parliamentary constituency level because some of the data could relate to a small group of individuals, which could lead to inadvertent identification.

This period of ER, saw only those within six months of their original release date released. A range of partnership working took place with local partners to ensure release arrangements were in place for those released under emergency release regulations. SPS did consider the numbers of individuals being released and assessed the impact to local authorities and services to be similar to figures for the 6-month period where these people would be released anyway.

The information requested is not held centrally.

As independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities, any decisions around borrowing and the interest rate charged are a matter for individual local authorities.

As set out in our National Carers Strategy, the Scottish Government recognises the importance of young carers being identified so that they can be supported in achieving their educational and wider goals.

Under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships are responsible for supporting young carers of all ages. Much of this support is delivered on their behalf by local third sector young carer projects and carer centres, and can include counselling, peer support groups and short break opportunities.

Young carers can also benefit from Scottish Government funded voluntary sector short breaks delivered through four national schemes – ‘Better Breaks’, ‘Creative Breaks’, ‘Time to Live’ and ‘Take a Break Scotland’.

In respect of the Young Carers Package, this is delivered on our behalf by Young Scot through their wider platform for children and young people. Young Scot Membership accounts are limited to young people age 12+, and the content of the package is designed for those aged between 12 and 18.

11 year old young carers can access a limited offline version of the package by completing a short form. Through this they will receive a £50 Love 2 Shop voucher which they can use to access a range of retailers. This is designed to provide a taste of what the package is like and encourage young carers to sign up to the full package once they turn 12.

We would encourage all young carers (including those under 11) and their families to contact their local young carer service, and to also speak with their schools about additional support they can offer.

We fund an Education Officer at Carers Trust Scotland, who works with Education Scotland, the General Teaching Council for Scotland and the Scottish Qualification Authority to help ensure education staff are aware of young carers and are able to support them appropriately. This has included producing a free and accredited e-module for all education staff to help them better understand how they can identify and support young carers.

Additionally, school nurses also have young carers as one of their 10 priorities. Once a young carer is referred to a school nurse with concerns, the school nurse may complete a GIRFEC wellbeing assessment, support referrals onto specialist services when needed and support with transitions.

The Scottish Government launched the Young Person’s Guarantee in November 2020, with the aim of protecting young people against the immediate economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Guarantee was set up to ensure every young person between 16 and 24 had the opportunity of a job, apprenticeship, further or higher education, training or volunteering. Between November 2020 and March 2023 we invested over £175m in additional support from Covid-related funding. 

We have now mainstreamed this work across Government, with activity across education, skills and employability supporting young people into opportunities. This includes support for lower income households and to advance equality and inclusion. For example, specialist support continues to be provided to young people from lower income households to enable them to move towards a positive destination through third sector partners such as the Young Person’s Consortium (Barnardo’s, Princes Trust and Action for Children).