Chamber and committees

The process to recruit a new Chief Executive for Scottish Enterprise is continuing. An appointment is expected shortly.

We do not currently have any detailed costs for the investigation and taking forward of the most appropriate measures to prevent the build-up of ice on the Queensferry Crossing. Our long-term goal is to develop a solution that will prevent ice from forming on the bridge and Transport Scotland are currently reviewing options. Should viable preventative ice accretion measures be found that can be installed on the bridge, a value for money exercise will be undertaken to inform decision making on any measures which may be taken forward.

Unlike the UK Government, the Scottish Government has no fiscal deficit as it is required to balance its budget.

The Scottish Government monitors the budget management position throughout the year, with adjustments to plans given effect in Budget Revisions.

Variances of actual expenditure compared to budget are reported through the provisional and final outturn processes following the end of the financial year and in the Scottish Government’s Consolidated accounts.

The Scottish Government publishes details of its financial assets and liabilities in the annual Consolidated Accounts. The annual revenues guaranteed under the Lochaber guarantee vary between £14 million and £32 million over the life of the contract. Further details of the guarantee exposure were shared with the Finance and Constitution Committee in confidence when it approved the guarantee in November 2016 but are not published for reasons of commercial confidentiality.

The policy paper, Steadfastly European: Scotland’s Past, Present and Future , was produced as part of officials’ normal duties and, other than publishing costs of £1743.76, no additional costs were incurred.

The paper After Brexit: The UK Internal Market Act and Devolution was produced as part of officials’ normal duties and, other than publishing costs of £668.72, no additional costs were incurred.

Puppy training classes may be held outdoors according to the rules prevailing at any time for households to meet in an external setting for recreational purposes. In such circumstances the trainer is considered to be one of the households participating in that recreational activity.

Those participating in any puppy training should practice physical distancing and preventative hygiene to protect themselves and the persons with whom they are working.

Local authorities have received all of the £50 million Scottish Government funding for the 2019-20 capital Town Centre Fund from its budget. Allocations are set out below.

In February 2020, Ministers agreed to extend the expenditure and project completion deadlines for the fund to 31 March 2021 and 30 September 2021 respectively. An update on expenditure will be available in April 2021 following the submission of end of financial year monitoring returns by local authorities. Final monitoring returns will be submitted by October 2021, and will provide a complete breakdown of expenditure by budget for all projects.

Scotland’s own electricity supply is secure, with our abundant generation of electricity via wind meaning that Scotland has long been a net exporter of electricity. In 2019, Scotland exported almost 17.1 TWh, equivalent to powering every household in Scotland for 21 months. In the first nine months of 2020, Scotland's net electricity exports were 13.4 TWh, up on 10.8 TWh in the first three quarters of 2019. This is thanks to the record renewable generation so far in 2020, as recorded by the Scottish Energy Statistics Hub .

We expect generation capacity in Scotland to continue to increase to a greater degree than electricity demand, which means that we also anticipate exports, and Scotland’s export capability, to increase over time. This is consistent with the forecasts from National Grid’s Electricity Ten Year Statement and recently published Network Options Assessment .

As set out in our own Hydrogen Policy Statement, which I published in December 2020, Scotland’s abundance of renewable electricity supply offers us a source of competitive advantage regarding the opportunity to utilise that electricity for the production of green hydrogen, via the use of electrolysers. In the longer term, to meet Scotland’s own decarbonisation needs across power, heat and transport, it is estimated that a further 11-16GW of renewable electricity will be required.

Since 2016 the Scottish Government has committed £37.4 million, which was converted to a 32.4% equity stake and a loan facility of up to £15 million was provided, which supported not just the Beatrice but also the Moray East Pin Piles and First E&P contracts creating over a 1000 jobs across the 3 yards. However, I am aware that funding has been provided by Scottish Enterprise and, to be helpful, I have asked them to respond to you in writing.

In terms of returns against this investment, it is too early to estimate the amount of any return to the Scottish Government from the Administration process. We will continue to work closely with the Administrators as they progress their administration strategy.