Chamber and committees

The annual de-commitment figures are as follows: 

The European Commission (EC), as part of their usual management and governance cycle, automatically de-commit fund allocations from the ESF and ERDF Programmes that have not met their financial targets during a calendar year.

These financial targets are profiled and delivered by a national network of Lead Partners, which includes local authorities and third sector organisations. The targets are based on the amount of financial claims that each Lead Partner intends to submit during that calendar year. This complex process i.e. identifying financial targets is referred to as N+3.

The Scottish Government, in its role as the Managing Authority (MA) has three years from the start date of those budget commitments to declare the required level of expenditure to the EC (e.g. at the end of 2017, the MA must declare the amount actually spent in 2014 against the forecast in 2014). 

If the N+3 target is not met i.e. the forecast expenditure, the shortfall (or ‘de-commitment’) is deducted from the programme value. As Lead Partners did not submit claims for activities delivered in 2014, the committed expenditure was de-committed in 2017.

As detailed in the previous response, S5W-34699, there are a number of reasons for de-commitment of the programmes, this includes the following:

• Difficulties in accurately forecasting expenditure profiles. For example at the start of the programme the number of future participants in the Youth Employment Initiative projects turned out to be over-estimated as soon as the successful impact of economic recovery took effect and youth unemployment dramatically reduced. Young people in Scotland had been able to access a range of choices around skills, training and education which were adequately resourced and therefore the take up of European funded YEI places during the early years of the programme significantly reduced.
• Slow pace of submission of claims from Lead Partners. The complex compliance and audit requirements of the EC has prevented the submission of more claims from Lead Partners. In addition, the innovative nature of some of the projects and technologies to be supported through the programmes meant that many activities did not proceed as planned. The majority of Lead Partners have experienced delays, in various lengths, to projects starting which has had a knock on effect on the expenditure they could realise, and therefore claims they have been able to submit.
• European Structural Funding rules preclude the quick or easy movement of unspent allocations between priorities, years or partners. Therefore when demand does not materialise at the rate that had been anticipated, those projects are often scaled back and it is not possible to divert the allocated funds elsewhere.
• The size and complexity of the programmes meant that they took longer than anticipated to establish at the start, which has enabled lessons to be learned for future funding programmes.
• Financial challenges of our Lead Partners in securing match funding to support their activities.

The voluntary work carried out by all search and rescue (SAR) teams in Scotland, throughout the year, is very much appreciated by Scottish Government (SG) Ministers. Government funding is normally available for: (a) the Trossachs Search and Rescue Team; and (b) all other search and rescue teams, directly from the statutory responder agencies for whom they deploy or operate in partnership with. This is normally achieved through Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), Partnership Agreements (PAs) or by agreeing levels of reimbursement on a case by case basis. Ministers hope the SAR teams are successful in obtaining funds from their deploying agencies in these ways this spring and summer, as demand for their services is expected to increase, following the end of COVID-19 restrictions. In addition, next financial year, SG will again provide the long-established ‘annual grant’ to the Scottish civilian mountain rescue teams which are directly and routinely deployed by Police Scotland (PS) as an extension to PS’ national SAR responsibilities. Significant SG funding was, of course, available to Voluntary Sector organisations, including SAR organisations, for a range of needs, during the COVID 19 emergency. In particular the Communities and Third Sector Recovery Fund will continue to be available into next financial year, via the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations’ website: https://scvo.scot/support/coronavirus/funding . Other relevant Third Sector funding can also be found on the website for the relevant Third Sector Interface (TSI) : Third sector interfaces: contact details - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The specific information requested is not held centrally. Since December 2020 we have published data about the visiting status in adult care homes in Scotland on the Scottish Government website. It can be viewed here: Coronavirus (COVID-19): adult care homes - additional data - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Adult care homes visiting guidance has been kept under review throughout the pandemic as understanding of the virus evolves and the vaccination programme continues. The most recent guidance on resuming meaningful contact between residents and loved ones was issued on 24 February. The guidance, along with frequently asked questions and other useful information can be viewed on the Scottish Government website at: Coronavirus (COVID-19): adult care homes guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish National Investment Bank opened for business in November 2020 and has since committed £52.5 million in investments. To date £22.9 million has been drawn and invested in both debt and equity investments that align with the Bank’s missions. Following its launch the Bank has proceeded to develop a strong pipeline of mission aligned investments.

Details of the Bank’s investments are published on the Bank’s website. The full page is accessible at : https://www.thebank.scot/our-portfolio/pfp-capital/ . This is part of the Bank’s new portfolio page which will include profiles of each of the Bank investments: https://www.thebank.scot/our-portfolio/ .

At the start of the Programme, the initial total EU structural fund allocation to Scotland was €941m for the 2014-20 period. This was split between two programmes, €465m to the European Social Fund (ESF) and €476m to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Although the programme is not allocated on an annual basis, it equates to an average of €134m per year.

The European Commission, as part of their usual management and governance cycle, automatically de-commit fund allocations from the ESF and ERDF Programmes that have not met their financial targets during a calendar year. These financial targets relate to the delivery of projects and activities delivered by a national network of Lead Partners, which includes local authorities and third sector organisations.

There are a number of reasons for de-commitments which include but are not limited to:

• Difficulties in accurately forecasting expenditure profiles. For example at the start of the programme the number of future participants in the Youth Employment Initiative projects turned out to be over-estimated as soon as the successful impact of economic recovery took effect and youth unemployment dramatically reduced. Young people in Scotland had been able to access a range of choices around skills, training and education which were adequately resourced and therefore the take up of European funded YEI places during the early years of the programme significantly reduced.
• European Structural Funding rules preclude the quick or easy movement of unspent allocations between priorities, years or partners. Therefore when demand does not materialise at the rate that had been anticipated, those projects are often scaled back and it is not possible to divert the allocated funds elsewhere.
• The size and complexity of the programmes meant that they took longer than anticipated to establish at the start, which has enabled lessons to be learned for future funding programmes.
• Financial challenges of our lead partners in securing match funding to support their activities.

Decisions on levels, both initially and on review, carry significant consequences, for the communities they affect and for Scotland as a whole and we are committed to ensuring decisions are informed by data and analysis. The evidence is assessed through a process that is open, transparent and collaborative so that restrictions are not kept in place longer than is strictly necessary to achieve the aim of suppressing the virus. It is important to note that there are no set triggers for moving between levels. Instead we have a range of indicators which might suggest that a review of the position may be necessary. Wider considerations also have been taken into account

In line with the process set out in the allocations document, the National Incident Management Team (NIMT), chaired by Public Health Scotland and including representatives from local government as observers, meet to discuss the latest analysis of data, which is agreed with local partners including Directors of Public Health. The NIMT then provide advice to a group made up of the Scottish Government’s chief advisers and lead officials representing the “four harms” and observers from local government. This group helps form recommendations for Ministers on allocation of levels, which are subsequently agreed at Cabinet.

Each week we publish the considerations and analysis that have informed the review. This week that included considerations regarding the imminent festive period and in order to safely allow limited gathering over Christmas, a deliberately cautious approach was taken. Lowering prevalence of the virus prior to the festive period is key to avoiding the need for more restrictive measures in the new year and to ensure that the NHS does not become overwhelmed by COVID-19 in January, which is traditionally the most challenging time for it. It is vital that the risk that gatherings of family and friends poses to further spread of the virus is managed carefully to ensure that the hard work and sacrifices of people and businesses across Scotland are not undermined.

As set out in our NHS Winter Preparedness Plan, our over-riding priority continues to be that the NHS is not overwhelmed in the coming weeks and months. We continue to work closely with all Health Boards, including NHS Forth Valley and NHS Lanarkshire, to ensure they have robust plans in place to deal with a range of pressures on capacity, including COVID-19 and the normal winter pressures; whilst maintaining as many non-Covid services as possible, in addition to emergency and urgent care.

Mutual aid arrangements are also in place between NHS Boards to ensure that there is enough capacity across the system to deal with peak levels of demand. In recent times, NHS Forth Valley has provided such assistance to NHS Lanarkshire across a range of specialties, including intensive care, breast cancer and orthopaedics. This activity is kept under close review by NHS clinicians and managers.

The mutual aid arrangements in place are taken into account by the National Incident Management Team, and inform the expert advice they provide to the Scottish Government on Ministers’ decision-making of the COVID-19 Strategic Framework protection levels.