Chamber and committees

On 31 May we published the “Re-mobilise, Recover, Re-design: the framework for NHS Scotland” that supports Health Boards to plan the phased restoration of postponed NHS services. Health Boards and partners are currently undertaking the safe and phased re-start of many hospital elective and primary care services (in line with the above Framework and clinical guidance) – this includes pain clinics. We’ve been actively engaging with the pain community and stakeholders including patient groups since March, and will continue to do so throughout the resumption of services to inform the re-design of patient pathways that will seek to harness the benefits of new technology to improve access and deliver more person-centred care.

The Scottish Government has received unprecedented levels of correspondence since March 2020 which led to a decentralised approach to the preparation of replies and associated data capture. The best available data available from these different systems confirm that the Scottish Government has received 11,931 letters and e-mails in relation to economic COVID-19 issues in the last four months from 30 March to week ending 26 July.

The Scottish Government complies with all financial reporting and auditing requirements and is developing its financial reporting to support transparency and the understanding of the financial picture. A commitment has been made to produce a further consolidated account covering the whole of the devolved public sector in Scotland and considerable progress has been made.

The Public Finance and Accountability Act 2000 requires consolidated public accounts to be audited before they can be laid and published; there is ongoing engagement with Audit Scotland in relation to the audit of draft accounts.

This further account will bring together information across the devolved public sector, but that information is already available in published accounts of the relevant bodies.

Investment through City and Regional Growth Deals will be a vital enabler of economic recovery. We are working with local authorities; their regional partners; and the UK Government to ensure all Deals deliver on creating high quality jobs and supporting business.

I met with Iain Stewart MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland, on 29 June to discuss the Deals programme. We discussed how the Deals can support economic recovery and the need for an early decision from the UK Government on whether it will match our commitment to accelerate progress with those Deals yet to be signed, including the Tay Cities Region Deal which covers Angus and Dundee in the North East.

Alongside this, the Scottish City Region and Growth Deal Delivery Board, led by senior officials from both the Scottish and UK Governments, has written to and held a series of calls with the local Programme Management Offices for all Deals to discuss the impact of COVID-19. Officials continue to have regular meetings with regional partners to discuss implementation of the Deals programme, including examination of how Deal investment can contribute to revitalisation of local and regional economies.

The Scottish Government has taken a series of unprecedented policy actions in response to the crisis. This includes £2.3 billion of business support measures and a £230 million investment package to help stimulate Scotland's economy following the pandemic, covering construction, low carbon, digitisation, and business support. There is also a £62 million Energy Transition Fund, focussed on the North East, which will support businesses in the oil, gas and energy sectors over the next five years as they grow and diversify and which will help attract private sector investment to the region.

The Scottish National Investment Bank will be operational later this year. The Scottish Government is committed to capitalise the Bank by £2 billion over ten years and the Bank will have an important role to play in supporting a post-COVID recovery in the medium and longer term by investing patient capital in Scotland’s businesses and communities. The Bank will work with the business community and its private and public sector partners to help shape an economic recovery with fair work, inclusive growth and the transition to net zero emissions at its heart. It remains the intention that the Bank will not be the source of short-term working capital for businesses.

The following table details how the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland spent the £6,000 it received in 2019-2020.

The Strategic Housing Investment Framework (SHIF) was agreed with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) in 2012 to determine the initial allocation of Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) capital funding to 30 of the 32 local authority areas, (funding for Glasgow City Council and City of Edinburgh Council is governed by an annual grant offer). The impact of the SHIF formula is to ensure initial allocations take into account affordability, deprivation, rurality and homelessness in each local authority area, as well as the overall number of households. Its introduction was phased in and implemented in full in 2018-19. The statistics that inform the SHIF were reviewed and updated in 2019. As the allocation of AHSP funding was set for three years in 2018-19 to give councils long term certainty of future funding levels, the updated SHIF formula will be applied in 2021-22.

The charitable bond programme was first introduced in 2013-14 as an innovative investment model for the affordable housing sector. It makes available development finance to Registered Social Landlords for the provision of new affordable housing, whilst also generating capital funds in the form of charitable donations which are used as housing grant.

The following table shows the level of charitable bonds from 2016-17 to 2019-20 and the charitable donations generated.

The Scottish Government’s approach to the planning and delivery of affordable housing is focussed on providing the “right homes in the right places”, achieved by working closely with local authorities in their role as strategic housing and planning authorities.

It is the responsibility of local authorities through their Development Plan and Local Housing Strategy (LHS) to determine the appropriate housing required in their area, informed by a Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA). An HNDA is undertaken every 5 years and estimates current and future need for housing. The HNDA evidence base informs an LHS that sets out the local authority’s priorities and plans for the delivery of housing and housing related services. A local authority should consider the number, location, type, size and tenure of housing required to address the need in their communities, as well as issues in relation to particular needs.

Local authority Strategic Housing Investment Plans (SHIPs) help inform housing investment decisions, including the size and type of housing required and are informed by priorities set out in an LHS which is developed in consultation with communities and stakeholders.

The Scottish Government has provided a commitment of £300 million interim funding certainty for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme for 2021-22 ahead of the Spending Review later this year. This will ensure that affordable homes continue to be delivered beyond this current parliamentary term.