Chamber and committees

Scottish Forestry has well developed arrangements in place to respond to major storms and has recently revised its Windblow Contingency Plan and initiated several multi-agency working groups to inform improvements. There are no plans to increase the Scottish Forestry dedicated budget at this time.

The following tables shows applications and homes formally approved since 19 September to 31 January, including grant offered split by registered social landlord and local authority in 2023-24. It should also be noted that discussions have taken place to support additional acquisitions with other providers but formal applications have either not yet been received or are in the process of being approved.

We have not been able to provide purchase price information at this stage as, although approved, all properties have not yet been purchased:

Section 1 of The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (‘Dogs bred for fighting’) already prohibits owners of such dogs from giving away their pets.

This means that, for example, it is now illegal for the owner of an XL Bully to sell, give away or rehome their dog.

The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) introduced the dog control notice (DCN) regime. The 2010 Act gives powers to local authorities to issue DCNs to owners who allow their dogs to be out of control and this includes discretionary conditions that can be attached to a DCN. The Scottish Government recommends as best practice that when local authority authorised officers issue a DCN to an owner, this should include a condition that the owner is obliged to inform the local authority if they rehome their dog, and provide the name and address of the new owner.

The Scottish Government published updated statutory guidance on the 2010 Act in December 2020. The statutory guidance is designed to enhance understanding of the 2010 Act and assist local authorities and authorised officers: https://www.gov.scot/publications/updated-guidance-control-dogs-scotland-act-2010/

The Scottish Government has no current plans to amend the 2010 Act to prevent dog owners who have a DCN against them from relinquishing ownership and/or responsibility for their dog, but does plan to consider opportunities to enhance and strengthen the 2010 Act in the medium term.

My officials and I continue to engage with relevant parties to inform decisions on future college governance arrangements in the Lanarkshire and Glasgow regions.

I met last month with the chair of the Lanarkshire Regional College Board.

Next week I am seeking to meet with the Principals and Chairs of the three Glasgow colleges.

I would hope to make an announcement in both cases, shortly .

As set out in the 2023-24 Programme for Government, we are currently undertaking a review of student support for those wishing to study part-time or flexibly. As part of this we will consider the range of circumstances that impact on the way in which people wish to study as part of this work.

Discussions on the Skills Development Scotland budget for 2024-2025 are ongoing. We hope to confirm the ITA position in the coming weeks.

Based on the latest publication of National Statistics on the prison population, the average age of individuals spending any time in prison in 2022-23 was 37.4 years.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-prison-population-statistics-2022-23/pages/individuals-experiencing-imprisonment/

We have committed to a £1.8 billion investment over the course of this parliamentary term to make our homes warmer, greener and more efficient. This includes an allocation of £350m to heat, energy efficiency and fuel poverty measures in 2023-24, including £119m targeted at fuel poor households. This is delivered through two long-standing energy efficiency programmes – the Area Based Schemes and Warmer Homes Scotland - that have already supported over 150,000 households in or at risk of fuel poverty.

In addition, since the winter of 2020 the Scottish Government has allocated funding for the Fuel Insecurity Fund which has been providing support to households who were at risk of self-disconnection or self-rationing their energy use. Further funding has been allocated for wider fuel poverty action. Among other things, this budget line has supported the costs of the previous non-statutory Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel and our current statutory, Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel.

The following table sets out the allocations towards tackling fuel poverty across the consecutive years from 2020-21 to the draft Budget for 2024-25:

The Scottish Government through its delivery partner Energy Saving Trust (EST) offer a wide range of consumer incentives designed to support individuals and businesses across Scotland transition to net zero models of transport.

We are the only nation in the UK to offer a Used electric vehicle loan which provides interest free loans of up to £30,000 to support the purchase of a used EV. Our charge point infrastructure grants support people and businesses in rural, remote and island locations as well as residents in flatted/factored developments install charge points. Our Plugged-in Communities grant fund provides grant funding to community transport organisations allowing them to procure zero emission vehicles and associated infrastructure to support a wide range of essential community led activities.

The funding to support consumer incentives for 2023-2024 is fully allocated. Currently Transport Scotland officials are considering future levels of funding together with the terms and conditions that support these schemes, with the intention to re-open subject to final considerations. Individuals and businesses can register their interest on the EST website to receive further information - Grants and loans for energy and transport - Energy Saving Trust .

The Low Carbon Transport Loan (LCTL) is administered by Energy Saving Trust (EST) on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The scheme’s terms and conditions require the loan to be repaid over a term of up to 6 years (depending on the loan applied for). EST can recycle loan repayments to fund further loans in order to maximise the value and impact of the loan funding in supporting Scottish drivers make the transition to EVs.

The funding to support the loan for 2023-2024 is fully allocated. Currently Transport Scotland officials are considering future levels of funding together with the terms and conditions that support these schemes, with the intention to re-open subject to final considerations. Individuals and businesses can register their interest on the EST website to receive further information - Used Electric Vehicle Loan - Energy Saving Trust .