Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government understands the importance of bank branches to rural communities in Scotland and recognises that when a local branch closes it can be difficult for those living in rural and highland communities to access their next nearest branch.

The regulation of financial services is reserved to the UK Government. As such, the Scottish Government cannot intervene on banks’ commercial decisions to change their branch network and so we have not conducted data analysis on what we would consider a necessary number of bank branches in a particular area. We are, however, aware of ONS data showing a 41% decline in Scottish bank branches since 2012 and the data the FCA reported in Q4 2021 that only 32.7% of the Scottish rural population live within 5km of their nearest branch.

We proactively engage with the banking sector following decisions they have made to close Scottish branches. Through these engagements we have reminded banks of their social responsibility and re-iterated the importance of in-person banking services for communities across Scotland. We welcome industry commitments made through the Access to Cash working group to ensure alternative services are available to mitigate the impact of branch closures. This includes “Banking Framework 3” which allows customers of 30 major UK banks to use the Post Office for their basic banking needs. We note that, when including Post Offices with bank branches, 78.4% of Scotland’s rural population live within 5km of the nearest branch.

We will continue to engage with the banking sector and encourage them to do all they can to ensure that appropriate support is provided so that our rural communities are not disproportionately disadvantaged by branch closures.

Scotland is committed to reaching net zero and to ensuring the journey is fair and just for everyone.

The draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan lays out over 150 actions, as well as consulting on further actions, to help maximise a just transition to net zero for our economy, communities, business and workers

Decarbonising industry is critical to our climate goals and the infrastructure and expertise at Grangemouth will play a key role. That is why we have committed to delivering a dedicated Just Transition Plan for the Grangemouth industrial area.

We will work closely with industry, unions, the workforce and the community to make sure they have a say in the plan for Grangemouth’s future.

As Michael Matheson advised in line with the Scottish Government’s evidence-led approach to policy development, we were undertaking a programme of work and analysis to better understand Scotland’s energy requirements as we transition to net zero and how this aligns with our climate change targets. In our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, we set out a clear pathway to deliver on global commitments and capitalise on the enormous opportunities offered by becoming a net zero economy. Whilst oil and gas licensing is reserved to UK Government we have been clear that our focus must be meeting our energy security needs, reducing emissions and ensuring a just transition for our oil and gas workforce as North Sea resources decline.

Providing the support that people need to move towards, into and to sustain work is a key aspect of building a fairer and more equal society. I am pleased to confirm that from 1 April 2024, following the end of referrals to Fair Start Scotland in March 2024, employability support for disabled people and those at risk of long-term unemployment will be provided through No One Left Behind.

Learning and evaluation must continue to underpin our ambitions and I welcome today’s publication of the Implementation Evaluation of No One Left Behind and the Young Person’s Guarantee, which offers valuable insight on how we continue to build upon the strengths of local delivery and good practice.

We are actively exploring various measures to address emissions from business travel. As part of this process, we will consult on amending the air travel policy to mandate terrestrial or maritime modes of travel for official domestic trips within Scotland and the UK.

While the potential amendment to the policy is under consideration, we are also mindful of the practical implications it may entail. Transitioning to alternative modes of travel will require careful planning, and consideration of the logistical requirements for ministers and officials. Ensuring efficiency, accessibility, and the ability to fulfil official duties effectively will be essential during this process.

As we move forward, we will engage with relevant stakeholders, to ensure that any potential amendments to the air travel policy are well-informed and representative of the broader public interest.

The work of the fiscal transparency programme, including the development on an online fiscal portal is a key part of the Fiscal Openness and Transparency commitment in Scotland's third Open Government National Action Plan Scotland's Open Government action plan: 2021 to 2025 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Progress towards milestones in each commitment is regularly reported to the Open Government Steering Group in Scotland. These progress reports are published on the Scottish Government website: Commitment overview - Open Government action plan 2021 to 2025 - commitment 1: fiscal openness and transparency - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Highlighting action taken by the fiscal transparency programme to develop an online fiscal portal, in January 2023 a prototype portal was delivered, using existing data on infrastructure investment spending. This early pilot work has enabled the team to test the concept and understand better what it will take to develop it further. The programme team is now moving to the next phase of its work, with aim of delivering an internal product providing access to data on budget allocations, infrastructure spending and procurement data by the end of 2023. Following on from this it is the intention to turn the internal product into a public facing service, subject resource availability.

I am aware there is considerable interest in and support for this work from a range of users of Government data - including internally within Scottish Government, the wider public sector, Parliament, research and civil society organisations. It is the aim to follow the money through all aspects of the government’s systems and processes but it will take many years to deliver on this ambition. Following my predecessor's update on the progress of the portal (in correspondence to Convener of the Finance and Public Administration Committee on 20 March) on 10 May, officials presented a demonstration of the prototype portal for the Scottish Parliament's Finance and Public Administration Committee and Public Audit Committee clerks, the Scottish Parliament's Information Centre, Audit Scotland, the Fraser of Allander Institute, the Open Government Partnership, Equalities and Human Rights Budget Advisory Group, and the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

I have been pleased to see this engagement with stakeholders, from the initial Discovery project, through the co-creation and oversight of the fiscal openness and transparency commitment in Scotland’s third Open Government National Action Plan, to the recent engagement on the online portal development. The team will continue its stakeholder engagement through the next stages in the development of the online fiscal portal, which, where appropriate, will include opportunities to become involved in user testing.

Scottish Government officials meet bi-monthly with FCA officials to discuss a range of industry and regulatory issues. As part of these discussions the FCA have flagged the increased regulatory powers they will receive, through the Financial Services and Markets Bill, to act where they find impacts on consumers’ ability to access cash across the UK. The FCA have explained that the Bill provides a cash access framework within which they will seek to ensure the reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit services in local areas where they anticipate potential deficiencies. The FCA have also said that, before they make any rules under these new powers, they will conduct a public consultation.

These new powers have only been granted to the FCA upon the passing of the Financial Services and Markets Bill which received Royal Assent on the 29 th of June. Until now, conversations between officials on this topic have centred around the progress of the Bill through the UK Parliament, as opposed to its implementation. Officials will continue to meet bi-monthly with the FCA and discuss with them how these new powers, and any new rules implemented post consultation, impact on cash and banking services in Scotland.

It has also been suggested that senior representatives from the FCA meet with me in the near future to discuss these increased regulatory powers. I am conscious of the importance of banking services to our communities, particularly in rural areas and our islands, and officials are working with the FCA on a suitable date for this meeting. I would be pleased to report progress to the Member once this has taken place.

Banking Hubs are a welcome industry initiative from UK Finance’s Cash Action Group. In October 2022 the Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance visited the pilot Banking Hub in Cambuslang to see the positive impact it has had on the local area. The Scottish Government shares the industry’s aspiration that Banking Hubs can play an important role in servicing the banking needs of communities that have suffered recent branch closures.

The decision to open a new Banking Hub lies with the banking sector and is overseen by LINK, the UK’s cash machine network. The Scottish Government cannot mandate where and when a new Banking Hub is opened. Each time a bank branch closes LINK independently reviews the impact this will have on the local community’s cash access. Depending on the outcome of this review LINK can then recommend a Banking Hub is installed, amongst other additional services.

Scottish Government officials met with LINK in April 2023 to understand the process they follow when assessing a community’s cash access needs to ensure it is sufficient for LINK to properly determine the appropriate support measures required post branch closure in Scotland.

To improve a community’s access to cash and banking services any individual, including members of the public, elected officials, and community groups, can request a review of their areas access to cash from LINK - even if that community has not faced a recent branch closure. This can result in the installation of additional services in the area, including shared Banking Hubs .

Universal free school meals are available to all children in Primaries 1 to 5, and to all pupils in special schools, saving families £400 per eligible child per year.

We are committed to the expansion of free school meals, with the next phase of this being to children in Primary 6 & 7 whose families are in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment.

The following table shows the number of pupils at each school in the G74 and G75 postcode areas who were registered for universal free school meals at the time of our September 2022 Pupil Census.