Chamber and committees

Information relating to the independent Drug Deaths Taskforce, that concluded in July 2022 after publishing its final report, is publicly available at: Homepage - Drug Deaths Taskforce (knowthescore.info) .

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. She advises me that on 19 July 2023, out of the 2040 registered titles with a footprint area over 500 ha, 809 are owned exclusively by one or more natural persons. A further 15 titles are leased exclusively by one or more natural persons and 2 are mixed tenure titles registered under the Land Registration (Scotland) 1979 Act.

These figures exclude titles where a natural person may be acting in a special capacity (e.g., as a trustee or partner), as well as titles with a complex proprietorship structure consisting of a mix of natural and non-natural persons acting in various capacities.

Of the 615 areas of unregistered land over 500 ha, which have been linked to a Sasines Search Sheet in the Registers of Scotland Unlocking Sasines dataset, an estimated 244 are indicatively owned exclusively by one or more natural persons.

A breakdown by region is provided in the following table. 10 Land Register titles over 500 ha Register are near shore or offshore and therefore fall outwith the mapped boundaries of Scottish Local Authority areas.

Table: Land Register Titles/Unlocking Sasines polygons held by one or more natural persons

The most recent information on spending on housing and community amenities for Scotland is set out in the Government Expenditure & Revenue Scotland (GERS) 2021-22 publication, which shows that spending on these services for Scotland was £479 per person in 2021-22. This compares to spending of £185 per person for England and £380 per person for Wales in 2021-22. The England and Wales figures are taken from HM Treasury's Country and Regional Analysis publication, available at: Country and regional analysis: 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Cross-country comparisons of the level of public spending are affected by which services are provided by the public and private sectors. Excluding spending on water supply, which is provided by the private sector in England and Wales and the public sector in Scotland, the level of spending per person on housing and community amenity services was £371 per person in Scotland, £185 per person in England and £380 per person in Wales in 2021-22.

Our Diabetes Improvement Plan, published in 2021, contains a key commitment to increase access to existing and emerging diabetes technologies. Between 2016 and 2022, we have invested £29.6 million of additional funding specifically to support this.

The new Accelerated National Innovation Adoption (ANIA) pathway workstream will also support accelerated distribution of Closed Loop Systems, in a more equitable way across Scotland, by creating a new national onboarding team. We are aware there are variations in approach to the cost of replacement batteries for insulin pumps across NHS Boards and we have asked Boards and healthcare professionals to improve equity of access to technologies. Through the ANIA pathway workstream, the Scottish Government has invested a further £350,000 to accelerate the distribution of Closed Loop Systems.

Not all insulin pumps require batteries, and we expect NHS Boards and staff to support patients to find the most appropriate technology for their specific circumstances.

We are committed to supporting families and households who are facing the increased cost of living, and this includes tackling the barriers people face when trying to access diabetes technologies.

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. She advises me that the Registers of Scotland does not collect information that is meant to identify land as publicly owned. Estimates are highly dependent on how public bodies are defined and searched for (by name) in the Land Register of Scotland and the Registers of Scotland Unlocking Sasines dataset.

Using available data sources, we estimate that on 21 July 2023, public sector bodies (including local authorities) held approximately 32,882 holdings across all tenure types, covering a combined area of approximately 884,350 ha.

288 holdings exceed 500 ha.

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. She advises me that on 19 July 2023, out of the 2040 registered titles with a footprint area over 500 ha, 434 are owned exclusively by one or more companies. A further 212 titles are leased exclusively by one or more companies and 2 are mixed tenure titles registered under the Land Registration (Scotland) 1979 Act.

These figures exclude titles with a complex proprietorship structure consisting of a mix of natural and non-natural persons which may include a company.

Of the 615 areas of unregistered land over 500 ha, which have been linked to a Sasines Search Sheet in the Registers of Scotland Unlocking Sasines dataset, an estimated 188 are owned exclusively by one or more companies.

A breakdown by region is provided in the following table. 5 Land Register titles over 500 ha are near-shore or offshore and therefore fall outwith the mapped boundaries of Scottish Local Authority areas.

Table: Land Register Titles/Unlocking Sasines polygons held by one or more companies

The Scottish Government has written to all 14 Territorial Health Boards and Police Scotland to determine the extent of these issues across Scotland. The responses are now being complied and the conclusions will be sent to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee shortly. I am clear that access to the right treatment at the right time for each and every person is vital to the implementation of the Medication Assisted Treatment Standards across our nation and is at the very heart of our national mission on drugs.

Maps of the Green Freeport areas have been published on the UK Government’s website and can be accessed at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-freeports-in-scotland-bidding-prospectus .

The capital funding provided by the Scottish Government to individual local authorities is included in the Local Government Finance Circulars.

Local government finance circulars - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Local authorities in Scotland also have a statutory power to borrow for their own capital expenditure and a duty to determine and keep under review the maximum amount which it can afford to allocate to capital spending.

Capital spending by local authority is included in the Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics (SLGFS). SLGFS is an annual publication that provides a comprehensive overview of financial activity of Scottish local authorities based on authorities audited accounts.

Local government finance statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The two Green Freeports are currently preparing business cases for consideration by the Scottish Government and the UK Government. In those business cases, the Green Freeports must report on the environmental impacts of their proposals, and show how they will comply with relevant environmental regulations. More information on business case requirements can be found on the UK Government’s website, at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/scottish-green-freeports-set-up-phase-guidance/scottish-green-freeports-set-up-phase-guidance .