Chamber and committees

No formal assessment has been carried out on the impact of increased mortgage rates on First Time Buyers (FTB’s), however we are aware that an increase in mortgage rates will make it more difficult for many FTB’s to obtain mortgage lending or in fact access it due to a decreased number of products available.

The latest data suggests a slowdown in housing market activity for first-time buyers, with mortgage advances falling to 5,520 in Q1 2023, this is 8% lower than the pre-pandemic baseline. This is potentially due to successive increases in the Bank Rate since December 2021.

We continue to support home ownership and have interventions in place to help first time buyers through our Low Cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers (LIFT) scheme which helps people on low to moderate incomes to buy their first home.

Our first-time buyer relief for Land and Buildings Transaction Tax has the effect of raising the nil-rate threshold from £145,000 to £175,000, saving first-time buyers up to £600.

While application numbers to our schemes have yet to show a decline we anticipate that the current mortgage market conditions will make delivery of our schemes more challenging.

Investing in skills across people’s lifetimes is critical to our future productivity and success as the economy and labour market continues to evolve over the coming decades. This is underlined by our commitment to a skilled workforce set out within the National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

Apprenticeships are a key tool for employers to invest in their workforce, providing the skills the economy needs both now and in the future. There are currently over 80 Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) frameworks available in Scotland, including Freight Logistics which has a pathway in Driving Goods Vehicles.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) provide funding contributions towards the cost of training and assessing MAs on behalf of Scottish Government. Funding contributions are available for Freight Logistics (Driving Goods Vehicles) across all age groups. Full details of the current contribution rates can be found on the SDS website at 2021-22-appendix-1-ma-contribution-table010623.pdf (skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk)

Social Security Scotland routinely publishes information on Scottish Child Payment applications, payments and an estimate of the number of children actively in receipt of the payment.

While Social Security Scotland has not published the number of parents or carers in receipt of Scottish Child Payment to date, development is currently underway to do so in the next edition of the Scottish Child Payment Official Statistics publication. This will also include the number of parents or carers actively in receipt of Scottish Child Payment by age group. This next edition will cover the period to the end of June 2023 and is due to be published on 29 August 2023.

As of March 2023, around 12% (37,560) of applications for Scottish Child Payment were made by parents or carers aged under 25. It is important to note that these statistics relate to applications, not receipts of Scottish Child Payment. This information can be found in the latest Scottish Child Payment Official Statistics publication:

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19380 on 11 July 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Scottish Government officials last met with their Welsh Government counterparts on 29 June 2023. The meeting was a Four Nations introductory meeting to share knowledge, policy and practice on foster care. Officials have met their Welsh counterparts on 16 occasions since 2021 to discuss a range of policies relating to children in care and social care.

As Minister for Higher and Further Education, and Veterans, Scotland's Shared Apprenticeships sit within my portfolio of responsibilities.

The Scottish Government places great importance on the range of services Arms Length External Organisations (ALEOs) provide and believes everyone should have access to these services. While there are no limits set by the Scottish or UK Government on the amount a Scottish local authority, and by extension ALEOs can borrow, local authorities are under a statutory duty to determine and keep under review the maximum amount which it can afford to allocate to capital expenditure, including associated borrowing levels.

The Scottish Government for our part have provided local authorities with nearly £13.5 billion in 2023-24, a cash increase in local government day to day spending of over £793 million which represents a real terms increase of £376 million or 3 per cent.

As set out in the Ministerial Code, the Scottish Government publishes ministerial engagements, travel and gifts three months in arrears, and publishes the whole month at one time, taken from the end of the relevant month. The Scottish Government plans to publish the information relating to April's ministerial engagements, travel and gifts by the end of July 2023. No breach of the Scottish Ministerial Code has occurred.

Despite facing one of the most challenging fiscal environments since devolution, the Scottish Government has extended funding under the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention fund. All organisations in receipt of these funds received a 5% uplift in 2022-23. This has been continued in 2023-24 and committed to in 2024-25.

The Scottish Government recognises the vital role organisations across the third sector play in improving outcomes for disabled children and is providing core funding to a number of third sector organisations which provide services for disabled children and their families.

Despite facing one of the most challenging fiscal environments since devolution, we are maintaining the level of funding through the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund (CYPFEI & ALEC). All organisations in receipt of these funds received a 5% uplift in 2022-23. This has been continued in 2023-24 and committed to in 2024-25.

The Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learners (CYPFAL) third sector fund is also providing core funding to a number of organisations which support disabled children and their families.