Chamber and committees

As set out in the news release published on the Scottish Government website on 31 May, we recognise that proposals can take some time to be fully developed, so we have planned for up to £500,000 loan funding per annum to be available for investment in suitable proposals. We would strongly encourage prospective applicants to contact us in the earliest stages of their considerations via [email protected].

At the start of the pandemic Scottish Government set up opinion polling research to help understand knowledge, attitudes and claimed behaviour in relation to coronavirus, and motivations and barriers to adopting desired behaviours.

This ran weekly from end of March 2020 to June 2021 when it moved to fortnightly and then approximately monthly from April 2022. The public opinion research company YouGov carried out fieldwork on their online omnibus, with a sample each wave of c.1,000 adults 18+ representative of the online population of Scotland.

Questions were included at various times on the perceived importance of a number of protective behaviours (including face coverings) and how well people felt they were doing these to allow us to monitor these measures over time.

COVID-specific polling ended at the end of March 2023.

Offshore wind developers, oil and gas companies and relevant trade unions have already expressed their support for a solution which helps facilitate a fairer and more streamlined workforce transition across offshore sectors.

Through its Just Transition Fund, the Scottish Government continues to support a cross sectoral Energy Skills Passport solution, and we will work closely with all stakeholders to help promote its successful delivery.

In developing the Bill, the Scottish Government engaged extensively with key stakeholders, including legal stakeholders such as the Scottish judiciary as well as carrying out a full public consultation exercise. This engagement has culminated in careful consideration of a wide range of views by Scottish Ministers.

This has led to the Bill as introduced into the Scottish Parliament which will implement a modern regulatory framework that will best promote competition, innovation, and the public and consumer interest in an efficient, effective, and efficient legal sector, while also improving the transparency and accountability of legal services regulation and the legal complaints system.

The Scottish Government very much recognise the importance of an independent legal profession and is committed to maintaining that independence.

The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill retains and builds on the current oversight role of the Lord President of the Court of Session in respect of the legal regulatory framework in Scotland as well as providing necessary checks and balances. The Bill incorporates safeguards that deliver a balance between the independence of the legal profession with their duty to work in the public interest.

The Scottish Government is committed to continue engagement with stakeholders representing both the consumer and the legal perspective as the Bill proceeds through Parliament.

A person can attend any minor injuries unit in NHS Fife subject to opening times, with or without an appointment.

The Scottish Government continues to work with boards to reduce pressure on hospitals through the Unscheduled Care Collaborative programme, which supports health boards to implement a range of measures to reduce waiting times and improve patient experience. Through this approach, the Redesign of Urgent Care aims to improve patient safety by scheduling urgent appointments to EDs and MIUs and avoiding unnecessary waits, however we are clear that anyone can still attend any ED or MIU without an appointment.

The detailed information requested is currently being collated by Skills Development Scotland and I will write to the member as soon as this data is available and a copy will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib number 64366).

The budget figures provided in answer S6W-18435 did not include corporate running costs (CRCs). CRCs are a share of the costs, such as accommodation, IT, legal services, and HR, that cannot be readily attributed to individual portfolios. Annex G of the Scottish Government Budget 2019-20 provides a full explanation of CRCs as this was the first year they were introduced.

Scotland remains committed to ensuring the right homes are delivered in the right places and to working with local authorities in the planning and delivery of new homes. The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce a New Homes Bonus Scheme.

Scotland has led the UK in the delivery of affordable housing having delivered more than 122,000 affordable homes since 2007, of which more than 86,000 are for social rent. The 10,458 affordable homes delivered to end March 2023 is the highest figure since the start of the statistical series in 2000.

Since 2007, Scotland has seen over 40% more affordable homes delivered per head of population than in England, and over 70% more than in Wales. We have also delivered over three times as many social rented homes per head of population than England over this period.

The number of all-sector new build homes completed in Scotland was up by 9% in the latest year to end March 2023, the highest annual figure to end March since 2008.

When we process payments, some will have cross compliance applied to them. If the beneficiary does not comply with the requirements and standards, we deduct this during the payment calculation for EU funding, so in effect, return this to the Commission. For Scottish Government funding, this reduces the actual spend and so increases the Scottish Government budget remaining.

For penalties post payment, EU recovered penalties are returned to the Commission and the Scottish Government recovered penalties are returned to the scheme budget, increasing the budget remaining.