Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold records for all mobile phones purchased in the last 5 years as they are purchased by individual business areas and agencies to meet their requirements. However, through our mobile voice & data contracts we have purchased various models of mobile phone including those from Apple, Motorola and Samsung.

For the past 5 years the Scottish Government has had a mobile voice and data contracts with Vodafone UK.

A contract was in place from 20 January 2016 to 20 September 2020. This was replaced with a new contract via https://www.gov.scot/publications/mobile-voice-and-data-services-framework-2020/ from 21 September 2020 to 20 September 2023.

A small number of connections have also been with EE over the last 5 years.

The Cladding Remediation Programme Board met and considered a draft Outline Business Case (OBC) on 1 November 2022. The OBC was based on key aspects of the MACE Ltd strategic advisors draft delivery options report.

While this is essentially a question for Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to answer, I can advise that building ownership conditions are not universal across the four nations. It is important that guidance for valuers in Scotland reflects the system in Scotland including the tenure system.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17543 on 12 May 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 are in the process of providing advice to the new Ministerial team on community eyecare services work, including these short life working groups, and will update stakeholders immediately following the completion of this process.

My visit aimed to cover a number of areas in the Scotland/US relationship. It had a particular focus on trade and investment, culture, higher education and – linking all of these things – Scotland’s network in the US. This visit offered an opportunity to build upon my visit to the US in April 2022, as well as other Ministerial visits over the past 12 months. It also presented an opportunity to launch our Scottish Connections Framework, Scotland’s new diaspora strategy, in perhaps the most populous (alongside Canada) diaspora location. (Link Scottish Connections Framework - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) )

I attended Tartan Week, supported by my Private Secretary, the Scottish Government Deputy Director for International, and two supporting officials. Five members of staff based in the US also supported my visit and attended events. The full costs of my visit, and those of all Ministerial travel costs, are routinely published on the Scottish Government website. I would encourage you to look there for more details (Link: Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

You also requested the costs for travelling officials who accompanied me from Scotland. Please find these in the following table.

We note the recent publication by the British Property Federation, assessing the impact of the emergency Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022.

We recognise the importance of the private rented sector in the provision of rented housing, including homes provided through the Build-to-Rent sector, and we believe that a well-regulated private rental sector is good for both tenants and landlords.

The temporary, emergency Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 is providing additional protections for tenants during these challenging and uncertain economic times. It is important to note that there are no restrictions on a landlord setting rents at the start of a tenancy and the legislation could only ever be in place for a total of 18 months, if the circumstances demand it and with Parliamentary approval, and therefore the temporary protections should not be a deterrent to new housing development.

Scottish Ministers have a statutory duty to ensure that the emergency powers taken are proportionate in order to respond to the costs crisis and will only last as long as required. In addition, the Scottish Parliament has continued oversight of the necessity of those powers through our regular reporting on the necessity and proportionality of the measures.

In the longer term, we have committed to introducing a national system of rent control, informed by views from tenants, landlords and investors through an advisory group. We intend to introduce a rent control system which is compatible with encouraging investment and we will continue to engage with stakeholders from across the sector on our long-term commitment to develop an effective system of rent controls for Scotland.

The best way to deliver a strong rented sector is to build more affordable homes and Scotland leads the way in this area, having delivered more than 118,000 affordable homes since 2007, with 83,291 of these for social rent. We’re now working towards our target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 70% will be for social rent.

The full-year information regarding how many (a) Electronic Power of Attorney Registration (EPOAR) and (b) postal power of attorney submissions were received by the Office of the Public Guardian in 2022-23 now that the financial year is complete is as follows (the table also indicates numbers received in previous years):

The following table shows a time series for the number of registered private sector businesses in the construction of domestic buildings sector, split into Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises. The construction of domestic buildings sector is defined as Standard Industrial Classification (“SIC”) code 41.202 and is a sub-category within the construction sector, Section F. A SME here is defined as a business with 0 – 249 employees, whilst registered businesses are businesses that are registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) and/or Pay As You Earn (PAYE). The data covers the period from 2010 to 2022, earlier data are not readily available and, also not comparable due to changes in SIC definitions and methodology over time.

The number of registered private sector businesses by employee size band in the construction of domestic buildings (SIC 41.202) in Scotland, March 2010 – March 2022.

Overall, the Scottish Government thinks that this is a well-designed and helpful document which clearly outlines the approach which Scottish Cycling plans to take.

We welcome the focus on improving diversity in cycling participation as well as a pathway for all, regardless of ability.

We are pleased to see references to the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, highlighting the significant opportunity to increase cycling participation this provides, including through initiatives such as the Cycling Facilities Fund.