Chamber and committees

We will bring forward further proposals on snaring in good time to allow any necessary consultation and introduction at Stage 2 of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill.

The following table shows the main differences between Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and the schemes operating in Finland, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Australia.

Such bike hire schemes are generally run at a local level, and as such the Scottish Government does not record data on their number and we do not directly promote them. We provide grant funding to the Energy Saving Trust (EST) to run the e-bike loan fund which provides interest free loans to help people with the cost of purchasing e-bikes and e-cargo bikes. EST also run on our behalf the e-bike grant fund, which provides small grants to businesses and community organisations to purchase e-bikes and e-cargo bikes. Data on these schemes is held by EST and they are promoted by EST via the Home Energy Scotland advice network, via third party referral and on digital media.

Our approach to language learning is a national one, giving every child the entitlement to learn a first additional language from P1 until the end of the Broad General Education (BGE) in S3. Additionally, each child is entitled to learn a second additional language or languages from P5 onwards.

The Scottish Government recognises that all recorded information relating to its business is subject to Freedom of Information (FOI) law, irrespective of its format or the platform on which it is held. This includes any information held in or originally generated in WhatsApp or similar messaging apps. This responsibility is discharged through the relevant business units who have the responsibility for capturing this information as set out in the Scottish Government Records Management Policy.

The Scottish Government has released such messaging exchanges in response to Freedom of Information requests. However, to ascertain the number of responses which have included such exchanges since 2019, would require officials to individually check every FOI response the Scottish Government has issued since the beginning of 2019. For that reason, this information could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

The Scottish Government is engaged with COSLA regarding the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 on multiple fronts.

A paper on heat networks regulations was presented to the COSLA Environment and Economy policy board on 3 March 2023 to update the board on progress in developing the duties contained in the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 and make members aware of potential impacts of this work on local authorities.

COSLA are also represented on our Stakeholder Engagement Groups, which advise on the implementation of the Act and have so far covered Building Assessment Reports and Heat Network Zones. The groups are now advising on the secondary legislation relating to Heat Network Zone Permits and a Local Authority Cost Strategy.

More widely, in our Heat in Buildings Strategy the Scottish Government committed to “work with COSLA to strengthen and integrate governance arrangements on heat and energy efficiency, to ensure effective delivery over the long term.” A liaison role was created in 2022 to provide capacity within COSLA to engage across the Heat in Buildings programme and embed a partnership approach. This resulted in the establishment of the Heat in Buildings Local Government Oversight group, which meets on a regular basis to provide a forum for dialog between relevant Scottish Government and COSLA officials on the Heat in Buildings programme and wider heat transition. The first meeting of this group was held on 6 March 2023 and included discussion on the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 and the regulatory framework that is being introduced as a result. COSLA also sit on the Independent Strategic Board for Heat and Energy Efficiency Scotland, which last met on 18 April 2023.

Scottish Ministers are on record as expecting public bodies to be considerate to the circumstances of people who are in debt and that those who genuinely can’t pay are provided with support and advice. In relation to council tax debt Ministers have actively encouraged local authorities to share good practice on debt assistance and collection, and to use the existing flexibilities available to them.

Scottish Government recognises the challenges being faced by households due to the cost of living crisis and have taken considerable action in support, including the tripling of the Fuel Insecurity Fund in 2023-24. We have taken decisive action in relation to debt including increasing the Minimum Protected Balance an individual can keep in their bank account when subject to debt recovery to £1000 and increasing the length of time people have to seek advice before action can be taken to pursue debt.

The Scottish Government's Council Tax Reduction (CTR) Scheme supports those that would not be expected to afford to meet their council tax liability, and aims to prevent households from falling into debt in the first place. Applications can be backdated by up to 6 months and over 450,000 households receive some level of CTR, and on average recipients save over £750 a year.

Anyone struggling with living costs should contact their local authority who will be able to provide advice and support.

The June 2021 Scottish Agricultural Census identified Scotland to have an agricultural land area of 5.64 million hectares. Scotland has created over 83,500 hectares of new woodland in the last ten years. For illustration purposes, if all of this had hypothetically been planted on agricultural land it would equate to 1.5% of the total agricultural land holding in Scotland.

Analysis of the Forestry Grant Scheme shows the applications for small woodland grants since 2015 covers 6,839 hectares, which equates to 0.1% of all agricultural land. Over the same period some 1,100 hectares of woodland creation has been on prime agricultural land, which represents 0.2% of total prime agricultural land.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. We advise the member to contact the NHS Boards directly.

Housing Benefit has been replaced by Universal Credit in all but a small number of specific circumstances. Recipients of Universal Credit need to notify their Work Coach of any additional income in a given monthly assessment period. A person’s income could increase, for instance, if they did additional hours or overtime in that period. Most recently, NHS Scotland staff received a one-off additional payment in their April salaries as part of the 2023-24 Agenda for Change pay settlement.

Additional income reduces or stops Universal Credit but it is important to stress that everyone should be better off overall as the taper rate is 55%, so for every pound in extra payments, the person keeps 45 pence. Universal Credit will then increase or begin again if someone’s income reduces in the next assessment period unless, for instance, the higher income represented by the substantive part of the NHS Scotland pay settlement places them above the qualifying criteria for Universal Credit.

Spreading the one-off payment over multiple months was considered at the time the 2023-24 Agenda for Change pay settlement was negotiated. However, it was not clear this would provide any advantage to the lower paid and indeed it may be more helpful to get the payment within one assessment period and return to a steady state following that.