Chamber and committees

In April 2022 increased planning fees came into effect, providing much needed additional resource to Planning Authorities. Whilst the use of this additional resource is a matter for individual authorities, some authorities have reported that the fee increase has allowed them to retain or recruit new members of staff.

Improving the resourcing and performance of the planning system are important priorities and we continue to work with Heads of Planning Scotland, the Royal Town Planning Institute and other stakeholders to implement the recommendations of the Future Planners Project Report which focuses on supporting the growth of entrants into the planning profession.

Through the work of the Building Standards Futures Board, work is being undertaken to support the Local Authority Building Standards Workforce through the development and implementation of a three year workforce strategy. In addition, the Board is overseeing a number of recommendations that aim to strengthen the building standards system. These will require investment in the system and workforce and a public consultation on building warrant fees will be undertaken over the summer.

The Scottish Government remains committed to the ambition. We are working with partners to explore how we can enable the transformational change required to ensure that by 2030 at least 5% of all community-based health and social care spend across Scotland is invested in preventative whole family support measures.

This includes providing £32m of Whole Family Wellbeing Funding on an annual basis to Children's Services Planning Partnerships to shift investment towards timely and sustainable early intervention and prevention activities that are flexible, responsive and proportionate to ensure families can access the support they need, when they need it and where they need it, before they reach crisis point.

A total of £30m of Scottish Government funding is being made available through the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund; with the expectation of leveraging an additional £30m from private sources. The Fund is directed at local authorities and assessment of bids will be based on criteria set out in the EV Infrastructure Fund Evaluation Template available on Scottish Future Trust’s website: www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/page/electric-vehicle-charging-network .

The Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund was launched in March 2023 and will run to the end of July 2026 providing £3.8 million over the three-year period to support activity directly tackling social isolation and loneliness. £2 million has already been distributed to organisations directly since August 2021 for work including helplines, befriending, youth work and provision of warm spaces and group activities.

Since October 2021, the Scottish Government has invested £36 million in the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults, with around 3,300 grants being made to local organisations across Scotland in the first two years. A further £15 million is committed in 2023-24. The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund supports grass roots community groups in building resilience and tackling social isolation, loneliness and the mental health inequalities made worse by the pandemic and, more recently, the cost crisis.

We are also investing over £300,000 in programmes which recognise the role that sports clubs and hubs play in improving physical, mental and social health, including the ‘Changing Room – Extra Time’ and ‘Gain the Advantage’ programmes, and Scotland’s Mental Health Charter for Physical Activity and Sport.

On 4 April I held the first meeting of a group of experts in wellbeing economy, which includes the Carnegie UK Trust, Wellbeing Economy Alliance, and other stakeholders. I have committed to working further with this group as we transition to a Wellbeing Economy. The assessment of the performance measures in the Wellbeing Economy Monitor is currently undertaken by officials, with a clear methodology in terms of measuring change. Given my engagement with the expert group, I am happy to seek their continued views on measuring and reporting. Any updated process should also take account of the conclusions of the ongoing review of Scotland’s National Outcomes to ensure continued alignment. That review is due to conclude in 2024.

I refer to my previous answer to S6W-17502. The Scottish Government has made £30 million of public funding available to meet the target of achieving 6,000 public charge points by 2026.

Electric vehicle strategy and infrastructure expansion plans covering all local authorities in Scotland are expected to be completed over the coming months; these will identify local and regional charge point needs, the investment requirements and best approaches to delivering collaborative investment with commercial Charge Point Operators.

The strategies and infrastructure expansion plans will be agreed by Transport Scotland prior to confirmation of any support from the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund. Transport Scotland anticipate strategy and expansion plans will be published by the end of 2023, these are expected provide details of the charging infrastructure and approach proposed within each local authority area or region.

It is important that public electric vehicle charging infrastructure is planned at the local level to best suit the needs of communities, businesses and visitors. This will influence the number and mix of charge points including their power capabilities and ‘rapidness’. Equally, this will also help identify charge points where there is likely to be market failure and a requirement for public subsidy.

The additional electricity requirements of the charge points supported through the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund will be determined by the mix and power outputs of charge points; it is not possible to quantify this in advance. However, on 26 May last year Transport Scotland published a report on the zero emission energy requirements for transport, including plug-in electric vehicles, that considered a range of scenarios out to 2045. One of the key findings of this report was that the amount of electricity (and hydrogen) the transport system is expected to need is well within the limits of what the energy sector is expected to generate.

As highlighted in my previous answer, the arrangements and responsibilities for the supply and maintenance of charge points will be determined through contractual arrangements between local authorities and private Charge Point Operators, which will be subject to public procurement regulations. This may influence the countries from which charge points and ancillary equipment are sourced. The Scottish Government is aware that there are opportunities for Scottish businesses to support the maintenance and repair of charge points and these opportunities are already being realised across parts of the ChargePlace Scotland network.

Transport Scotland has considered the range of skills required for maintenance of electric vehicle charge points. Two courses exist to Institute of the Motor Industry Level 3 in Scotland already and the industry expects electricians with an additional qualification to be able to maintain electric vehicle charge points. The lack of formal recognition of qualifications is a current barrier that will be assessed as part of a review falling under the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan Update. Access to training across Scotland is critical and Transport Scotland has been investing in mobile equipment for colleges to support training in more remote areas and support a Just Transition to Net Zero.

The Scottish Government maintains an open dialogue with Liberty Steel and meets with them regularly.

The question of whether or not to install additional equipment at the Dalzell or Clydebridge facilities is an operational matter for Liberty Steel. From recent discussions I understand that there are currently no plans to install an Electric Arc Furnace at either Dalzell or Clydebridge.

a) In financial year 2021-2022, £1 million was allocated to organisations working to tackle social isolation and loneliness. This funding has supported work including helplines, befriending, and practical support.

Many of the 48 organisations funded through the Equality and Human Rights Fund also work on tackling social isolation. The Equality and Human Rights Fund will distribute up to £7 million annually for the three years from October 2021 to September 2024.

The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults launched in October 2021 and has invested £21 million in supporting grass roots community groups in building resilience and tackling social isolation, loneliness and mental health inequalities made worse by the pandemic and, more recently, the cost crisis.

The Connecting Scotland digital inclusion programme delivered a Winter Support Package and two Fast Track schemes with a focus on social isolation in 2021-22. £6.8 million was spent on devices, connectivity and skills support across 32 local authorities in Scotland.

b) In 2022-23, over £1 million was provided to organisations working to tackle social isolation and loneliness and mitigate the impact of the cost crisis.

The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, for which social isolation and loneliness is one of the priority areas, was funded with a further £15 million in 2022-23.

In the first two years of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, approximately 3300 grants were made to local organisations across Scotland to a wide range of grassroots community projects including those based around peer support, physical activity, arts and crafts activities, social interaction and befriending, with a strong emphasis on the key themes of prevention and early intervention, suicide prevention and addressing social isolation.

I have met with a range of stakeholders in the energy industry since taking on this ministerial role. A comprehensive list of all Ministerial engagements is routinely published online three months in arrears and in line with the Scottish Ministerial Code . It can be found at Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

I most recently met with the UK Government Minister Andrew Bowie on 27 April regarding the Energy Bill, to discuss the enabling legislation required to deploy the Acorn project and to ensure this vital piece of legislation best reflects Scotland’s interests.