Chamber and committees

While there are not any plans to reopen the Local Bridge Maintenance Fund at this time, the Scottish Government will continue to meet with COSLA and individual local authorities on a regular basis to discuss the issues affecting local government.

The Scottish Government has increased funding to local government by over £570 million in 2023-24, including an additional £147 million of capital funding.

We are supportive of community wealth building, and the opportunities it presents to act as a conduit for supporting our Net Zero ambitions, in particular supporting a just transition. The land and property pillar of community wealth building is particularly relevant to land reform, and is very much in line with both existing land reform mechanisms (such as the Community Right to Buy) and our proposals for the next Land Reform Bill.

Measures put forward for inclusion in the Bill include a requirement for owners of large-scale landholdings to prepare and publish Land Management Plans. In the consultation we propose that one of the purposes of these plans should be to show how the management of the landholding contributes to relevant land use, economic and community development priorities and opportunities, as set out in community plans, regional land use strategies, and national policy. Management plans could be used to identify areas of land suitable for disposal to local community organisations seeking to develop projects that will meet local needs. We sought views in the consultation on whether people agree that the Plans should provide information on developments/activities that will contribute to local and inclusive economic development or community wealth building.

We received over 540 responses to the consultation, and will consider views submitted on how management plans could contribute to community wealth building, as we develop the measures that will be included in the Bill. In addition, to support the development of legislation we have established a CWB Steering Group chaired by the Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth. Representatives across the public, private and third sectors have been invited to provide ideas and insight as we develop legislative proposals. This includes consideration of issues linked to the use of land and property assets in both rural and urban areas.

The Bathing Waters (Scotland) Regulations 2008 aims to minimise the risks to public health at designated locations and during periods when a large number of people bathe. However, it remains the personal responsibility of every individual to assess the risks before entering open water, whether at a designated bathing water within the bathing season or otherwise.

The globally accepted advice is to leave at least 48 hours after heavy rain before bathing whether within or outwith the bathing season. Further general advice on the health risks of open water swimming, which is also applicable to Scotland, is available from the UK Health Security Agency at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swim-healthy-leaflet/swim-healthy .

The Scottish Government continuously works with SEPA, Scottish Water and other stakeholders on bathing water designations and to protect and improve bathing waters classifications. This has led to the number of bathing waters increasing since last year to 87, with 98% achieving the bathing water quality standards and more rated excellent than ever before.

The Scottish Government has not given consideration to a registration service in Scotland as this is an operational matter for Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS). The question relates to functions that are the responsibility of the SCTS of which the Office of the Public Guardian in Scotland (OPG) is a part. The SCTS is an independent body corporate and as such it is not directly answerable to the Scottish Government. Instead, it is directly answerable to its board, chaired by the Lord President.

Mr. Burnett has asked a separate question (S6W-13059) relating to the backlog of power of attorney applications at the OPG since September last year and what support is being offered to the OPG by Scottish Government. SCTS has put a dedicated taskforce in place to reduce the time taken to process Power of Attorney applications and work has begun to introduce a new case management system. This question is being answered by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans.

The number of properties expected to be liable for the Higher Property Rate (HPR) in 2023-24 before any reliefs are applied is presented in the below tables, broken down in Table 1 by property class, and in Table 2 by local authority. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property. The Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors.

These tables are based on an imputed Valuation Roll based on an incomplete draft Valuation Roll, as used by the Scottish Fiscal Commission in Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts December 2022, and figures are therefore subject to change.

Figures in these tables are rounded to the nearest 10, with values greater than zero but lower than five displayed as ‘[low]’.

Table 1: Number of properties liable for HPR in 2023-24 by property class

From the establishment of the Fund in April 2020, until the latest reporting in June 2022, there were 88 successful claims to the Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) Family Fund. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lothian who administer the Fund on behalf of Scottish Government, do not hold comprehensive information about a claimant’s home Board. Since April 2020:

• 32 families made a claim to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde MBU, with an average amount claimed of £303.
• 56 families made a claim to NHS Lothian MBU, with an average amount claimed of £250.

The Scottish Government has backed Scotland’s economic recovery with more than £4.7 billion in direct business support since March 2020. This included 100% retail, hospitality, leisure (RHL) and aviation relief in both 2020-21 and 2021-22 uncapped, and 50% RHL relief in 2022-23 capped at £27,500, which expired on 30 June 2022.

We recognise the difficult economic climate and this is why the Scottish Budget 2023-24, announced on 15 December, included a freeze in the poundage – the number one ask of 18 business organisations, and delivering the lowest poundage in the UK for the fifth year in a row. It also proposed a package of reliefs worth £744m including the UK's most generous small business rates relief.

We expect around half the properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors to be eligible for 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme relief next year. Properties in these sectors may also be eligible for the transitional relief schemes set out in the Budget.

As at 1 July 2022, there were 114,880 properties in receipt of 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) relief and a further 1,140 properties that were in receipt of 100% rates relief as a result of a combined partial award of SBBS relief and another NDR relief – for a total 116,020 SBBS recipients that paid no rates. In 2023-24, due to changes to Rateable Values as a result of the 2023 revaluation and changes to the SBBS relief thresholds announced at the Draft Budget 2023-24, it is estimated that around 106,000 properties will receive 100% relief through SBBS, either solely through SBBS relief or through SBBS relief combined with another NDR relief.

This estimate is based on modelling that underpinned the costing of SBBS relief in Scottish Fiscal Commission’s (SFC) Economic and Fiscal Forecasts December 2022. As noted by the SFC, rateable values were projected and based on an incomplete draft Valuation Roll, and are therefore subject to change.

Forestry and Land Scotland provides the following guidance on its website:

Purchase or scavenge firewood for domestic use

Members of the public can obtain a permit to buy timber for the purpose of domestic heating.

A firewood permit is available where a set quantity of small unprocessed logs is available for collection. A scavenging permit allows the recovery of timber from a recent harvesting site using hand tools.

Please contact your local office for help with any enquiries about the availability of these licences, and how to buy them.

In the Financial year 2022-23, in the Dumfries and Galloway Area, 5 firewood permits and 12 Scavenging permits have been issued by Forestry and Land Scotland. The issue of permits is limited due to the inconsistency of the availability of suitable material, particularly on sites in convenient locations for public access. This type of collecting of firewood has had ongoing health, safety and welfare concerns as Forestry and Land Scotland have had a number of incidences of permit holders, getting lost in the forest and/or using chainsaws to cut up wood in the forest rather than collecting suitable lengths by hand or using hand tools as per the respective permit conditions.