Chamber and committees

The Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities is produced by CIPFA. The Prudential Code requires a local authority to ensure that the financing of capital expenditure is prudent, affordable and sustainable and refers specifically to the requirement to consider credit agreements and associated financing costs as part of capital investment decisions. CIPFA is an independent organisation and as such the Scottish Government has no authority to propose or decide the content of CIPFA's Codes of Practice.

The SSSC collect workforce data, which is published in their annual workforce report in August of each year. The most recent report covers 2021 workforce data. From this we know that across all social care services, the highest levels of stability are seen in the public sector. The Scottish Government will continue to analyse the data to inform what support is required.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14814 on 7 March 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

Our National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Delivery Programme, published November 2022, stated that we would commence establishment and agree membership of the Planning, Infrastructure and Place Advisory Group following adoption of NPF4. NPF4 was adopted on 13 February 2023. We are on target to meet our commitment to hold the first meeting of the group, agree Terms of Reference and discuss an outline work programme within 3 months of adoption of NPF4. We will update stakeholders on the work of the group on our website www.transformingplanning.scot .

The Scottish Government was alerted by the UK Government on 6 February about a fraudulent letter claiming to be from Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to sponsors of the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, asking for data for the Ukraine Embassy.

The alert from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) did not refer to the accessing of personal data. In a public statement released by DLUHC on twitter shortly afterwards DLUHC stated that, “we are aware of fraudulent letters to homes for Ukraine hosts circulating on social media ”. The statement made no reference to the accessing of personal data of hosts taking part in the Scheme and DLUHC has not reported any subsequent issues regarding any breaches of data security.

Scottish Government issued the following message on social media platforms on 7 February: “We are aware of fraudulent letters being sent to Homes for Ukraine hosts. These are not from @dluhc or Scottish Government.”

The Scottish Government has implemented high security standards for personal data for volunteer hosts and has had no reported issues with data security.

Assessing the future needs of places, in collaboration with communities, is a core part of the local development plan process and infrastructure needs should be considered early in the process as part of an evidence based approach.

We continue to engage closely with COSLA and Heads of Planning Scotland to understand the pressures faced by the planning service, including skills shortages, and to promote a highly performing system.

Along with other key stakeholders including Partners in Planning we will develop a skills strategy which will identify the specialist skills required to address the requirements of National Planning Framework 4, and the wider skills required to ensure we have planners with the expertise to deliver on our ambitions for Scotland.

In 2022 we commissioned work on the pipeline of new planners coming into the system. The research report is available at Future Planners Project Report (rtpi.org.uk) . We are working with the Royal Town Planning Institute Scotland and Heads of Planning Scotland to implement the report’s recommendations, and will focus on this as we move forward with delivery of NPF4.

The forthcoming development planning guidance will set out the various stages in plan preparation.

Permitted development rights already allow solar panels to be retro-fitted on domestic properties without a planning application, subject to relevant criteria being met. Permitted development rights grant planning permission for specified types of development through legislation. In doing so, they help provide certainty and save the time and expense associated with applying for planning permission.

The permitted development rights for domestic solar panels do not, however, apply to domestic properties located within a conservation area, meaning a planning application is required. This allows the planning authority to consider the potential negative impacts of solar panel installations on the visual amenity and character of the conservation area. Under the new fees regulations introduced by the Scottish Government in 2021, such applications qualify for a 25% reduction of the normal application fee.

The Scottish Government is currently considering potential for extending the permitted development rights for renewable energy installations, including domestic solar panels, in the light of the current climate and cost crises. We will be publishing a consultation on our proposals shortly.

The responsibilities of Scottish Ministers and the Water Industry Commission for Scotland are set out in the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, as amended. The Principles of Charging, available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/principles-of-charging-2021-2027/ , specify how Scottish Water is to charge for its services, together with the discounts, exemptions and reductions which must be applied.

Scottish Government officials met with representatives from Scottish Power on 10 January 2023 to discuss the publication of the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan. Officials also met with Scottish Power on 15 February 2023 to discuss the use of diesel generators at Arecleoch and Glen App wind farms.

The Scottish Government holds limited information on pension contributions and these are contained within the Local Financial Returns (LFRs). Data on LFRs is published as part of the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics.

Teachers

There are currently two occupational pension schemes for teachers in Scotland. These schemes are administered by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The SPPA is the definitive source of information on teachers pensions.

Non-Teachers

The Local Government Pension Scheme in Scotland is a funded, defined benefit, statutory occupational pension scheme. It's one of the main public service pension schemes in Scotland, serving more than 236,000 active members, over 140,000 deferred members and more than 169,000 pensioners and dependents.

The scheme is administered by 11 local government administering authorities. These are:

• Dumfries and Galloway Pension Fund
• Falkirk Council Pension Fund
• Fife Council Pension Fund
• Highland Council Pension Fund
• Lothian Pension Fund
• North East Scotland Pension Fund
• Orkney Islands Pension Fund
• Scottish Borders Pension Fund
• Shetland Islands Pension Fund
• Strathclyde Pension Fund
• Tayside Superannuation Fund

These eleven funds provide information on employee and employer pension contributions, as shown in the table below. The contributions cover all employers in the schemes, and this is broader than just Scotland’s 32 councils. It is not possible to separate out the individual local authority contributions in the data held centrally by Scottish Government.