Chamber and committees

As set out in our Housing to 2040 strategy, we are taking forward a review of the current housing adaptations system and will make recommendations on how best to improve and streamline the system. As part of that work we will engage with key stakeholders later in this financial year.

The contract notice ‘Consultancy Services for the Concept Design of a Ro-Pax Vessel’ is for the design of a ‘Ro-Pax’ vessel to serve the Mallaig to Lochboisdale route as part of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service.

More information on this procurement is available at: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY447363

More information on the project is available at: https://www.cmassets.co.uk/project/mallaig-lochboisdale/

The document confirming which Scottish minister agreed to proceed with offering Ferguson Marine Engineering Limited a contract for the building of new ferries in October 2015 has been located. Suggestions that records had been deliberately destroyed are completely unfounded.

It has been provided to Parliament and can be found on the Scottish Government website here .

No anticipated contract value has been provided in the tender information. It would not be appropriate to disclose this information during a live procurement.

More information on this procurement is available at -

https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY447363

More information on the project is available at:

https://www.cmassets.co.uk/project/mallaig-lochboisdale/

The Scottish Government already invests significantly through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and works with private sector funders and suppliers to maximise the delivery of the right homes in the right places. While the Affordable Housing Supply Programme process and procedures guidance does not specifically facilitate the purchase of properties exiting the private rented sector in order to maintain the homes of tenants affected, we were keen to gather views on what more can be done to ensure that the supply of rented homes continues to play a key role in addressing the affordability issues we are facing in Scotland as part of the consultation on the draft rented sector strategy – A New Deal for Tenants. We have specifically sought views on whether there are opportunities to engage with owners/ landlords to allow first refusal to those delivering the Affordable Housing Supply Programme. The consultation closed on 22 April and we will consider the responses in order to determine whether any changes are required to current guidance.

The Scottish Landlord Register provides data on the number of private landlord registrations, for example in relation to the number of new applications, renewals made and the number of properties these relate to.

The Scottish Government uses this information to monitor the number of registered landlords operating and properties in Scotland, and to appropriately distribute the applications fees to the relevant local authorities.

The information is also used more broadly to help with gaining insights and understanding of the Private Rented Sector and its regulation in Scotland, alongside other official statistics on the sector such as results from the Scottish Household Survey, which can help to monitor trends over time in overall stock levels of private rented sector households.

Local authorities already have broad compulsory purchase powers which are used for a range of purposes, including restoration of property which may be vacant, derelict or unsafe. Scottish Government officials continue to support and advise local authorities in this important work. As outlined in the Programme for Government, we are committed to modernising the compulsory purchase order process to make it clearer, fairer and faster for all parties, and to support the delivery of projects that are in the public interest. We will continue to engage with local authorities and other stakeholders to identify the most effective levers as the work progresses.

We are also considering the matter of compulsory sales orders as part of this. Any new powers would need to be compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights with careful consideration given to the compatibility with existing powers – this includes any proposals for Compulsory Rental Orders.

We are carefully considering the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Role of Incineration in Scotland’s Waste Hierarchy. We will set out our initial response to the recommendations in June 2022.

The export of waste is a reserved matter.

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes is the international Convention that governs the movement of hazardous waste, to which the UK is a party. The Convention, as implemented in UK legislation, bans all exports of hazardous waste to developing countries. Control mechanisms on the shipment of other types of waste from Scotland to countries outside the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are governed by retained European legislation.

While waste export legislation is a matter for the UK Government, we continue to actively discuss waste shipment regulations, in light of our commitment to a truly circular economy, to ensure our environment is protected, and that all waste is managed responsibly and sustainably.

To meet these objectives, we are calling for further action from the UK Government to deliver its existing commitment to ban plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries, and bring forward further measures to influence global markets and reduce imported and exported emissions. This includes making progress on the Committee on Climate Change’s recommendation to “phase out” exports of waste by 2030, which would support Scotland’s transition to a fully circular economy.

The current business case plans to deliver around 800 joint replacements, 1,200 daycases and 700 local anaesthetic orthopaedic cases.