Chamber and committees

Parties involved in planning cases are expected to meet their own costs. The Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) of the Scottish Government will meet the costs of the reporter and administrative staff; advertisement of the case and the cost of the inquiry venue if necessary; and the general administrative costs of the case. DPEA deal with a wide range of casework and reporters and administrative staff normally deal with a number of different case types at the same time. The cost of an individual case can vary depending on a number of factors including the complexity of the case and whether an inquiry is necessary. DPEA do not record the cost of dealing with wind farm appeals or Section 36 wind farm applications.

Modelling by Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) projects that 29 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities will incur a net financial benefit from the implementation of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Local authorities are also expected to benefit from a reduction in the impact of litter, and from efficiencies to collection services following the implementation of DRS.

ZWS has no current plans to update its modelling. However, it is engaging with individual local authorities, in particular the three currently projected not to make savings, to assess the impacts of DRS on them and look at options for service improvements.

The COVID-19 statistical report which is published weekly includes a section for COVID-19 vaccinations by Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) priority group, including first, second, and third/booster doses for frontline social care workers. This cohort is made up of registered Scottish Social Services Council staff and does not include those without professional registration.

This data can be found at. https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/show-all-releases?id=20580.

Since the start of the pandemic, businesses in Scotland have benefitted from more than £4.4 billion in support. This includes COVID-19 non-domestic rates reliefs which have saved businesses around £1.6 billion in reduced rates bills since 1 April 2020.

The Scottish Budget maintains a generous non-domestic regime in Scotland for 2022-23 and supports a package of reliefs worth an estimated £802 million. This includes for businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors continuing relief at 50% for the first three months of 2022-23, capped at £27,500 per ratepayer. This responds to a key ask from the business community to avoid a cliff edge return to full rates liability for those businesses on 31 March 2022. The property uses eligible for this relief in 2022-23 will be unchanged from 2021-22. Properties used wholly or mainly for news publishing will continue to be eligible for this relief.

The list of organisations interviewed as part of the Gateway Review can be found in Annex C of the report. This report can be accessed here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/deposit-return-scheme-gateway-review-report-june-2021/documents/ .

Organisations listed on p13 of the amended Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment ( https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781802018875 ) but not in the Gateway Review met separately with the Scottish Government to supplement the findings of the review.

The Core Scottish Government has 18 owned buildings. Solar panels are installed at 4 buildings; Victoria Quay Edinburgh, Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) Edinburgh, St Andrews House Edinburgh and Cameron House Oban. 22% of owned buildings have solar panels.

It has not been possible to install solar panels on all owned buildings due to the availability of useable roof space, roof orientation and shading, roof structure and other technical constraints.

We expect the consultation on proposals for introducing regulations on minimum standards of energy efficiency for private housing will take place during 2022. I will work closely with officials to ensure an optimum and effective launch date.

In line with consultation best practice, the duration of the consultation period will last for a minimum of 12 weeks, and may possibly run longer depending on the launch date to ensure a strong response. Details on timelines for the analysis and results of the consultation will be provided in due course.

The funding package to deal with the Omicron crisis was focused on those businesses most severely impacted by the cancellations due to public health advice and re-introduction of regulations on some businesses. The hostel sector whose business model is reliant on accommodating large numbers of (often unrelated) households mixing at one time, was particularly impacted during this period. Similarly hotels with bars and restaurants were particularly affected and therefore made eligible for hospitality top-up payments.

We sympathise with businesses such as self-catering, B&Bs and Guesthouses and others which have also been impacted by COVID-19. However, with limited funds available we have had to focus support on those most severely affected by restrictions. We will continue to consider the impacts of COVID and make the case with the UK Government for more comprehensive support.

Apprenticeships are a key way for all employers to invest in their workforce, providing the skills the economy needs both now and in the future.

Published in December 2020, the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) sets out the actions we need to take to ensure our workforce is able to support the transition to net zero. Agile and responsive work-based learning, including apprenticeships, will support these ambitions and the CESAP notes the importance of developing new work-based learning pathways to capitalise on net-zero opportunities and maximising the uptake of apprenticeships in green jobs.

In this context, the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB) commissioned IFF Research to carry out a consultation with SAAB members, and other employers, covering industry views on the importance of reflecting sustainability into Scottish apprenticeships, and the steps required to achieve this. A final report of findings and recommendations was published in November 2021.

Ministers are due to meet SAAB to discuss its findings on 27 January 2022. Work is already underway to update National Occupational Standards (NOS) and the apprenticeship frameworks for sectors that are critical to the transition, to include mandatory net zero elements. The Scottish Government is also keen to work with SAAB and industry to explore how we can incentivise and increase apprenticeships taking up opportunities on green pathways.

The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board to maximise apprenticeships and prioritise a recovery that creates new jobs, good jobs and green jobs, supporting the long-term future of work-based learning and the economy.

These projects are all being funded from the Scottish Government’s £254 million investment in the North East, which is in addition to the £125 million committed to the Aberdeen City Region Deal in 2016.

Option selection for rail improvements, towards which £200 million has been allocated, is scheduled for completion by the end of March 2022.

Following the publication of Draft Orders, Transport Scotland is currently dealing with objections to the Laurencekirk junction, towards which £24 million has been allocated.

Digital projects, towards which £10 million has been allocated, are progressing as expected. The City Network Extension project, connecting 57 Aberdeen City corporate sites to full fibre was completed in November 2021. The full fibre project in Aberdeenshire is due to be completed by the end of March 2022.

To date, no eligible projects have been submitted for housing infrastructure projects, towards which £20 million has been allocated. Scottish Government officials have been in discussions with officials from Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils to identify suitable projects following the launch of the Housing Infrastructure Fund (Round 2) in October 2021.