Chamber and committees

A range of considerations have been taken into account by Scottish Water to set charge levels for 2022-23 including the level of inflation, potential council tax increases, the economic circumstances of customers, customer views, the cash balances of the business and the implications for charges across the rest of the 2021-27 regulatory period.

At this time, none of the outstanding PFI projects have returned operating plant to Scottish Water as they have not yet reached the end of their contracts. The first one to do so will be in May 2022.

Scottish Water Horizons does not operate any plant previously returned from PFI projects. However, in 2018, SW Horizons Holdings Ltd (SWHH) acquired the Aberdeen PFI project companies. This was to protect the operational and environmental performance of the plants over the remaining 13 years of the PFI contract as the previous owner had indicated that they intended to sell the project to a party that did not have experience in operating wastewater treatment works.

The companies acquired included £46.5million of external bank debt funding. The acquisition cost was funded by SWHH and not Scottish Water, so customers were not impacted by the acquisition. Due to the contractual restrictions associated with the external bank debt, these PFI companies have continued to operate under the same structure as before, albeit now owned and controlled by the Scottish Water Group and have been integrated into Scottish Water Group operations to the extent permitted by existing contractual arrangements.

Since the acquisition by SWHH, the operational and environmental performance of the PFI project has continued to improve and, following the refurbishment of the sludge digester and CHP engines, there has also been a very significant increase in renewable energy generation and consequent carbon reduction. Further integration of the PFI project into Scottish Water operations is under active consideration. This would require repayment of the remaining external bank debt of some £33million and would therefore require to be justified by an appropriate cost/benefit business case.

The Scottish Government does not have a blanket policy of applying unlimited liabilities in its ICT contracts and contractual liability may be unlimited, capped or excluded.

The Scottish Government Model Terms and Conditions for ICT Services Contracts (Model Terms) contain provisions relating to liability that are intended to be reasonable and proportionate and to strike the right balance in allocating risk and liability for all parties.

Liability is unlimited where it cannot be restricted as a matter of law, including for death or personal injury, or fraud. Liability is also unlimited for specific types of loss such as intellectual property, tax and TUPE where Scottish Government has potential exposure to third party claims.

All other liability may be capped or limited on the basis of a fixed sum or a percentage of the overall contract value. The Model Terms do not include mandated levels of financial liability. It is for contracting authorities to determine, based on the risk profile of the project and taking into account the nature and extent of the risks involved in the services, the value of the contract and the amount of insurance cover available to each party, the appropriate levels of financial liability which should apply.

Professor Griggs sought additional time to undertake further engagement before producing the report for the Aquaculture Review.

We expect to receive that report shortly and will of course consider its findings fully, updating Parliament when appropriate.

As part of our Accessible Travel Framework, and recent engagement with disabled people and organisations that represent them, the Scottish Government have committed to exploring the current provision of passenger assistance currently provided at Scotland’s bus stations. To that end officials within the Accessible Travel Policy Team are currently engaging with bus station managers.

The Scottish Government does not have a blanket policy of applying unlimited liabilities in its ICT contracts and contractual liability may be unlimited, capped or excluded.

The Scottish Government Model Terms and Conditions for ICT Services Contracts (Model Terms) contain provisions relating to liability that are intended to be reasonable and proportionate and to strike the right balance in allocating risk and liability for all parties.

Liability is unlimited where it cannot be restricted as a matter of law, including for death or personal injury, or fraud. Liability is also unlimited for specific types of loss such as intellectual property, tax and TUPE where Scottish Government has potential exposure to third party claims.

All other liability may be capped or limited on the basis of a fixed sum or a percentage of the overall contract value. The Model Terms do not include mandated levels of financial liability. It is for contracting authorities to determine, based on the risk profile of the project and taking into account the nature and extent of the risks involved in the services, the value of the contract and the amount of insurance cover available to each party, the appropriate levels of financial liability which should apply.

Scotland’s chemicals, oil refining and manufacturing sectors - to which the Grangemouth region is the main contributor - employs c.7,000 people and contributes an annual GVA of over £800m. However, with that economic strength also comes 30% of all Scottish industrial emissions. A specific focus on Grangemouth is therefore key to achieving a net-zero economy by 2045, and getting this right will be crucial if we are to deliver a Just Transition, not only for the region, but for Scotland as a whole. Futureproofing this vital industrial hub will help support a long-term, sustainable future for Grangemouth.

The Grangemouth Future Industry Board, of which Falkirk Council is a key partner, was established in 2020 in recognition of this. The Board brings together public sector leaders in order to unlock potential investment that boosts the economic development, innovation, and competitiveness of the site, with decarbonisation and just transition at the heart of everything it does. Just Transition has been a topic of Board discussions during the last year, and minutes of these meetings can be found on the Scottish Government’s website.

The Board’s focus has been on the best ways to support the delivery of a Just Transition for the industrial cluster as a whole. Delivering a successful Just Transition will require the input of all who will be affected. The Grangemouth Future Industry Board will be engaging with both industry and wider interest groups across the coming year to understand how to support the delivery of a Just Transition for the industrial cluster in a way that positively benefits all of those involved.

The remit for the Just Transition Commission set by the Scottish Government tasks them with “undertaking meaningful engagement with those most likely to be impacted by the transition, hearing from a broad range of representative voices and advising on how to ensure these can shape and contribute to just transition planning work in Scotland.” The Commission is independent of Government and will be responsible for setting out a work plan that fulfils the remit they have been given.

To further ensure a range of voices are heard in the Commission’s work, the membership announced on 15 December brings together a broad range of expertise and experience. This includes those with a background in industry, trade unions and environmental organisations, with collective expertise in areas such as gender equalities, community empowerment, economic development and worker support.

The Scottish Government does not hold information centrally on Local Authority workforce data or vacancies.

Our current advice on vitamin D supplementation is based on the consensus of the scientific evidence, as presented to all UK nations by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN).

On 19 June 2021, SACN published a paper summarising the monitoring of recent evidence on nutrition and COVID-19. It is available at

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/992875/SACN_Process_for_monitoring_evidence_on_nutrition_and_COVID-19__June21_.pdf.

SACN concluded that, to date, the monitoring exercise had not identified any new trials in relation to vitamin D and COVID-19 that would change current dietary advice or require the re-review of the rapid guideline published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Public Health England and SACN on 17 December 2020. The rapid guideline states:

• people should continue to follow existing advice on vitamin D supplementation to maintain bone and muscle health
• there is currently not enough evidence to support taking vitamin D solely to prevent or treat COVID-19

The rapid guideline is available at https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG187

The UK COVID-19 Therapeutic Advisory Panel (UK C-TAP) is continuing to monitor ongoing COVID-19 related Vitamin D trials. I understand the SACN secretariat is in contact with the NICE surveillance team and officials supporting UK C-TAP to ensure complementary approaches. Evidence on vitamin D in relation to COVID-19 is also being monitored by the multi-agency initiative ‘Research to Access Pathway for Investigational Drugs in COVID-19’.

We will continue to look to NICE and others who are closely monitoring this evidence base.