Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00570 on
21 June 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Since 2016, the Scottish Government has invested around
£39 million in peatland restoration through the Peatland Action programme (delivered by NatureScot) and the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme under the Scottish Rural Development Programme. The annual figures are shown in the following table:

The Scottish Government is progressing wide reform of the planning system, including implementation of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019; preparation of Scotland’s fourth National Planning Framework; a review of permitted development rights and a programme of digital transformation of planning services, with a focus on efficient processes, delivering good quality development and positive outcomes.

The criteria for analysing national developments was published in January 2020 as part of our Call for Ideas early engagement programme. The four criteria are: reducing emissions; supporting health, wellbeing, sustainability and quality of life of our population; reducing poverty and inequality through sustainable economic growth; and protecting or enhancing quality of place.

We are currently assessing the national developments suggested to us against those criteria alongside the development of the strategy, which national developments will help to deliver. We are also undertaking a range of statutory and non-statutory impact assessments which will inform our consideration. The draft National Planning Framework 4, including details of proposed national developments, will be laid in Parliament in autumn 2021. Extensive public engagement will run alongside Parliament’s consideration of the draft and will provide further opportunity for anyone to comment on the proposed national developments, or alternatives to them.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00713 on
23 June 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

We are committed to establishing a National Care Service and will launch a full and comprehensive public consultation within the first 100 days of this Parliament. The consultation will allow stakeholders and members of the public from all parts of Scotland an opportunity to give their views in advance of legislation being written. The National Care Service will oversee the delivery of care, improve standards, ensure enhanced pay and conditions for workers and provide better support for unpaid carers.

Scottish Government annual statistics on the number of household applicants on local authority or common housing register lists as at the end of March each year from 2001 to 2019 are published at

https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-scotland-2019-key-trends-summary/ , with detailed local authority level Excel tables available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-management-of-local-authority-housing/ .

More recent figures as at March 2020 are not yet available due to a delay in the publication of annual housing statistics for 2020 due to the impacts of COVID-19 on data provision and staff resourcing.

The annual statistics figures are sourced from local authority data returns that provide information on the number of applicants on local authority or common housing register lists (excluding stock transfer authorities), and will include households using choice based lettings where the application details registered as part of these schemes are considered to form part of the main housing register. Some applicants will be on more than one waiting list, and therefore the total figures presented will include an unidentifiable level of multiple counting of applicants.

Separate survey based estimates of the proportion of households on housing lists or using choice based letting are published as part of the Scottish Government Scottish Household Survey outputs, with local authority level figures available in Tables 3.18a and 3.18b at https://scotland.shinyapps.io/sg-scottish-household-survey-data-explorer/ . Note that the Scottish Household Survey figures are based on the proportion of households reporting to be on any type of housing list, which will include housing association lists as well as council lists.

The Scottish Household Survey figures are subject to sampling variation, especially at a local authority level, however the results are not subject to any double counting issues. In addition the figures cover all local authorities, including stock transfer authorities, so they provide the most reliable national level estimates available.

The published figures for the number of households on housing lists or using choice based lettings equate to an estimated number of households as presented in the following table.

Note that the Scottish Household Survey figures in Table 1 include households who are already living in the social rented sector who are looking to transfer to another social rented home, as well as households looking to move into social rented properties from other housing tenures.

Table 1: Scottish Household Survey: Estimated number of households on a housing list, 2013 to 2019.

(Figures for 2013 to 2016 include households on a housing list. Figures for 2017 to 2019 include households either on a housing list or who are seeking social housing using choice based lettings)

The Scottish Government places great importance on the range of services Arms Length External Organisations (ALEOS) provide and believes everyone should have access to these services as we move towards recovery. However, as independent corporate bodies it is for local authorities to decide when and what services will be offered, and it is for the locally elected representatives to make these decisions. It is also the responsibility of individual local authorities to assess the financial viability of their own ALEOS.

The Scottish Government for our part have allocated Scotland's local authorities an additional £1.5 billion in direct support through the local government finance settlement and councils have also been granted additional financial flexibilities to address the financial pressures caused by COVID-19.

Furthermore, the 2021-22 Local Government Settlement of almost £11.7 billion provides a cash increase in local government day to day spending for local revenue services of £375.6 million or 3.5 per cent.

Consideration of potential improvements to strategic transport infrastructure across the whole of Scotland continues to be undertaken through the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2). This work addresses the Scottish Government’s commitment within the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, for Transport Scotland to progress the evidence base for extending the Borders Railway, as well as considering the case for all other potential strategic transport improvements for the area.

STPR2 will create the evidence basis for future transport investment decisions by the Scottish Government for the next 20 years. It will conclude later this year, with publication of recommendations for investment and an appropriate statutory consultation period.

The Scottish Government does not presently provide funding specifically for Build to Rent developers and operators, and therefore there is no budget line allocated for this purpose.