Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-26458 on 31 July 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The eight hub design-build-finance-maintain (DBFM) projects that had been due to reach financial close by the end of 2014-15 had not reached financial close by 31 March 2015. For project specific reasons, the Forfar Academy and Anderson High School Shetland have been allowed to progress to financial close. Elgin High School, Baldragon Academy Dundee, Newbattle High School, Kelso High School, NHS Lothian Health Centre Bundle, and Inverclyde Care Home have been affected by a combination of Eurostat and other project specific programme issues. Other hub DBFM projects due to reach financial close in the early part of the current financial year, Our Lady and St Patricks High School and Barrhead High School, have faced project specific issues and are now also affected by the need for further consideration of the implications of the review by the Office of National Statistics of the classification of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. The length and cost of any delay will only be known when contracts are signed.

Shareholders will have the right to invest subordinated debt in the same ratio as their shareholding.

The Office for National Statistics has reviewed the classification of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and the wider implications of that review are being considered by the Scottish Government and the Scottish Futures Trust.

The board of the hub design-build-finance-maintain project companies has always been privately controlled with strong public sector representation. The revised structure seeks to reinforce that position under the new Eurostat guidance.

Sixty six claims were intimated, including court actions raised, in respect of former residents of Kerelaw Residential School. Glasgow City Council paid out settlement in 30 of the cases which amounted to £223,826.95 including court expenses.

All consultations and published responses can be found on the Scottish Government website via the following link: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/.

The Scottish Government committed to scoping a survivor support service in its response to the Scottish Human Rights InterAction on 27 October 2014. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning recently announced funding of £13.5 million over the next five years to develop this service. Survivors continue to be at the centre of our development of this service which we aim to have in place by October 2015.

The Scottish Government has considered the inquiries in a number of other jurisdictions. While a number of these have awarded compensation only Ireland has awarded interim payments.

In 2009 Dumfries and Galloway awarded ex gratia payments of £20,000 each to survivors abused at Merkland school. While the Scottish Government is aware of other local authorities who negotiated payments with individual survivors, details of these payments are not available.