Chamber and committees

The role of the Scottish Government is to monitor each of the three deposit schemes for compliance. This includes being satisfied that the tenancy deposit schemes have clear and substantial processes in place that meet the requirements laid out in the regulations.

The three approved tenancy deposit schemes are private businesses and the Scottish Government is not involved in their business operations. We do not hold information on the salary bands of the Chief Executives.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16686 on 28 April 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

As non-executive directors (NXDs) are not employees of the Scottish Government but appointees of the Permanent Secretary, they are remunerated through the payment of quarterly Fees as opposed salaries. Alongside receiving quarterly Fees for their services, NXDs are also entitled to be reimbursed for relevant travel and accommodation expenses in line with the Scottish Government’s Travel and Subsistence policy.

Remuneration of NXD Fees and Expenses in each year since 2016:

The SFC’s Fiscal Sustainability Report is an important contribution to the debate on fiscal sustainability and highlights potential impacts of demographic change on the Scottish public finances over the next fifty years. These challenges are not unique to Scotland, and are prevalent in many high-income countries. However, Scotland lacks a full range of levers to deal with these in the way that other countries can, particularly over migration.

Within the powers at its disposal, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the public finances are on a sustainable trajectory. This will mean growing our economy and by extension our tax base, and embedding delivery and value for money at the heart of our public services. Central to this will be overseeing public service reform, focused on delivering more efficient, person-centred public services. The Fiscal Framework review will also be vital and must ensure the Scottish Government and Parliament has the necessary powers to manage the risks we face within our devolved responsibilities, and to support economic recovery. The Scottish Government’s approach to managing the public finances over the medium-term is set out in the Medium Term Financial Strategy, due to be published in May 2023.

In 2023 we will also launch a new Talent Attraction and Migration Service for Scotland, and publish an Addressing Depopulation Action Plan. And we will continue to press the UK Government to make the vital immigration reforms required to meet Scotland’s needs.

While the Scottish Government will continue to manage the public finances diligently with the powers we have, it is our view that the current constitutional settlement is insufficient to properly tackle the long-term challenges that Scotland faces. Ultimately, Scotland must be independent with full control over the economy and powers over migration to secure the stability of our public finances.

All reports of food crime received by Food Standards Scotland are investigated and appropriate action is taken. For matters out with Food Standards Scotland's remit they will be disseminated to partner agencies for their consideration.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of SafeDeposits Scotland customers who were impacted by the implementation of the new system.

The cost of identified maintenance and repair work at Inverclyde Royal Hospital and University Hospital Crosshouse is approximately £102 million and £31 million respectively.

A review of the tenancy deposit schemes was undertaken at the end of 2018. It was clear from the findings that the current regulations continued to provide a robust regulatory and operational framework.

Following the review a number of revisions to the operating procedures were made under The Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019 . The schemes submitted revised procedures in October 2019 and were reapproved in November 2019.

There have been no further significant changes to the revised scheme or original proposal referred to the Scottish Government for approval. Any considered changes would be discussed as part of routine monitoring discussions.

The Scottish Government recognises the impact on housing delivery of the ongoing challenges with price inflation, materials and labour in the construction sector and is working closely with the construction industry and housing partners to mitigate this where possible.

We are pleased that housebuilding completions in the latest year to end September 2022 are at their highest annual rate since 2008, up 10% on the previous year, to 22,905 homes. We are also pleased that the number of affordable homes delivered in Scotland in the latest year to end December 2022 is above the pre-pandemic year 2019, and that Scotland continues to lead the way in the delivery of affordable housing across the UK with 118,124 affordable homes delivered from April 2007 to December 2022, and 83,291 of these for social rent.

SafeDeposits Scotland has a duty to provide a quarterly performance report of the scheme’s performance measured against the key performance indicators (KPIs) in the Schedule to the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011 .

The latest quarterly performance report indicates all KPIs have been met, with the average call response time was 12 seconds and email response time was 8 minutes.