Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-29198 on 5 September 2024. 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.

Scottish Water states the annual leakage level in its annual report and accounts, laid before Parliament and published online at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/about-us/who-we-are/annual-report

The Scottish Government Integrity Group permanent membership, as per its Terms of Reference, is as follows:

• The Head of Counter Fraud Profession (Chair)
• Strategic Lead, Risk, Control & Assurance Division
• Propriety and Ethics
• The Head of Finance Programme Management
• The Chief Information Security Officer
• A nominated HR representative
• A nominated Scottish Government Legal Directorate (SGLD) advisor
• A nominated Internal Audit representative.

The strategy, Protecting Public Resources in Scotland, is due to be updated with the 2024-25 objectives for planned continual improvement in Counter Fraud within Scottish Government and the public sector. The strategy remains extant in its current form. Current collaboration and engagement includes the following stakeholders/partners:

• The Public Sector Fraud Authority – UK Government
• The International Public Sector Fraud Forum
• The Government Counter Fraud Network – Scotland
• The Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre
• Audit Scotland
• NHS Counter Fraud Service
• Social Security Scotland Fraud & Error Resolution Unit

During the wider engagement for Protecting Public Resources in Scotland in 2015, the following stakeholders were involved and endorsed the strategy:

• Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service
• Student Awards Agency Scotland
• Audit Scotland
• The Department for Work and Pensions
• NHS National Services Scotland
• NHS Counter Fraud Services
• COSLA
• Serious Organised Crime Task Force
• Police Scotland
• Scottish Business Resilience Centre
• Scottish Public Pensions Agency
• Scottish Local Authority Investigators Group
• Scottish Local Authorities Chief Internal Auditors Group
• Revenue Scotland

As part of the planned update to the strategy, the Scottish Government will again engage with a broad stakeholder group to ensure that the strategy reflects the wider public sector and current counter fraud strategy and best practice.

The Scottish Government’s (SG) definition of fraud is found within the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM), under the section titled ‘Fraud’. The term ‘fraud’ is used to describe a wide variety of dishonest behaviour such as deception, forgery, false representation, and concealment of material facts. It is usually used to describe the act of depriving a person of something by deceit, which may involve the misuse of funds or other resources, or the supply of false information. Computer fraud covers the use of information technology equipment to manipulate programs or data dishonestly (e.g. by altering, substituting or destroying records, or creating spurious records), or where the use of an IT system was a material factor in the perpetration of a fraud.

The Scottish Government does not use a separate definition for ‘corruption’, as it is covered by its description of fraud. The general definition of ‘corruption’ describes actions that are fraudulent and carried out by those in a position of authority or control, often involving bribery. The SG has a definition for ‘bribery’, also contained with the SPFM, which aligns to the legal definition as contained within the Bribery Act 2010.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold the information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

The Scottish Government is determined to maximise the economic opportunity for the Scottish supply chain from our offshore wind potential. We expect developers to honour their commitments set out in the Supply Chain Development Statements (SCDS). The SCDS process has been carefully designed and is managed by Crown Estate Scotland (CES). Failure by developers to deliver on their commitments can trigger remedies ranging from financial penalties to an inability to progress to a seabed lease.

The Scottish Government is determined to maximise the economic opportunity for the Scottish supply chain from our offshore wind potential.

We expect developers to honour their commitments set out in the Supply Chain Development Statements (SCDS) and a process has been carefully designed and is managed by Crown Estate Scotland (CES) to hold developers to account. Failure by developers to deliver on their commitments can trigger remedies ranging from financial penalties to an inability to progress to a seabed lease.

No policy development work on this subject was undertaken by these bodies prior to the 2024 General Election. Subsequent to the General Election, the Scottish Government has engaged with the new UK Government and has made clear that GB Energy should deliver clear benefits for the people of Scotland.

As the Bill is currently passing through the UK Parliament, we do not yet know what its final provisions will be.

However the Scottish Government welcomes the objectives of the Bill as introduced, which we believe align with the policy of Scottish Ministers that a fully publicly owned and integrated railway will deliver the best service for Scotland. Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd. is required to follow this policy.

The Scotland Act 2012 introduced provisions for the UK Parliament to devolve further tax powers to the Scottish Parliament (now section 80B of the Scotland Act 1998, “Power to add new devolved taxes”).

This followed a recommendation from the Calman Commission, which stated that “we see no reason why the Scottish Parliament should not be able to legislate to create new taxes that affect the whole of Scotland uniformly and not just via local taxation, if it does so with the agreement of the whole UK Parliament”.

The specific legislative mechanism is an Order in Council which must be approved by both Houses of the UK Parliament and by the Scottish Parliament. Once approved, the Order in Council would add any new tax to the existing list of devolved taxes in the Scotland Act 1998.

Primary and secondary legislation would then be required in the Scottish Parliament for a new devolved tax to come into effect.