Chamber and committees

Through the 2023-24 Affordable Housing Supply Programme we are investing £752 million to support local authority strategic housing priorities, including accessible housing. All new build properties which are delivered directly by councils and social landlords should, as a minimum, meet the ‘basic’ requirement within the Housing for Varying Needs Design guide. This guide incorporates the ‘barrier free’ concept of accessibility and is a key reference document for the affordable housing sector in Scotland.

We support registered social landlords to undertake adaptations to their properties, and in 2023-24 we are making available £11 million for this purpose. Adaptations in Glasgow and Edinburgh are funded separately within those local authorities’ Affordable Housing Supply Programme allocations as part of the Transfer of the Management of Development Funding arrangements.

We continue to take forward our commitments to improving the accessibility and adaptability of new homes in Scotland. Work to review and update the Housing for Varying Needs design guide, applicable to homes delivered with support through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, remains in progress. This will inform the development of a new Scottish Accessible Homes Standard which we expect to be implemented through changes to building standards from 2025-26 and would apply to the delivery of all new homes, regardless of tenure.

As we set out in our commitment in Housing to 2040 we are taking forward a review of the current housing adaptations system and will make recommendations on how best to improve and streamline the system and maximise the impact of investment.

In my statement to Parliament on  5th December 2023, I reiterated my commitment to streamline funding for colleges, universities and apprenticeships. As a first step, this means bringing together funding for student support into one place and funding for apprenticeships into one place.

The Scottish Government will provide further detail shortly.

CalMac Ferries Ltd have recently provided detail in relation to cancelled and additional sailings beyond 16 May 2023. This will now be reviewed by Transport Scotland. Once reviewed and agreed it will be for CalMac as the operator to publish this information. As a matter of course Transport Scotland would not normally publish this information.

As part of the expected monthly reporting, we have not received carrying figures. Transport Scotland would not normally publish such information.

CalMac Ferries Ltd publish indicative performance figures for all the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service (CHFS) routes, and we would expect that the verified Contractual Performance figures from May 2023 will be published in due course and can be located on CalMac website: CalMac Performance Data Browser | CalMac Ferries .

The Scottish Government remains deeply concerned about the new UK visa changes and the impact on Scotland’s ability to attract international students.

The Scottish Government will launch a Talent Attraction and Migration Service in 2024. The service will help address Scotland's demographic challenges and will attract and welcome more workers from outside Scotland, including the rest of the UK, with the skills that our economy needs.

The service will provide immigration support for employers, including our universities and colleges, based in Scotland and for those wishing to set up in Scotland, to enable them to use the UK’s immigration system effectively and efficiently to help meet Scotland’s skills and labour needs.

The service will also cater to immigration queries from people whose leave is about to expire and to international students approaching the end of their studies who wish to remain in Scotland and seek employment with a Scotland-based employer.

We have also recently launched our International Education Strategy which sets out steps we will take to work collaboratively with the sector to support international students to study in Scotland.

As immigration is a complex legal area, students may wish to seek professional advice, as the Scottish Government cannot provide legal or immigration advice. An immigration advisor can be found through the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner which regulates immigration advice and services.

We remain deeply concerned that the new UK Government visa restrictions will make Scotland a less attractive destination for international students. We are working closely with the sector to minimise impact.

Universities in Scotland are autonomous bodies with responsibility for teaching, assessment and academic and student support.

The Scottish Government will, throughout February 2024, undertake consultation events with members of the Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Working Group on a draft Student Mental Health Action Plan.

The draft Plan recognises the critical importance of early intervention and prevention, ensuring effective access to a diverse range of community-based clinical and non-clinical services, and providing timely clinical acute care for those who require it. It sets out our expectations for institutions on supporting student mental health and wellbeing and how Scottish Government will work with them and the wider public sector.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting school leavers and return learners to access career support services to fulfil their potential. The national all age careers service, led by Skills Development Scotland, ensures that everyone has access to quality careers information and advice that supports individuals to make informed decisions regarding career options.

Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of teaching staff. The Scottish Government will continue to support local authorities to assist them in being able to recruit to their teaching workforce, including teachers of Physical Education.

The Scottish Government has urged the UK Government to adopt an inclusive approach to family migration to ensure that those with caring responsibilities are not excluded from our education institutions. Scotland must be able to attract and retain talent without excessive barriers and migration policy should support mobility, collaboration and innovation.

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice wrote to the new Home Secretary on the 22 December, highlighting Scotland’s distinct demographic needs and requested a meeting to discuss our concerns.

UK Government immigration policies fail to address Scotland’s distinct demographic and economic needs and highlights the need for a tailored approach to migration. We are working closely with colleges and universities in Scotland to establish the impact that the UK Government’s damaging migration policies have on the sector.

Under the UK Government’s latest migration restrictions, as of 1 January 2024, most international students will no longer be able to bring family members with them to the UK. It is too early to assess the specific impact these changes are having, but we know the significant concerns that universities have about the anticipated effects on the numbers of international students coming to Scotland.

The UK Government frames family migration as a burden. The Scottish Government takes a different view. Scotland is encouraging people to live, work and raise their families here, in light of the pronounced demographic challenge ahead.