Chamber and committees

Apprenticeships in Scotland are demand-led, and our apprenticeship system aims to be as responsive to industry demand as it can be. Any new Modern Apprenticeship (MA) frameworks created would be as a result of sufficient demand from employers for a new MA and a clear indication that an MA is the right training route. Skills Development Scotland (SDS) work with industry to assess the level of demand and can support the development of new apprenticeship frameworks where required.

There is no time limit for accessing Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) in Scotland. Any individual over the age of 16 can start an MA at any point in their career. Skills Development Scotland provide funding contributions which depend on the type of apprenticeship, the qualification level and the age of the apprentice, however there is no specific time limit on funding available.

Scotland has led the UK in providing affordable housing. We are making £3.5 billion available in this Parliamentary term, towards the delivery of more affordable and social homes. An estimated 3,480 households with children have been helped into affordable housing in the year to March 2023.

We also know that many victims of domestic abuse will have particular housing and support needs, and that is why we are also firmly committed to implementing the social housing tenancy related provisions at Part 2 of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 and aim to bring these provisions into force by early 2024, subject to the necessary rules and forms of court also being in place.

As part of the Homelessness Prevention Duties we propose to make it a legal requirement for social landlords to develop and implement a domestic abuse housing policy which outlines how they will support their tenants who are experiencing domestic abuse.

The Scottish Government has had no discussions with the Scottish Housing Regulator about allocation rules for the victims of domestic abuse. The legal framework for social housing allocations in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Government. The Social Housing Allocations Practice Guide for social landlords published by the Scottish Government is clear that landlords should consider giving a high level of priority to anyone who is experiencing domestic abuse.

Those opting to take part in an apprenticeship are employed by various organisations across Scotland. Therefore, it is at the discretion of individual employers in regards to placement opportunities available outside of Scotland and the rest of the UK.

The Scottish Government has committed to developing a Scottish Education Exchange Programme to support the international mobility of staff and learners. It is our aspiration for this programme to support apprenticeship training under the vocational education and training stream.

We are working with stakeholders to develop and will undertake a test and learn pilot for the Scottish Education Exchange Programme in 2023-2024. We will share additional information in due course.

The latest data published by Public Health Scotland (13 June 2023) suggests that referrals to a chronic pain clinic are now back to levels seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the quarter ending 31 March 2023, 5,049 patients were referred, an increase of 5.5% on the previous quarter, when 4,787 patients were referred. Referrals are up by 4.3% compared to a year earlier, when there were 4,839 during the quarter ending 31 March 2022. The number of direct encounters for GPs is typically between 1.5 million and 1.8 million per month, and analysis via statistical process chart demonstrates that there has been no change in activity outwith normal variation for the period of March 2021 to April 2023.

Through the ‘Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery – Implementation Plan’ we are promoting a more consistent approach to specialist services in each Health Board; we have invested in a new Pain Service Managers’ Network. This group is working through shared issues faced by specialist pain services such as resourcing and financial challenges and identifying opportunities to solve these through sharing of best practice and different ways of working. We have also established a national working group to make recommendations on how to reduce variation in the support that is provided in different local areas and improve how care for people with chronic pain is coordinated across community, primary and specialist services.

Additionally, we have carried out a review of the Scottish National Residential Pain Management Programme to help remobilise the service impacted during the pandemic, improve the quality of referrals from local Health Boards, and continue to explore how to widen access to highly specialist care from across Scotland. Funding for this service from the Scottish Government is over £600,000 this financial year 2023-24.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20107 on 8 August 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

The Scottish Government will provide general advice to support homeowners, but it cannot provide legal advice and it cannot become involved in disputes between parties.

All registered property factors must adhere to the conditions set out in the statutory Code of Conduct (the Code) which sets minimum standards of practice. The Scottish Government prepared a revised Code in August 2021, which was designed to be clearer, to drive up standards, and to help homeowners to understand what they should reasonably expect from their property factor and how to hold them to account.

A homeowner who is dissatisfied with their property factor should make a complaint to their property factor. If the issue remains unresolved, the complaint can be taken to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) which can issue a legally binding property factor enforcement order, if appropriate. There is no fee to make an application to the Tribunal.

The Code highlights that homeowners have a choice in who they appoint and, ultimately, they can change their property factor if they remain dissatisfied with the service they are receiving.

This is a matter for the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration. Information regarding the outcome of appeals is included in their annual statistics which can be found here: Official Statistics - SCRA .

Page 29 of the Statistical Analysis for 2022-23 includes the following table on appeals:

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested, however, my letter to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee of 28 June 2023 provided an update on the health of the tourism sector drawn from indications taken from a number of reliable sources. This points to the outlook for Scotland’s tourism sector continuing to improve, with overseas visitor numbers almost recovering to pre-pandemic levels and accommodation occupancy rates increasing over the last year. While the macroeconomic environment is challenging, with the tourism sector being more greatly impacted than other sectors by staff shortages and the cost crisis that is reducing business confidence, there are also promising indications for recovery.

We want to see a thriving short-term let and self-catering sector in Scotland. I am therefore sorry to note that 766 self-catering businesses (around 4% of those registered to pay non-domestic rates) responded to the ASSC 48-hour poll in June indicating they were considering whether to leave the sector rather than apply for a short-term let licence. This regulation is leading the way in the UK, providing assurance to guests and visitors coming to Scotland that all short-term lets must now meet safety standards to operate. Responsible businesses are likely to already comply with the licensing conditions, many of which are existing legal requirements, and therefore a combination of wider factors are probably influencing numbers deciding to leave as well as invest in this sector. We will continue to work with stakeholders and monitor trends, as part of actions linked to our Scotland’s Outlook 2030 Strategy. We’ve also separately committed to provide implementation updates on licensing and, in 2024, will update the short-term let regulation business regulatory impact assessment.

We remain committed to bringing forward housing legislation to deliver the new deal for tenants and homelessness prevention duties. The majority of the measures being considered for inclusion in the legislation have already been subject to consultation, and we continue to engage directly with stakeholders as more detailed work progresses.

The Government’s legislative programme for the coming parliamentary year will be announced in the autumn Programme for Government in the normal way.

Specifically on the regulatory regime for property factors, the Code of Conduct (the Code) is key to encouraging transparency and setting minimum standards of practice for registered property factors to comply with. Following a full public consultation, a revised Code was introduced in August 2021. The changes ensured that the Code remains up to date and responds to concerns raised by homeowners.