Chamber and committees

The Review of Purpose Built Student Accommodation has now concluded. The recommendations from the review are currently being considered by the Scottish Government. We will write to the group members on proposed next steps shortly.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the restoration of 250,000 hectares of degraded Scottish peatlands by 2030. Earlier this year the First Minister’s policy prospectus ‘New Leadership - A Fresh Start’, reaffirmed this commitment with an interim target -promising to deliver up to 110,000 hectares of restored peatland by 2026.

As well as our commitment of £250 million of funding over ten years, through our Private Investment in Natural Capital programme, we are working to attract increased private investment in peatland restoration as a nature-based solution for climate change and biodiversity loss.

A Tripartite Alignment Group has been established to foster close, partnership working between the Scottish Government, the Scottish Funding Council and Colleges Scotland.

The purpose of this group is to focus on urgent pressures facing colleges and put in place the building blocks to tackle more complex, systemic issues which will be the subject of the wider programme of reform expressed through the Withers Review and underpinned by the Purpose and Principles.

Following on from recommendations made in recent reviews, the Scottish Government has also set out in the Programme for Government its intention to lead the development of a new funding model for post-school education provision. We will work closely with colleges, and others, in determining how we can use funding allocations to deliver improved outcomes.

On 28 June 2023, the Scottish Government published the Purpose and Principles for post-school education, research and skills setting out our long-term vision for the system and the outcomes that we want to achieve. This includes our focus on delivering a system that is financially and environmentally resilient, trusted to deliver, and subject to effective governance. In the Initial Priorities Paper that accompanied the Purpose and Principles we acknowledged that reform of current funding arrangements is needed to realise this ambition.

Drawing on the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape, the Scottish Government has committed in the 2023 -24 Programme for Government to lead development of a new funding model for post-school education and skills provision alongside setting out plans for implementing reform of our education and skills bodies. The Scottish Government are committed to continuing to work closely with colleges throughout the development and implementation of our programme of reforms to ensure that the changes that we put in place will deliver enhanced outcomes for people and places across Scotland.

We welcome Audit Scotland’s report on Scotland’s colleges. It recognises the opportunities coming from reform of post-school education, as signalled in the Purpose and Principles for Post-School Education, Research and Skills published on 28 June 2023, which can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/post-school-education-research-skills-purpose-principles/ .

Data on the Care Experienced Bursary for Higher Education (HE) students for 2023-24 academic year (AY) is not yet available. In the 2022-23 academic year 75 HE students with addresses in Aberdeen City local authority received the Care Experienced Bursary. In the same academic year 1,840 HE students throughout Scotland received the Care Experienced Bursary.

Data on the Care Experienced Bursary for Further Education (FE) students for 2022-23 academic year is not yet available. In the 2021-22 academic year 150 FE students at North East Scotland College received the Care Experienced Bursary. In the same academic year 3,890 FE students throughout Scotland received the Care Experienced Bursary. 

The Accounts Commission and Audit Scotland are statutorily responsible for the scrutiny of local authority performance and financial management in Scotland.

As part of the annual accounts audit process, Audit Scotland or its appointed auditors will assess and report their findings with regards to the financial management and sustainability of a local authority.

In addition, Audit Scotland also audit and report their findings on the statutory duty of local authorities to secure Best Value, which includes the requirement to ensure financial sustainability. Best Value audit reports are scrutinised by both the Accounts Commission and the Scottish Ministers.

Scottish councils have been treated fairly throughout UK imposed austerity but we do recognise the challenging environment they face and that is why we are committed to a New Deal with Local Government in order to ensure the sustainability of local services.

The Scottish Government remains committed to achieving its target to restore 250,000 hectares of peatland by 2030.

The Scottish Government remains committed to funding peatland restoration and also has an obligation to balance the budget each year. Annual spending plans are based on delivery forecasts and budget requirements from our delivery partners which inform the annual Budget process. The pipeline of work changes from year to year and so, therefore, does our allocated budget.

Health Boards are responsible for managing the NHS estate and the issues with RAAC were communicated to them by Health Facilities Scotland at least as early as November 2019. A national survey programme was established to provide additional assurance that all instances of RAAC in the NHS estate are known, that the condition of the RAAC has been properly assessed and that appropriate management plans are in place. The Scottish Government will support Health Boards through this process.

Scotland’s Health Board’s operate their own escalation policy for the management of whole system capacity that includes well established processes with locally agreed trigger points. We believe Health Boards are best placed to judge what reasonable measures should be taken to maintain a safe service and ensuring patient safety.

The Winter Plan for 2023-24 seeks to provide a whole system approach to mitigate pressures that will be experienced over the course of winter. We know that this winter will present a sustained period of pressure for Health and Social Care services and we are committed to supporting local systems to ensure that appropriate levels of care are delivered at the right time.

It also reflects and recognises the complex landscape of Health and Social Care and articulates the actions that are being taken now to create capacity within the system and support resilience over the course of winter 2023-24.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with health boards and partners to support preparations for this coming winter.