Chamber and committees

Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2022 report for Scotland – published on 15 th December 2022 – stated that 198,196 properties across the electoral region of the Highlands and Islands were capable of receiving a superfast broadband connection of 30 Megabits per second (Mbps) and above, with 5,824 properties unable to access speeds of 2Mbps or above.

Local authority and constituency breakdowns of those figures can be found on Ofcom’s Connected Nations interactive dashboard at https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/multi-sector-research/infrastructure-research/connected-nations-2022/interactive-report .

Similarly, independent broadband analysis website, thinkbroadband, provides up-to-date coverage percentage breakdowns for local authorities, as well as Scottish Parliamentary constituencies and regions, at https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/scotland .

The Scottish Government recognises that all recorded information relating to its business is subject to Freedom of Information law, irrespective of its format or the platform on which it is held. This includes any information held in or originally generated in Microsoft Teams or similar messaging apps. This responsibility is discharged through the relevant business units who have the responsibility for capturing this information as set out in the Scottish Government Records Management Policy

The Scottish Government recognises that overstay fees have a role to play in ensuring the public charging network is used efficiently and that bays are not occupied by a single user, and therefore unavailable to others, for extended periods of time.

Responsibility for setting tariffs and overstay charges lies with charge point owners. A shift towards a public charging network largely financed and operated by the commercial sector is necessary to grow the network at pace and improve the customer experience overall. To support that, it’s vital that the public charging network has tariffs and fees which are fair, sustainable and which enable the growth and maintenance of the network. There are 680 public charge points out of 2475 on the ChargePlace Scotland network where an overstay fee applies.

Evidence over the last 6 months shows a continued growth in usage across the ChargePlace Scotland network with increases of approximately 25% in new driver account registrations, 8% in charge sessions and 13% increase in Kwh being drawn. Statistics published by the Committee on Climate Change in 2022 highlight that the share of total new car sales in Scotland which are electric rose from approximately 8% in 2020 to 12% in 2021.

The Scottish Government has had a number of meetings with Ricardo AEA Ltd since May 2021:

• Meetings to discuss research and analysis that Ricardo AEA Ltd has been commissioned to deliver for Scottish Government: this has involved around 20 research commissions, each with regular meetings to discuss project progress and direction, to agree method and approaches and to review and sign off outputs.
• Meetings related to working groups and advisory groups to which Ricardo provides technical expertise, for example related to air quality, either convened by Scottish Government or convened by others (eg UK Government) and in which Scottish Government is a co-participant. These meetings discuss matters such as data and evidence provision, analytical methods and research dissemination.

The annual local government finance settlement consists of both revenue and capital grants and local authorities also receive additional ring-fenced funding outside the annual settlement.

In 2022-23 the General Revenue Grant funding within the annual local government finance settlement was paid in equal instalments every Wednesday throughout the year with the General Capital Grant payments being made monthly, in or around the middle of each month. All other ring-fenced funds are paid as and when required throughout the financial year.

Details of the final 2022-23 local government finance settlement are set out in the Local Government Finance Circular 3/2023 - Local government finance circular 3/2023: settlement for 2023-24 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) and the provisional funding out-with the settlement was set out in the 2022-23 Scottish Budget document Table 5.17 - Scottish Budget 2022 to 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government engages fully in the audit process and the related scrutiny. The Action Plan at Appendix 1 of the Annual Audit Report 2021-22 sets out the audit recommendations and the Scottish Government responses and agreed actions. It is the nature and timing of the audit process that there are aspects where action has already been taken and where action is in progress. The Public Audit Committee has considered the Auditor General’s report and the Permanent Secretary and relevant officials have attended a session with the Committee and responded to Committee questions.

The Scottish Government has no plans to implement a whisky tax.

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (RoS). She advises me that Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) are used in the following land and property registers held by RoS:

• Land Register
• Scottish Landlord Register
• Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land

The Scottish Energy Performance Certificate Register uses the same UPRN identifiers.

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (RoS). She advises me that Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) are used in the following land and property registers held by RoS:

• Land Register
• Scottish Landlord Register
• Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land

These registers use the same UPRN identifiers as the Scottish Energy Performance Certificate Register.

Entries held in the different registers can therefore be matched using the UPRN where it is available.

87% of titles in the Land Register have a UPRN.

95% of properties in the Scottish Landlord Register have a UPRN.

46% of land references in the Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land have a UPRN.

We are fully committed through our employment policies and procedures to support employees who experience pregnancy loss at any stage of pregnancy and our current package of support measures fully reflect the spirit and intent of the Pregnancy Loss Pledge.

This includes the terms of our bereavement policy, which include miscarriage and stillbirth, as well as through a number of sources of support for colleagues who have experienced loss including:

• guidance and support from line managers;
• HR People Advice and Wellbeing support; and
• an internal Counselling and Wellbeing Team.

Colleagues can also access the Employee Assistance Programme for external confidential support.