Chamber and committees

Scottish Government support for islands, and progress made towards delivery of the National Islands Plan, including strategic objectives one, two and three, is recorded in our annual report, presented to parliament each year. The first of these was the National Islands Plan: annual report 2020 , published 23 March 2021. The most recent report was the National Islands Plan: annual report 2021 , published 23 March 2022.

Furthermore, within the National Islands Plan, Scottish Government committed to publishing a detailed Implementation Route Map that addresses each of the 13 Strategic Objectives and accompanying commitments listed in the Plan.

The Implementation Route Map details how we will deliver our priorities over the lifetime of the National Islands Plan. It identifies the methods we will use to monitor progress towards fulfilling the many commitments in the NIP and sets out how we’ll deliver our work over the short, medium and long-term.

We recognise the challenges faced by the third sector in the current cost crisis and we will ensure the sector is not excluded from any financial support made available to the public or private sectors.

We have asked the UK Government to take key actions without delay. These include freezing energy prices at their current level for households, businesses and the public and third sectors.

We are aware of the recent announcement by the UK Government around the Energy Price Guarantee for households and businesses. We await further detail but this must include all types of third sector organisations too.

While the UK Government’s long anticipated Energy Price Guarantee is welcome and may limit the impact of the energy price crisis on some organisations, this announcement has come too late for many third sector organisations across Scotland who are already struggling to pay bills.

It is vitally important that the review on identifying 'vulnerable non domestic customers' is accelerated and those in need should be offered guaranteed support past March 2023.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10239 on‎ 7 September 2022 which shows there has been no spend under Mortgage to Shared Equity (MTSE) during the last six years. The most recent MTSE application was in 2015. The table below shows the total and average spend under MTSE and the number of MTSE cases that settled between 2010-11 and 2015-16.

Under the Mortgage to Rent scheme, the Scottish Government subsidise up to 60% of the property value. The total grant includes the purchase subsidy and the cost of repairs required to bring the property up to the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. Further details on how subsidies are calculated can be found in the linked guidance HOSFGN/005 . The following table shows the total and average subsidy paid by the Scottish Government to Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) for each year of operation of Mortgage to Rent.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03196 on 29 September 2021. 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
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Scottish Government Framework Agreements include pricing clauses which may differ depending on the products and services being procured.

The majority of our frameworks have fixed prices for the duration of the agreements, therefore providing a degree of protection from inflationary pressures.

Where the frameworks do not include fixed prices for the duration of the agreement, any potential price increases, as a result of inflationary pressures, will be addressed in accordance with the framework terms and conditions.

The Scottish Government is reviewing its framework agreements to assess likely price increases, where applicable.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children who grow up in Scotland feel safe and protected. We recognise that where children and young people demonstrate harmful behaviour, the victims of their actions are often children themselves.

In June 2021 we published our Vision for youth justice in Scotland. The Vision sets out our priorities for young people who come into conflict with the law, including continuing to ensure that children, young people and their families are supported at an early stage through early intervention and preventative approaches in order to address the child’s needs and the circumstances which have led to their harmful conduct. This also includes priorities around how best to support child victims, such as improving support and information for child victims and their families, whilst respecting data protection and confidentiality, and ensuring support is trauma-informed and meets the needs of victims. We continue to work with partners to deliver the priorities within the Vision and to deliver a preventative approach which improves life chances for young people and which has seen dramatic changes in the youth justice sector.

We are also committed to preventing all types of harmful sexual behaviour and sexual offending involving children and young people. Collaborative work with statutory and third sector organisations across Scotland is underway to drive forward action in this area including initiatives to prevent children from becoming involved in harmful sexual behaviour through the publication of resources along with continued funding of services offering support.

We continue to implement the proposals from the Expert Group on Preventing Sexual Offending Involving Children and Young People and develop harmful sexual behaviour policy.

Scottish Canals has benefitted from significant increases in grant in aid awards in recent years. Since 2019, the Organisation’s capital grant from the Scottish Government has increased by 87% and it has received an annual uplift in resource funding since 2020. The Organisation has also received substantial additional funding support. A breakdown of the funding is attached in the following table.

The national frameworks for the Supply of Electricity and Supply of Natural Gas wholesale volumes are bought up to 2½ years in advance in tranches, following a proven ‘hedging’ purchasing strategy overseen by a cross-sectoral Risk Management Committee. The Committee comprises senior managers representing procurement, finance and energy management interests.

Whilst energy prices have risen to unprecedented levels because of global influences, the Scottish Government purchasing strategy has mitigated some of the increases. As an illustration, if we were to seek a fixed price today on the wholesale market for Electricity and Gas for 2022-2023, it would be more than double the contract prices that the Scottish Government framework currently enjoys.

We have had no discussions with the Sheriffs Principal regarding the Management of Summary Cause Proceedings Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 guidance note prior to its publication on 1 July 2022. The courts and judiciary are independent of Government. As such the Government has no role in the development of guidance issued by Sheriffs Principal. It is up to the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service itself to assess the business case for any changes it makes.