- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 5 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has provided to North Ayrshire Council for the construction of new council housing in each year from 2011-2012 to 2021-22, and how much it will provide in each year from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
Answer
he Scottish Government Council House Build Programme was introduced in April 2009, the aim being to incentivise local authorities to build new homes. This was the first such central government support to councils in a generation.
The following table shows the funding provided to North Ayrshire Council through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) for council house building since 2011-2012 to 2021-22.
Financial Year | Funding provided through the AHSP £m |
2011-12 | 1.070 |
2012-13 | 0.929 |
2013-14 | 1.827 |
2014-15 | 3.756 |
2015-16 | 1.613 |
2016-17 | 6.255 |
2017-18 | 5.169 |
2018-19 | 7.640 |
2019-20 | 13.175 |
2020-21 | *15.768 |
2021-22 | *6.973 |
Total | 64.175 |
*Funding for 2020-21 will be confirmed in the Annual Out-turn Report for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme which will be published around the end of the calendar year.
*Funding for 2021-22 is based on planned investment.
The Resource Planning Assumptions for all local authority areas have been published for 2021 - 2026 and can be found here
https://www.gov.scot/publications/affordable-housing-resource-planning-assumptions-to-councils-2021-2022-to-2025-2026/.
Figures for future years planned council house build investment, have not been agreed however North Ayrshire Council’s current Strategic Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) for 2021-2026 which sets out their strategic priorities for affordable housing over a 5 year period, is available on their website (link attached) Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2021 - 2026 (north-ayrshire.gov.uk) . This document is reviewed annually and we are currently awaiting their Strategic Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) for 2022/2027. It should be noted that the SHIP is a moveable document and planned figures are subject to change throughout the course of a financial year.
A more comprehensive annual breakdown by local authority and programme type, including expenditure, is made available each year in the published Scottish Government Affordable Housing Supply Programme Out-turn Reports.
Out-turn reports can be accessed using the following link: https://www.gov.scot/policies/more-homes/affordable-housing-supply/ .
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 5 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what the rate of manufacture and supply is of interlinked fire alarms.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not have information of the rate of manufacture of interlinked fire alarms. We are aware that, following our successful public awareness campaign, there is significant public interest in carrying out work to comply with the new standard for fire alarms in all Scottish homes. It is, therefore, possible, that some retailers will have short term supply issues. We are also aware that some manufacturers are dependent on import of components, and that has been affected by Brexit, and this may also have affected their production. However, we have been assured by manufacturers that there is a sufficient supply of alarms available to meet the expected demand by 1 February 2022, when the new standard comes into force.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 5 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the £1 million funding provided though the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service over the period 2018-20 to install fire and smoke alarms that are compliant with the new standard in the homes of people assessed to be at high risk from fire as part of a home fire safety visit, how much of the funding has been spent, and whether any remaining funding has been reallocated to current or future schemes for the same purpose.
Answer
In relation to the funding provided to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service from Scottish Government, all of the funding was spent in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial year.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 4 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to increase the number of students studying pharmacy at Scottish universities and colleges, in light of the reported shortage of pharmacists.
Answer
There has been an increase in the overall numbers of students studying pharmacy with more Scottish domiciled students undertaking the course. In 2020/21 there was an increase of 51 undergraduate students accepted in to first year and again an increase of 53 undergraduate pharmacy students in 2021/22.
The two Schools of Pharmacy in Scotland are encouraging applicants from parts of Scotland where there are gaps in the pharmacy workforce and working with schools to promote pharmacy as a career.
The Scottish Government continues to work with NHS National Education for Scotland and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in developing a joint programme to encourage more students, and not just school leavers, to consider careers in pharmacy .
- Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 4 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the University of Dundee about Unite the Union's industrial action over its position that proposed pension changes will disproportionately affect workers on lower pay grades.
Answer
Since August, I have both corresponded and spoken with the Principal at the University of Dundee on a number of occasions to reiterate the need to continue negotiations with all three trade unions involved in this industrial action.
The most recent conversation was on 28 October.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 4 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a bid in place for the purchase of Glasgow Prestwick Airport, and if so, whether it is lower in value than previous bids made.
Answer
The process to return Glasgow Prestwick Airport to the private sector continues and decisions have still to be taken in relation to the prospective sale of the business.
We have committed to updating Parliament on the sale process at the appropriate stage and to protect the integrity of the process we will not be making any further comment at this time.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 4 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the police and industry to eradicate drink spiking and spiking by injection to ensure safety in nightclubs and other social settings.
Answer
The act of ‘spiking’ women is absolutely abhorrent and the Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to working with partners to tackle this unacceptable behaviour.
I chaired an urgent roundtable with partners and representatives from across the sector on Thursday 4 November, including from police and industry, to discuss how we can achieve the right balance of targeted and universal intervention to ensure the safety of the public.
Our Equally Safe Strategy sets out Scotland’s ambition to tackle and eradicate all forms of violence against women and we will continue to implement this with a clear and decisive focus on primary prevention of violence. We are dedicating resources to tackling attitudes and inequality within every space for women and girls.
- Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Ash Regan on 4 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment at paragraph 9.14 of its Family Justice Modernisation Strategy, published on 3 September 2019, to give further consideration to amending the Child Abduction Act 1984 and to the procedure for obtaining formal consent, proving consent and corroboration of evidence, what further work it will carry out in relation to the strategy.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to working to improve the family justice system in Scotland, as set out in the 2019 Family Justice Modernisation Strategy. However, since this Strategy was published, a number of areas of work across the Scottish Government were paused to enable an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst also ensuring core services remained operational. As we move towards recovery from the pandemic, the Scottish Government will prepare an update on the Strategy and look at how best to take forward actions in the Strategy which remain outstanding, including whether amendments are required to the Child Abduction Act 1984.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 4 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it still plans to sell Glasgow Prestwick Airport to the private sector.
Answer
The process to return Glasgow Prestwick Airport to the private sector continues and decisions have still to be taken in relation to the prospective sale of the business.
We have committed to updating Parliament on the sale process at the appropriate stage.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 4 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the funding allocated to the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme will be sufficient to meet its ambitions for the deployment of heat networks.
Answer
The Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 has set out ambitious targets for heat network deployment, requiring 2.6 terawatt hours of output by 2027 and 6 terawatt hours by 2030.
To help meet these targets, the Scottish Government will invest £400 million over the next five years in large-scale heat decarbonisation infrastructure through the successor scheme to the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP). However, we cannot rely on public investment alone to fund the development of low carbon heat networks in Scotland and government support must be used to leverage private investment into heat networks if the targets are to be met. The LCITP provided grants for up to 50% of project capital costs with the remainder being match funded and the successor programme is likely to take a similar approach. Financial mechanisms such as the Green Growth Accelerator will also be key in stimulating investment.
The regulatory system laid out within the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act will play an important role in boosting confidence in the sector and providing greater certainty for investors. For example, the Act provides for the award of Heat Network Permits which will provide investors greater assurance over the potential customer base available, helping lower investment cost.
Detail on how we will meet the ambitious heat network targets will be provided in the Heat Networks Delivery Plan, which we will publish for consultation in due course.