S6W-27913

Asked by: Regan, Ash (Alba Party - Edinburgh Eastern)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27611 by Ivan McKee on 23 May 2024, what further steps it is considering to unlock developments for economic growth and housebuilding, in light of any lengthy planning delays.

Answered by McKee, Ivan

We are taking forward a range of actions to ensure that the planning system supports economic growth and house building.

We remain committed to working collaboratively with all those with an interest in planning and housing to deliver good quality homes in the right location. We are working with industry and others to take forward a number of short-term actions, including working with SME housebuilders to understand how we can support them better, and sharing good practice on implementing Statements of Community Benefit. At a recent evidence session with the Local Government, Planning and Housing Committee, Scottish Government officials indicated that we will shortly communicate a message, following the recent legal proceedings relating to policy 16 of National Planning Framework.

The Planning Infrastructure and Place Advisory Group, was set up with the aim of driving forward joined up, place based delivery of infrastructure. The group is investigating the issues of funding and finance affecting the delivery of infrastructure in order to identify actions and solutions which could have wider applicability. The group are expected to report on findings in the near future.

We are also now working on the implementation of Masterplan Consent Areas regulations following a public consultation which closed on 22 May. MCAs are a new consenting mechanism to support place-leadership, providing certainty by bringing forward consented development-ready land, supporting economic growth.

Our consultation “Investing in Planning – A consultation on resourcing Scotland’s planning system” closed on 31 May. The consultation sought views on a range of proposals which could deliver a more proportionate and streamlined planning system in Scotland. The consultation included a proposal to establish a Planning Hub, which could provide much needed resilience for authorities and support improvements in decision making timescales.

Early findings from the consultation will be presented to the High Level Group on Planning Performance, which brings together key stakeholders who play an important role in delivering the planning system in Scotland, later this month.

The National Planning Improvement Champion (NPIC) is working with individual planning authorities to pilot a new National Planning Improvement Framework. Planning authorities will carry out a self-assessment and then work with the NPIC and others to identify areas for improvement and develop an action plan.

S6W-27988

Asked by: Burgess, Ariane (Scottish Green Party - Highlands and Islands)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is still committed to its policy to promote the translocation of beavers outside of their current range, to reduce or avoid negative impacts and help reintroduce beavers to appropriate areas of the country.

Answered by Martin, Gillian - Minister for Energy and the Environment

The Scottish Government is committed to expanding the range of beavers in Scotland to maximise the environmental, social and economic benefits that they can bring in consultation with local communities and land managers.

We appreciate that beavers can have negative impacts on agricultural land in certain circumstances. NatureScot have a range of mitigation measures that can reduce impacts and licensed control or translocation remains an option where there are no other satisfactory alternatives.

NatureScot will continue to work through the licensing process to ensure that beavers are reintroduced into appropriate areas where they can help enhance biodiversity and wider environmental gains and avoid potential negative impacts.

S6W-27972

Asked by: Carson, Finlay (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Galloway and West Dumfries)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider strengthening provisions within the Housing (Scotland) Bill to support prospective tenants in addition to those with existing tenancies.

Answered by McLennan, Paul - Minister for Housing

The Bill provides a number of rights for existing tenants and only some would relate to availability of housing which will be the main concern of prospective tenants.

The rights created in the Bill mainly apply to those who have a tenancy and there is a clear difficulty in extending those rights to prospective tenants as those rights could then apply to anyone with an interest in renting a property even if they may never take up a tenancy of the property.

S6W-27863

Asked by: Whitfield, Martin (Scottish Labour - South Scotland)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what long-term strategies are being developed to ensure the financial viability and sustainability of nurseries.

Answered by Don, Natalie - Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting a diverse, sustainable and thriving childcare sector.

For those providers in the private and third sector, including childminders, who deliver funded early learning and childcare (ELC) the payment of sustainable rates by local authorities is vital to supporting their financial sustainability and to enabling the delivery of high quality ELC. Rates have increased substantially since the implementation of the ELC expansion to 1140 hours – with the average rate paid by local authorities to providers for delivering funded ELC to 3-5 year olds increasing by 64.1% between 2017 and 2023, from £3.68 per hour in 2017-18 to £6.04 per hour in 2023-24.

However, while the average rate has increased, there remains variation in the rates paid across Scotland. That is why the Scottish Government will continue to look for opportunities to strengthen the current system, including taking forward the recommendations of the joint Scottish Government and COSLA Review of Sustainable Rates Early learning and childcare: sustainable rates review - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) , published in December 2023. The evidence-based review recommends a wide-ranging set of actions, which are currently being progressed, to strengthen the process for setting rates.

In 2024-25 the Scottish Government has provided local authorities with an additional £16 million to enable staff delivering funded ELC in the private, and third sector to be paid at least £12 per hour from April 2024. To support this commitment joint Scottish Government and COSLA guidance Funding Follows the Child and the National Standard - Funded early learning and childcare (ELC) - setting sustainable rates 2024 to 2025: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) sets out our shared commitment to increasing rates for all funded ELC providers by at least 7.6% in 2024-25.

To support the sustainability of the overall childcare sector the Scottish Government has legislated to continue the Nursery Rates Relief Scheme, which provides 100 per cent relief on Non-Domestic Rates to eligible day nurseries; made more than £35 million of dedicated financial support available to providers during the pandemic; and funded pilot programmes of targeted Business Gateway support to enable childcare providers to access tailored, specialist advice on strengthening their businesses.

As set out in Best Start: Strategic early learning and school age childcare plan for Scotland 2022-26 (careinspectorate.com) we will maintain a robust but proportionate means of monitoring the financial sustainability of the childcare sector to ensure that both national and local policy is informed by up to date evidence about the health of the sector. This includes through the Financial Sustainability Health Checks. The most recent Financial Sustainability Health Check of the Childcare Sector in Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) was published on 31 July 2023 and sets out a programme of actions, across a number of areas, to support the long-term sustainability of the sector.

S6W-27862

Asked by: Whitfield, Martin (Scottish Labour - South Scotland)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what early warning systems are in place to identify any nurseries that are at risk of closure due to financial difficulties or staffing shortages.

Answered by Don, Natalie - Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise

Under Funding Follows the Child, all nurseries who deliver funded early learning and childcare (ELC) must, as part of the criteria in the National Standard for all ELC providers Section 2: The National Standard for all Early Learning and Childcare Providers - Funding Follows The Child and The National Standard for Early Learning and Childcare Providers: Operating Guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) , be able to demonstrate that they are financially viable providers and that they have a sustainable staffing structure in place which meets the recommended adult: child ratios.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing and monitoring compliance with the National Standard in all funded providers, as part of their contract management arrangements and in their role as guarantors of quality. With regards to business sustainability, services delivering funded ELC must ensure that they are able to demonstrate – when required – that their business model continues to be financially viable through the provision of appropriate financial information, for example, accounts and business forecasts/projections. A Business Continuity Plan must also be in place.

If a service delivering funded ELC was at risk of closure due to financial difficulties or staffing shortages then it is expected that they would make their local authority aware of these challenges.

The Scottish Government monitors trends in sustainability and staffing across the overall childcare sector, including through the Financial Sustainability Health Checks. Analysis in the most recent Financial Sustainability Health Check: Financial Sustainability Health Check of the Childcare Sector in Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) published on 31 July 2023, reported that annual cancellation rates for private and third sector services over the period March 2020 to March 2023 were at similar levels to previous years.

S6W-27829

Asked by: Dowey, Sharon (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - South Scotland)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the Scottish breast screening programme data 2022-23, what steps are being taken to increase uptake of breast screening to reach the achievable 80% target in all NHS board areas.

Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-27833 on 10 June 2024. 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

S6W-27899

Asked by: Burgess, Ariane (Scottish Green Party - Highlands and Islands)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) ScotRail and (b) Transport Scotland regarding the reported 12 extra services per day that would operate on the Aberdeen, Inverness and Elgin route and which have not been included in the new train timetables.

Answered by Hyslop, Fiona - Minister for Transport

ScotRail operates 18 trains per day - an hourly service between Elgin and Inverness, which includes 7 return services between Inverness and Elgin and 11 services between Aberdeen and Inverness. Providing additional services between Elgin and Inverness was possible due to a £330 million investment from the Scottish Government, which was completed in December 2019.

S6W-27878

Asked by:

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it is having with the Department for Work and Pensions under the agency agreement for the delivery of Carer's Allowance in Scotland to identify the (a) number of carers affected by overpayment debt and (b) levels of debt accumulated.

Answered by Somerville, Shirley-Anne - Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice

The Scottish Government has urged the DWP to carefully consider people’s individual circumstances before any recovery of Carer’s Allowance overpayments from carers. Discussions are ongoing with the DWP as to potential arrangements for the recovery of any Carer’s Allowance overpayments for carers in Scotland that remain once case transfer is complete and the current Agency Agreement comes to an end.

S6W-27889

Asked by: Regan, Ash (Alba Party - Edinburgh Eastern)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much support has been provided through the Energy Transition Fund in each of the years in which the fund has operated, and whether it will provide a breakdown of the (a) fund recipients and (b) amounts awarded in each case.

Answered by McAllan, Màiri - Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition

The Energy Transition Fund was launched in 2020 and provides support for four major projects based in the Aberdeen City region. The following table sets out funding awarded to date, broken down by project and financial year.

S6W-27820

Asked by: McCall, Roz (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Mid Scotland and Fife)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve the processing of accessing care records for care experienced people.

Answered by Todd, Maree - Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport

The Digitisation of records is an operational responsibility of individual Health Boards GP practices and Local Authorities, and their partner organisations commissioned to deliver care. At a national level and building on the existing use of electronic record systems, we are focussed on allowing records to be stored, linked, and shared securely.

Our national work recognises, however, that we need to improve the way this works for people across Scotland in a nationally consistent manner. As set out in our integrated health & social care record and a digital front door so that we can introduce a national approach to improving the process for accessing care records for care experienced people, and those around them.