- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 14 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government which UK-level bodies and organisations it currently has representation on, and how any such appointments are made.
Answer
Appointment to UK-level public bodies is a reserved matter, and is overseen by the UK Cabinet Office.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 14 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes have been constructed in each year since 2016.
Answer
Statistics relating to the progress of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) are published quarterly on the Scottish Government website. These figures relate to the number of approvals, site starts, and completions of social and affordable homes, and can be accessed using the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-for-scotland-new-house-building/ .
The following table provides a breakdown of the number of homes completed in each financial year since 2016-17:
Financial Year | Number of homes delivered |
2016-17 | 7,493 |
2017-18 | 8,527 |
2018-19 | 9,566 |
2019-20 | 9,290 |
2020-21 | 6,479 |
2021-22 | 9,757 |
2022-23* | 6,381 |
* 2022-23 figure relates to 1 April 2022 to 31 December 2022.
The homes provided through the AHSP comprise homes for social rent, for mid-market rent and for low cost home ownership. These homes take various forms including; new build homes, rehabilitation projects, conversions and off-the-shelf purchases of both new and second hand homes.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what grant funds have been made available to local authorities in each of the last 12 months.
Answer
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)
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a whisky levy.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no plans to implement a whisky tax.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Ricardo-AEA Ltd since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the Scotch Whisky Association to discuss decarbonisation, and what the objectives were of any such meetings.
Answer
The Scottish Government meets with the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) regularly to discuss a range of topics, including decarbonisation matters.
The Scottish Government Industrial Decarbonisation Team is due to meet the SWA by mid April 2023 to discuss their implementation of the NetZero/Sustainability Strategy and opportunities for decarbonisation by fuel switching or shifting to more energy-efficient technologies.
The Scottish Government recognises the role that the Scotch Whisky industry has in moving towards net zero and welcomes the work carried out by the sector in this area.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Scottish Women's Aid since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.
Officials also engage with stakeholder organisations as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with Scottish Women’s Aid as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to our Equally Safe Strategy, Scotland’s strategy to eradicate and prevent violence against women and girls. A representative from Scottish Women’s Aid also sits on at least one working group within the Scottish Government, the Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board (ES JSB) and further detail on this can be found on the Scottish Government’s website: Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Advice Direct Scotland since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
The Scottish Government continues to meet with Advice Direct Scotland on a regular basis. The purpose of these meetings are to discuss the key issues affecting Scottish consumers and agree how we can work together to ensure we are delivering support and advice to as many people who need it as possible.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 20 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many apprenticeship places it will commit to funding this financial year.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 20 April 2023
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Emma Roddick on 12 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Central Scotland Regional Equality Council (CSREC) since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website. The spreadsheets include a wide-range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.
Officials met with CSREC on the following date for the following purpose:
- Hate Crime Strategy team met with equality stakeholders (including CSREC) on 11 August 2022 to discuss the development of the new Hate Crime Strategy. This meeting focussed on the strategy in terms of approach and proposed outcomes. Stakeholders were asked for their feedback, and their comments were considered throughout the strategy development process.
