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The Scottish Government has provided local government with an additional £147.1 million capital funding in 2023-24. The maintenance of buildings and assets is the responsibility of individual local authorities and it is up to councils to manage their own budgets and allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities.

Local authorities also have a range of powers enabling them to take action on buildings that fall into disrepair, such as the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 and Building (Scotland) Act 2003 (the Act). Section 28 of the Act gives local authorities powers to take action on defective buildings, this includes serving a notice to bring the building back into a reasonable state of repair having regard to its age, type and location.

Further support is made through the Place Based Investment Programme which aims to align place based investment, working collaboratively with local communities to deliver shared aspirations for their place. The programme includes investment of £140 million over the course of the parliament to local authorities. This investment is expected to support delivery of our policy ambitions for place, 20-minute neighbourhoods, town centre action, community led regeneration, community wealth building and contribute to net zero. The funding can be used for example for the repurposing of buildings, maintenance and repairs, reallocating external space and community led land acquisition.

The Learning Estate Investment Programme’s (LEIP) outcomes-based funding model was designed by Scottish Government, Local Government and Scottish Futures Trust (SFT). The funding model was established to support the implementation of the Learning Estate Strategy which was produced was produced collaboratively by Scottish Government and Local Government. The concepts, principles and outcomes for the LEIP, as well as the mechanics of the funding model, were agreed in workshops between Scottish Government, Local Government and SFT, under the governance of an investment programme board which was co-chaired by Scottish Government and COSLA.

The use of the LEIP funding model and the associated outcomes have been ratified by COSLA Leaders, and further information on the mechanics of the model are published and available on SFT’s website.

The LEIP board, which meets quarterly, is co-chaired by Scottish Government and COSLA. The board has membership and representation from Scottish Government, COSLA, SOLACE, Local Authority networks and SFT. This governance structure provides oversight and direction to the LEIP - including on the outcomes to be measured, the assessment process for projects and the funding model - as the programme has developed.

We continue to engage with local authorities on an ongoing basis, including workshops on the funding model for each phase of the LEIP, and dedicated workshops with local authorities for each project.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that numbers of teachers and support staff are protected. We will provide local government with £145.5 million in next year's budget, which is conditional on the successful delivery of the following objectives:

• Maintaining teacher numbers at 2022 census levels, as published in the Summary School Statistics in December 2022.
• Maintaining pupil support staff numbers at 2022 census levels, which we will publish on 21 March 2023 based on the data collected from local authorities in September 2022.
• Ensuring that places remain available for probationer teachers who need them through the Teacher Induction Scheme.

Where these objectives are not being met, the Scottish Government reserves the right to withhold or recoup funding which has been provided for this purpose.

The Learning Estate Investment Programme’s (LEIP) outcomes Governance Board, which is co-chaired by Scottish Government and COSLA, scrutinises all aspects of the LEIP on an ongoing basis.

The LEIP has undergone a Gateway Review Strategic Assessment, the recommendations of which have been implemented across the LEIP. A further Gateway Review will commence this month.

Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) provides expertise, for example, in programme and data management, schools design, as well as commercial and financial modelling, and the Scottish Government engages regularly with SFT on ongoing management of the LEIP. SFT also managed the previous Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme which saw the construction of 117 new or refurbished schools and benefited over 60,000 pupils across the country.

This is a matter for CalMac Ferries Limited, Scottish Ministers do not have a role to play and have not been involved in any discussions.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving ferry services for our island and remote communities and I am open-minded to all practical and affordable proposals from our ferry operators to address current operational challenges.

I have previously approved time charters of the MV Arrow to add resilience and capacity to both the Clyde and Hebrides and Northern Isles Ferry Services.

The Department for Work and Pensions have not contacted the Scottish Government in relation to the decision they have taken to close their Radnor House site in Clydebank.

The Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) staffing matters are the responsibility of the DWP. It would be inappropriate for the Scottish Government or Social Security Scotland to comment on these or be considering any contingency measures without a formal approach from the DWP.

Assessing the future needs of places, in collaboration with communities, is a core part of the local development plan process and infrastructure needs should be considered early in the process as part of an evidence based approach.

We continue to engage closely with COSLA and Heads of Planning Scotland to understand the pressures faced by the planning service, including skills shortages, and to promote a highly performing system.

Along with other key stakeholders including Partners in Planning we will develop a skills strategy which will identify the specialist skills required to address the requirements of National Planning Framework 4, and the wider skills required to ensure we have planners with the expertise to deliver on our ambitions for Scotland.

In 2022 we commissioned work on the pipeline of new planners coming into the system. The research report is available at Future Planners Project Report (rtpi.org.uk) . We are working with the Royal Town Planning Institute Scotland and Heads of Planning Scotland to implement the report’s recommendations, and will focus on this as we move forward with delivery of NPF4.

The forthcoming development planning guidance will set out the various stages in plan preparation.

The Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities is produced by CIPFA. The Prudential Code requires a local authority to ensure that the financing of capital expenditure is prudent, affordable and sustainable and refers specifically to the requirement to consider credit agreements and associated financing costs as part of capital investment decisions. CIPFA is an independent organisation and as such the Scottish Government has no authority to propose or decide the content of CIPFA's Codes of Practice.