Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government has received nominations from five areas which wish to be considered for designation as a new National Park.

The delivery costs to date, excluding staffing costs and expenses, are £331,409.05.

These costs are broken down as follows:

£100,000.00 funding to NatureScot for New National Parks

£27,387.77 on consultation activities

£48,269.22 on impact assessments

£147,653.06 on nominations support funding

In 2022 NatureScot was asked to undertake public consultation and stakeholder engagement in order to provide advice to the Scottish Government on the future of National Parks in Scotland. More information is available here: National Parks Advice to Ministers - February 2023 | NatureScot.

Angela Constance: The Scottish Government meets regularly with representatives of the bodies mentioned to discuss a range of issues.

On the specific topic of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill the Scottish Government continues to engage with all interested stakeholders, including those from the legal sector.

Since the Stage 1 debate on 23 April 2024 officials have met with the Law Society Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates to discuss the policies contained in the Bill.

The Bill has been shaped by cross-sector consideration and collaboration, and Scottish Ministers remain committed to this approach as it progresses through Parliament.

Over the last 5 years (from 2019 to date) there have been 26 new Chief Executive appointments in public bodies directly covered by the public sector pay policy. To date, 20 posts have been filled and 6 are currently pending. The policy expectation to apply a 10% reduction on outgoing Chief Executive remuneration packages has delivered an estimated saving of over £325,000 to the public purse at the time of appointment.

The cumulative saving over the last 5 years is higher than £325,000 as the saving for each post is recurring year on year, although the amount will diminish each year as the new incumbents progress up their pay ranges.

This policy expectation is predicated on the ability to fill the post with a suitable candidate having regard to external market levels, value for money and recruitment and retention issues.When considering the level of reduction, the whole remuneration package (salary, pay range, non-consolidated performance payment, notice period and any other non-salary rewards) is taken into account. All remuneration packages are assessed to ensure they are an appropriate use of public resources to deliver the public services needed.

Over the last 5 years, savings have been made in connection with the following Chief Executive posts.

Bord Gaidhlig na h-Alba

Care Inspectorate

Children's Hearings Scotland

Crown Estate Scotland

Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd

Highlands and Islands Enterprise

National Museums of Scotland

Police Investigations and Review Commissioner

Risk Management Authority

Scottish Canals

Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission

Scottish Enterprise

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Scottish Funding Councils*

Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd*

Scottish Social Services Council*

sportscotland

Visit Scotland*

Water Industry Commission for Scotland*

* recruitment currently ongoing

The objective of the Public Service Reform programme is to ensure our public services remain sustainable that the future system must ensure the public service landscape is the right size and composition. Our commitment to reform balances responding to short-term budget pressures whilst building a platform for longer-term reform. There are over 30 actions under the PSR programme, including work to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

We are committed to providing regular updates to the Parliament on the PSR programme and, as such, a detailed report was made to Parliament via the Finance and Public Administration Committee (FPAC) on 19 December 2023, noting a commitment to six monthly updates.

However, in line with the pre-election guidance, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, Shona Robison MSP wrote to the Convener of FPAC on 4 June highlighting the need to delay the publication of the next update. A revised publication date will be confirmed in due course which will set out our progress on the PSR programme.

During this election period I remain committed to pressing forward on delivering on the immediate actions. Therefore, have written directly to public bodies reiterating my focus on improved effectiveness and setting out my intent to meet with public bodies.

My recent letter to chairs and chief executives of public bodies can be viewed at www.gov.scot/publications/making-the-most-of-resources-letter-to-public-bodies/ .

Contact by Scottish Government officials took the form of routine informal engagement between public body sponsor teams and staff in the organisations they sponsor. There was no formal correspondence from officials to chairs or chief executives.

As I have stated in other PQ replies (including S6W-27509 and S6W-27510 on

 30 May 2024), it is for each public body to ensure that it fulfils all statutory duties to which it is subject, and to answer for its actions.

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 .

Scottish Government officials have reviewed the Chief Executive Framework and the report is being finalised. This report will be provided to Ministers for consideration in the summer. The outcomes of the review will be shared with relevant stakeholders and a new Chief Executive Framework published thereafter.

My recent letter to chairs and chief executives of public bodies can be viewed at www.gov.scot/publications/making-the-most-of-resources-letter-to-public-bodies/ .

In my letter, I reminded chairs and chief executives that it is incumbent on each public body to adhere to the statutory duties to which it is subject, which for many includes reporting requirements in Part 3 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010.

No substantive response from chairs and chief executives has, so far, been received to this letter.

Since the Scottish Government first introduced universal free school meals for Primaries 1-3 in 2015, Scottish Ministers and officials have regularly engaged with a wide range of stakeholders as their views and experiences have been essential in developing the programme.

COSLA and local authorities are represented on groups involved in the roll out of universal free school meals. Officials and Ministers have engaged with young people regarding free school meals through their attendance at stakeholder events. Parents and carers views have been captured in reports including the Poverty and Inequality Commission’s Child Poverty Delivery plan progress report and NHS Scotland’s Evaluation of the Implementation of Universal Free School Meals in Primaries 1-3.

There have been no recent discussions between Ministers and/or officials and the other bodies mentioned regarding the establishment of a dedicated non-departmental public body for housebuilding in Scotland.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) supports the delivery of more high quality homes in the right locations to provide choice and meet diverse needs. As a recently adopted part of the development plan, it provides an up-to-date context for decision making that has a democratic mandate to guide us to the place we want Scotland to be in 2045. There is no need for local development plans to replicate policies in NPF, enabling planning authorities to focus on allocating land for new homes, and supporting their delivery in collaboration with developers, communities and infrastructure providers.

We recognise there is scope to improve on current planning timescales. There can be many reasons for delays in determining applications, including incomplete applications leading to requests for additional information, delays with responses from consultees and the time take to reach legal agreements. However, timescales for decisions are only one measure, and constructive and collaborative working between applicants and authorities means that consistently over 93% of applications are approved annually.

We recently consulted on resourcing the planning system, including options to improve capacity and the number of planners. The consultation closed on 31 May and we are carefully considering the responses received.