Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Hill, Upland and Crofting Group last met in March 2021 and the work of the group is completed. I am grateful for the work they undertook in very short order which has informed our work on Agricultural Reform, the National Test Programme and issues being considered by the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. NHS orthodontic services are provided by independent contractors/high street orthodontists and any management information on waiting times will be held by each practice. There is no central consolidation of this information, nor definition of waits in orthodontics.

Following the last meeting with Hourglass Scotland, officials have explored relevant funding across the Scottish Government. Currently there are no suitable Scottish Government funding options that are open for bids. There may be alternative funding opportunities available via the live database Scotland - News - Grants Online. This database includes a range of funding opportunities from charitable trusts/foundations, churches, councils etc. as well as large grants for family support organisations. One of these is the Robertson Trust which offers large grants for charities including those dealing with trauma. Another grant that Hourglass may want to apply for, is the Hugh Fraser Foundation, which will open for bids in February 2023 for the current round and is open to any charity.

Historic Environment Scotland is currently undertaking a prioritised inspection programme on each Property in Care affected by High Level Masonry issues. Access restrictions, while regrettable, remain necessary to prioritise the health and safety of staff, contractors and visitors. Each assessment will study the condition and impact of climate change on the site and will inform a subsequent programme of repairs and conservation work at affected properties.

I understand from Historic Environment Scotland that there are no further sites due to be closed due to High Level Masonry issues in the next 12 months.

The amount of resource allocated to each property in care is determined by Historic Environment Scotland under its operating plans.

Questions regarding day-to-day operational matters of Historic Environment Scotland, including information relating to grants and awards for conservation repairs, are best answered directly by Historic Environment Scotland.

Information on grants that have been awarded can be found online on the Historic Environment Scotland website at https://www.historicenvironment.scot/grants-and-funding/grants-awarded-by-us/

I have asked Historic Environment Scotland to respond directly to the member with a full reply to his question in writing.

The following tables present the estimated value of Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) relief awarded to self-catering units as at 1 July 2022, broken down in Table 1 by local authority, and in Table 2 by assessor, for properties (unit owners cannot be reliably identified from the information held) receiving 100% SBBS, 25% SBBS, and other proportions of SBBS (e.g. when combined with other reliefs), and no SBBS relief. These tables include all self-catering properties in receipt of SBBS relief.

The Scottish Government cannot reliably estimate the cumulative rateable value of each ratepayer’s non-domestic properties and can therefore not state the number of self-catering units with a combined rateable value of £35,000 in receipt of the Small Business Bonus Scheme relief. To note however, ratepayers with a combined rateable value of £35,000 may still be eligible for SBBS relief where the individual property has a rateable value of £18,000 or less. To note as well a property may receive an SBBS award other than 100% or 25% relief, e.g. if awarded in conjunction with another relief. Eligibility for non-domestic rates reliefs, including SBBS, is set out in legislation and it is for local authorities to administer reliefs to eligible properties in accordance with that legislation.

Figures are presented in £thousands, and those relating to more than zero but fewer than five units have been marked [x] to distinguish from actual zero values. The data sources for both tables are the Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll as at 1 July 2022, and local authority reliefs information as at 1 July 2022. Final outturn data for 2022-23 may vary.

Table 1: Estimated value (£ thousands) of SBBS relief awarded to self-catering properties as at 1 July 2022, by local authority and SBBS percentage

Our internationally recognised Equally Safe strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls (VAWG) emphasises the importance of challenging the underpinning attitudes and victim blaming culture which enable such violence to take place. That is why through our Delivering Equally Safe Fund we support a range of projects which promote culture and behaviour change. This includes over £800,000 split between; White Ribbon Scotland to engage men as allies and change-makers; Zero Tolerance to develop professional skills in policy, practice and wider public campaigning; and Engender to explore primary prevention policy approaches.

As set out in the Programme for Government we will consult on draft laws to give effect to recommendations for criminal law reform contained in Baroness Kennedy’s Report, Misogyny, A Human Rights Issue , with a view to introducing legislation later in this Parliament. This sends a strong message that these behaviours are not, and will not be, accepted.

Education plays a key role in challenging attitudes, including victim blaming. That is why we fund and support education-based programmes and initiatives aimed at preventing gender-based violence such as the Equally Safe at School project, Mentors in Violence peer education programme and the Gender-Based Violence in Schools Working Group.

We also support campaigns and work by partners, such as Police Scotland’s “Don’t be that Guy” campaign as positive contributions which encourage men to take responsibility and challenges the notion that it is the responsibility of women and girls to protect themselves from male violence.

This Scottish Government has consistently championed our Veterans being the first Devolved Administration in the UK to create a Veterans Ministerial portfolio and the first nation in the UK to establish a Veterans Commissioner.

In August, we published our refreshed Veterans Strategy Action Plan in which we reaffirmed our longstanding commitment to our veterans, taking stock of the extensive services and support that the Scottish Government and our partners provide. This was informed by a light-touch consultation with key stakeholders to review our original action plan, first published in 2020, to establish the extent to which our existing commitments remained valid and where there were opportunities to add more detail to these commitments or add new ones. We identified a number of new commitments and updated several existing ones which will help us to better deliver and expand our support to our veterans and their families.

Furthermore, on 8 November I provided the Scottish Government’s annual update to Parliament on its support for the veterans and Armed Forces community. This was accompanied by a published written report which details fully the achievements we have made this year in delivering the commitments we have made to veterans and their families.

The Scottish Veterans Commissioner (SVC) also published her annual assessment of the Scottish Government’s progress against the recommendations made by the Commissioners since 2015. The SVC published this year’s progress report on 16 November which demonstrated good progress against recommendations made since 2015.

47,156 dwellings had an unoccupied exemption based on a snapshot as at September 2022. Further breakdowns are not held centrally.

Scotland needs a system that supports our higher education sector to deliver the best learning, research and experience for those who choose to study in Scotland. The reinstatement of the Graduate Route was welcome but the scope must also be widened to include HND qualifications from Scottish institutions as was under the previous post-study work scheme and Fresh Talent. it remains clear that UK immigration system still does not address Scotland’s economic, demographic and social needs. We will continue to push UK Ministers to engage meaningfully on these issues.