Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08754 on 14 June 2022. 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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08754 on 14 June 2022. 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

The level of uptake in South Lanarkshire as of 7 June 2022 was 23%, this is an increase of 8% since 13 May 2022, however I recognise South Lanarkshire are not yet at the level of other Local Authorities in terms of application rates. Following my meeting with COSLA last week I will be writing to all new administrations in our local authority areas, including South Lanarkshire. Meantime I have asked my officials in Transport Scotland to contact the new administration in South Lanarkshire in relation to their work to support the implementation of the under 22s free bus travel scheme.

The Scottish Government Budget for 2022-23 sets out that during this financial year, the Scottish Government intends to lend £170m per annum in capital funding and to receive some £105m income per annum which is the interest on loans issued to Scottish Water. Across the 2021-27 period Ministers have committed to lend Scottish Water up to £1.03bn. Lending in future years will be agreed in future Budget Acts.

The quoted figure of -£97m is the resource budget for the Water Industry portfolio. This reflects some £105m income of interest payments by Scottish Water less amounts of spend on Hydro Nation and Private Water activities. The breakdown of spend is included within table 9.16 of the Budget.

Scottish Water is financed through revenue raised from customer charges and loans issued by the Scottish Government. The spending review has simply confirmed the intention to lend £170m per annum to Scottish Water and hence it has no impact on customers’ bills.

As required by the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, Ministers made a Principles of Charging statement for the 2021-27 regulatory period. The statement included the increase to the maximum discount available under the water charges reduction scheme from 25% to 35%.

The average household bill in Scotland is calculated as revenue, net of applicable discounts and divided by the number of household properties in Scotland. The average household bill in England and Wales is published on the Discover Water information site at https://discoverwater.co.uk/annual-bill .

The following tables provide the provisional number of injury road accidents on the A77 in 2021 broken down by severity. Final figures for 2021 will be published in October 2022. Figures for 2022 are still being collected and verified and are therefore not currently available.

The Scottish Government is not currently working to build a sovereign wealth fund. Under the current constitutional arrangements, the Scottish Government does not have the power to set up a sovereign wealth fund, similar to that of Norway, which is currently worth $1.2 trillion. We will set out our proposed approach to the economy of an independent Scotland in the forthcoming independence prospectus papers.

A: The Scottish Government has not held any recent meetings with the government of Norway where the viability of replicating a sovereign wealth fund in Scotland was discussed.

Transport for London’s Veteran Oyster Card scheme is specifically tailored to London’s ticket and fare system. Whilst there are no current plans to roll out such a scheme in Scotland, I have asked my officials in Transport Scotland to meet with TfL to learn more about the scheme’s operation and where we might be able to learn lessons in Scotland.