Seòmar agus comataidhean

The package of enhancements identified by the project team for taking forward is currently being reviewed by Network Rail’s operations team for Scotland. It comprises signal enhancements, improvements to station approaches and specific capacity alterations to facilitate the mixed operation of faster and slower trains on the same route.

A number of City Region Deals include elements of housing infrastructure that is required to unlock wider housing delivery and regional growth ambitions including a notional £20m joint allocation for Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils. It is the responsibility of Councils to bring forward eligible Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) projects to the Scottish Government for consideration. Progress has been slower than anticipated and to date no eligible HIF projects have been submitted by the Councils as part of the £20m indicative allocation referred to in the 2016 agreement. Given the long-term plans for City Deal delivery in the region, and that HIF is open for new applications, Scottish Government officials will remain engaged with both Councils to support them to apply for HIF support where suitable projects through the City Deal delivery plans are identified.

The maximum amount of aid a farmer, crofter or agricultural contractor can receive is £20,000. Only one application and claim is allowed per business/Business Reference Number (BRN) per funding round. Grant awards will be based on 40% of the standard cost of each eligible scheme item. Businesses located in the Highlands and Islands (HIE area) will receive a higher grant rate of 50% (in acknowledgement of the higher cost involved with transporting goods to these areas). The standard cost and minimum specification for each item detailed in the scheme guidance is the maximum fixed price that the grant payment will be based on and there is no minimum amount specified.

Ensuring the wellbeing and safety of those arriving from Ukraine, who are overwhelmingly women and children is critical. That is why under the super sponsor scheme, and as outlined in the Super Sponsor Scheme and Homes for Ukraine guidance for local authorities , sponsors and members of their household aged over 16 years are required to apply for an enhanced disclosure when they register for the scheme.

While most offers of accommodation are genuine and well intentioned, there is a clear safeguarding risk posed by the UK private sponsor scheme, which puts people at risk of arriving in the UK and being placed in homes before suitable checks are carried out. I have raised these concerns with the UK Government, and called on them to replicate our super sponsor scheme to prevent vulnerable people being placed in with unsuitable hosts.

As stated in our 2021 Manifesto, work on crofting law reform will be undertaken during this parliamentary term.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05896 on 7 February 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-08445 on 6 May 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 Scottish Budget prevented a cliff edge return to full liability on 31 March 2022 for businesses in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors, by continuing relief at 50% for the first three months of 2022-23, capped at £27,500 per ratepayer. This follows 100% relief for retail, hospitality and leisure premises for the past two years without any cap, which has saved Scottish businesses around £1.6 billion. We were the only Government to offer the relief at 100%, uncapped in both 2020-21 and 2021-22, when businesses needed it most. We have no current plans to alter the relief already being delivered for 2022-23.

The Scottish Budget also delivered another below-inflation increase to the poundage, providing the lowest poundage in the UK for the fourth year in a row, and ensuring that over 95% of non-domestic properties continue to be liable for a lower property tax rate than anywhere else in the UK. We have further maintained a competitive package of reliefs worth an estimated £802 million, including the UK’s most generous Small Business Bonus Scheme which takes over 111,000 properties out of rates altogether.

Scottish Government officials continue to meet at least monthly with SEPA and Scottish Ministers are provided with regular update briefings. In addition, the Minister for Environment and Land Reform has met on a number of occasions with the SEPA Chair, Board and Interim CEO.

In 2019 we published our National Planning Framework 3 (NPF3) Monitoring Report which reflected on progress across the 30 key actions and 14 national developments. NPF3 was published in 2014 so was not monitored against the 6 outcomes which were introduced by the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019.

We will work with key stakeholders to ensure monitoring for NPF4 is proportionate and effective.