Chamber and committees

I want to probe you on your response about recording gender when people are made homeless. Catherine Murphy talked about how people in minority groups would behave. I have done quite a lot of work in that area. I know that a female probably would behave differently if she was homeless. I totally understand that they may go to relatives or friends and might not sleep on the streets. However, people from an ethnic minority might behave completely differently because of cultural aspects. Could any of the three witnesses shed some light on that? Should more data be collected on that, or should we even just have alignment of data sets?

The Verity house agreement states that

“the default position will be no ring-fencing or direction of funding”.

As we heard from the previous panel, ring fencing has put a strain on council budgets. It was also made clear by the earlier witnesses from COSLA and local authorities that decisions should be made locally by local government and not by the Scottish Government. What progress has been made on that approach since last year’s budget? Should we expect there to be less direct spending in this year’s budget?

On the previous panel, one of the witnesses from a local authority mentioned that some of the ring-fenced funding is not sufficient for councils to deliver on some of their priorities. Are you aware of that?

I have one more question. It has recently become public that the new UK Government has paused the £70 million rural growth deal for Argyll and Bute, leaving it as the only part of Scotland without such a deal in place. Last week, witnesses told the committee that the decision was “outrageous”. This week, witnesses have expressed their disappointment, and I know that the local community in Argyll and Bute feels the same. What impact do you expect that decision to have on the area? What steps is the Scottish Government taking to mitigate that?

I have a quick supplementary on teacher numbers. When I spoke to 31 local authorities, one of the issues that came up was ring fencing and teacher numbers, but I have also heard from COSLA and the Scottish Government that a piece of work is being done to have a look at that and see whether changes can be made. Are you aware of that work and, if so, can you give us an update on it?

My next question is for COSLA. Its submission blames the council tax freeze for the pressure on council budgets. How confident are the witnesses that the Scottish Government will not try to implement another council tax freeze next year? If it did so, what would be the financial implications for local government?

Thank you.

Good morning. Your submission states that the use of ring fencing puts further pressure on councils, which are

“legally required to set a balanced budget”.

Are councillors confident that we will see further reductions in ring fencing this year? Also, does COSLA believe that there are any good reasons for ring fencing of funding? Katie Hagmann said that good engagement is going on right now between the Scottish Government and local government, so it would be good to hear from you about whether there are good reasons for ring fencing, as well.

It does. Thank you.

Thank you, convener. Last week, it became public knowledge that the UK Government had opposed the £70 million rural growth deal for Argyll and Bute, which leaves it being the only part of Scotland without such a deal in place. The deal was of great importance to Argyll and Bute because it included housing, developments and facilities for business and tourism. What impact might the pausing of the deal have on the area? What steps do witnesses suggest the Scottish Government should take to mitigate that?