Chamber and committees

The Into Headship programme is designed to support teachers to meet the Standard for Headship and focuses on the specificity of headship and the strategic leadership role of the headteacher. The Standard for Headship makes clear that all headteachers must demonstrate a commitment to fully inclusive practices, including in relation to sexual orientation.

As agreed under the Fiscal Framework, the VAT assignment methodology is being jointly developed by Scottish Government and HMRC officials. Once this work is completed it will be presented to Scottish and UK Ministers for agreement. This will be in advance of the 2019-20 implementation date for these new powers.

There will also be a transitional period during which VAT assignment will be forecast and calculated each year, but with no impact for the Scottish Government. The effectiveness of the methodology will be assessed after the final year of the transitional period.

For the 2017-18 Budget, the Scottish Fiscal Commission provided independent scrutiny of the Scottish Government's forecasts of revenue from income tax, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Scottish Landfill Tax, as well as the forecasts of the economic determinants of non-domestic rates.

From 1 April 2017, the Commission has a statutory duty to prepare forecasts at least twice a year covering Scottish onshore GDP, income tax, devolved taxes, non-domestic rates, and devolved demand-led social security expenditure, and to assess the reasonableness of Ministers’ projections of borrowing. The Scottish Government’s expectation is that the forecasts produced by the Commission will be used to inform future Scottish budgets.

The Scotland Reserve became available on 1 April 2017 and the key operational principles were set out in the Fiscal Framework. Scottish Ministers will take decisions on the use of the Scotland Reserve within those principles at the appropriate points in the financial cycle based on economic circumstances at the time.

Further information on the operation of the Scotland Reserve is also available in the Draft Budget 2017-18 (page 21):

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/12/6610/downloads#res511808 and a SPICe Briefing on the Fiscal Framework:

http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/101998.aspx.

The detail of the Flexible Workforce Development Fund is currently being shaped through a process of engagement with key stakeholders and employers. Further information will be released in due course.

The Fiscal Responsibility Steering Group oversees the work of the Fiscal Framework Implementation Board (FFIB) and the Finance Capacity and Capability Board (FCCB). FFIB has met 4 times and will meet again later this month. FCCB last met during 2016 and its business wound up and transferred into day to day activity for the Finance and Procurement & Commercial Directorates in developing their future staffing requirements and organisational structures.

The apprenticeship levy is a new way of the UK Government raising funds directly from employers, a policy they announced in 2015 without consultation with employers, stakeholders or the Scottish Government, despite apprenticeship policy being a fully devolved matter.

Employers with a pay bill over £3 million each year will pay the apprenticeship levy from 6 April 2017. The Scottish Government is not responsible for collecting the UK Governments Apprenticeship Levy. The UK Government are collecting the levy and would have information on the financial impact on those liable for it.

The implementation of the Scotland Act 2016 financial powers is being governed by a single programme board; the Fiscal Framework Implementation Board. Existing staff resources are allocated to this work and no additional costs are incurred.

The Scottish Government is meeting the costs incurred by the UK Government as a result of implementing the further income tax powers. HMRC and DWP have provided estimated lifetime implementation costs for Scottish Income Tax of £2.6million and £0.5million, respectively.

Implementation costs for VAT assignment are to be split equally between the UK and Scottish Governments. Total costs to date are £0.13million.

The introduction of the new Social Security powers is overseen by the Social Security Programme Board. Again staffing to support and membership of the Board is met by existing administration costs. The 2017-18 Budget includes a Scotland Act non-tax implementation budget line of £80 million in the Finance and Constitution portfolio which is intended to support activity around implementing and running the powers that are transferring under the Scotland Act 2016, which include social security. This funding was transferred to the Scottish Government by HM Treasury as part of the administration and implementation costs provision within the fiscal framework.

The 2017-18 Draft Budget set the intention to borrow £450 million to support the Scottish Governments capital investment programme in 2017-18, with the repayment anticipated to be based on appropriate value for money considerations at the time of drawdown. Affordability has been assessed on the basis of repayment over ten years.

At present the Scottish Government is only permitted to undertake revenue borrowing:

To support in-year cash management (not to support additional expenditure);

For forecast errors in relation to devolved and assigned taxes and demand-led welfare expenditure; or

For any observed or forecast shortfall in devolved or assigned tax receipts or demand-led welfare expenditure incurred where there is, or is forecast to be, a Scotland-specific economic shock.

As a result there is no target set for revenue borrowing and no current plans to utilise the revenue borrowing powers.

Full details of the borrowing arrangements available to the Scottish Government are set out in paragraphs 54-70 of the Fiscal Framework:

(www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/503481/fiscal_framework_agreement_25_feb_16_2.pdf).

The Fiscal Framework Implementation Board currently has the following members :

Eleanor Emberson, Director of Financial Strategy (Chair)

Gordon Wales, Director of Financial Management

Gary Gillespie, Chief Economic Adviser

Stephen Kerr, Director of Social Security

Mary McAllan, Director of Energy and Climate Change

Elaine Lorimer, Chief Executive, Revenue Scotland

John Nicholson, Deputy Director, Financial Strategy Division

David Signorini, Head of Communities Analytical Services Division

Ian Davidson, Deputy Director, Constitution and UK Relations

Aidan Grisewood, Deputy Director, Fiscal Responsibility Division

Jenny Brough, Fiscal Responsibility Division

Fiona Campbell, Fiscal Responsibility Division (Programme Manager, Secretary)

The Board has met four times and will meet again later this month