Chamber and committees

Private landlords have a statutory duty to ensure that any facilities for heating in the homes they let and any appliances they provide to tenants must be in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order. Any tenant who is concerned that their landlord has not carried out work that is needed to keep their home in a good condition can apply to the private rented housing panel, who have powers to enforce landlords’ duties. From 1 October 2013, Scottish building regulations also require carbon monoxide detectors to be fitted when a new or replacement gas, oil or solid fuel boilers or other fixed heating appliances are installed in a dwelling irrespective of tenure.

I announced at the stage 1 debate of the current Housing Bill that I intend to bring forward an amendment for a regulation making power to make changes to the repairing standard for private landlords that will provide an appropriate and proportionate mechanism to address safety concerns such as over the provision of carbon monoxide monitors.

Within the devolved powers currently available, the Scottish Government is pursuing a range of actions to support sustainable economic growth and higher quality jobs, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme.

With independence, future Scottish governments can build on these policies to enable Scotland’s businesses to reach their full potential. With responsibility for the full range of policy levers, the government of an independent Scotland will be able to create a more supportive, competitive and dynamic business environment for all businesses, large and small.

The latest figures make clear that in 2012-13, 22% of all learning hours delivered were to students with a disclosed disability or requiring additional learning support; a 3 percentage point increase on the 2006-07 proportion of 19%.

College students studying full-time courses are eligible for free tuition and are supported by record levels of student support, of over £102 million this academic year. This is part of a commitment of over £500 million for colleges, allowing them to maintain the number of full-time equivalent student places. And students progressing from HNC/Ds to 2^nd/3rd year of university are now exempt from council tax.

In addition to free tuition and improved support for part time study, the higher education student support package will provide a minimum income of £7,500 from 2014-15 for those with a household income of less than £17,000 per annum. Each university also operates a discretionary fund supported by investment from the Scottish Government.

The number of Scottish students attending Scottish universities is increasing. Between 2012-13 and 2013-14, there was a 2% increase in the numbers of students starting a course. Further, recent figures from March 2014 confirm that the proportion of entrants to higher education from the 20% most deprived areas of Scotland rose to 15.8% in 2012-13, a record level.

Individual learning accounts are a demand-led source of funding, providing up to £200 per year towards the cost of learning. They are targeted at low paid, low skilled and unemployed individuals. The funding can be used towards a wide range of courses and supports individuals to improve their skills, gain qualifications and be better placed to get into or stay in employment.

College students studying full-time courses are eligible for free tuition and are supported by record levels of student support, of over £102 million this academic year. This is part of a commitment of over £500 million for colleges, allowing them to maintain the number of full-time equivalent student places. Students progressing from HNC/Ds to 2^nd/3rd year of university are now exempt from council tax.

In addition to free tuition and improved support for part time study, the higher education student support package will provide a minimum income of £7,500 from 2014-15 for those with a household income of less than £17,000 per annum. Each university also operates a discretionary fund supported by investment from the Scottish Government.

Individual learning accounts are a demand-led source of funding, providing up to £200 per year towards the cost of learning. They are targeted at low paid, low skilled and unemployed individuals.

The Education Scotland Community Learning and Development Policy and Improvement Team aims to support the work and outcomes identified in the Strategic Guidance for Community Planning Partnerships: Community Learning and Development. Of the £693,000 funding available in 2013-14 for Scotland’s Strategic Funding Partnerships, £578,500 was awarded to those with an adult learning/adult literacy focus. With the same aim, of the £427,424 funding available for 2013-14 for small grants, £111,207 was awarded to projects which had an adult learning/adult literacy element to the work as outlined in the projects’ applications.

Improving literacy for all is a key aim of the Scottish Government’s Literacy Action Plan and is therefore a goal that all national bodies, local authorities and their partners should be committed to. No additional discrete funding has been allocated through the Literacy Action Plan, as this should be an outcome that is embedded throughout wider policy development and delivery, from the early years through to adulthood.

Under the Concordat, the Scottish Government establishes the overall direction and desired outcomes for policies but does not manage local service delivery. Each individual local authority is responsible for what it spends on adult literacy and numeracy, based on its evaluation of local needs.

The Education Scotland Community Learning and Development Policy and Improvement Team aims to support the work and outcomes identified in the Strategic Guidance for Community Planning Partnerships: Community Learning and Development. Of the £693,000 funding available in 2013-14 for Scotland’s Strategic Funding Partnerships, £578,500 was awarded to those with an adult learning/adult literacy focus. With the same aim, of the £427,424 funding available for 2013-14 for Small Grants, £111,207 was awarded to projects which had an adult learning/adult literacy element to the work as outlined in the projects’ applications.

Improving literacy for all is a key aim of the Scottish Government’s Literacy Action Plan and is therefore a goal that all national bodies, local authorities and their partners should be committed to. No additional discrete funding has been allocated through the Literacy Action Plan as this should be an outcome that is embedded throughout wider policy development and delivery, from the early years through to adulthood.

The construction sector in Scotland and the UK has been impacted heavily by the economic downturn. However, the most recent figures show that during 2013, the construction sector in Scotland grew by 1.0%.

It is widely recognised that supporting capital investment during challenging economic conditions is essential as it provides a timely boost to activity and jobs in the construction sector whilst helping to retain vital skills and expertise. It also creates a legacy of assets, such as schools and transport infrastructure, which can have long-lasting economic benefits.

This is why we accelerated capital investment at the height of the economic downturn. It is also why we plan to support investment of more than £8 billion in 2014-15 and 2015-16 through our traditional capital budget, the Non Profit Distributing (NPD) pipeline, rail investment through Network Rail’s Regulatory Asset Base, and allocating some resource funding to capital assets.

In addition, we have announced a further £1 billion worth of infrastructure investment by extending the current NPD programme through to 2019-20. Additional investment will build on the success of the current programme and will provide the construction sector with a future pipeline of work.

The importance attached to capital investment and the recognition of its vital role in supporting the construction sector and the wider economy is in contrast to the approach of the UK Government which has cut Scotland’s capital budget by 26 per cent in real terms between 2010-11 and 2015-16.

Scotland is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. With a geographic share of North Sea oil and gas output, Scotland would have the 14th highest levels of GDP per capita in the OECD in 2012, ranked four places above the UK. Standard and Poor’s have stated that even excluding North Sea output an independent Scotland would qualify for their highest economic assessment.

Scotland is already an attractive place to invest, and would continue to be an important destination for investment as an independent nation. Analysis published by the Scottish Government shows that Scottish Gross National Income per capita was higher than the UK average in 2010 and that the majority of Scottish GDP is retained in Scotland. The experimental statistics can be found via:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0043/00438352.pdf.

The Fiscal Commission Working Group have proposed, a well-designed and robust macroeconomic framework which is workable from day one of independence to ensure a stable and resilient economy.