Chamber and committees

The interest rates charged by the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) vary depending on the type and length of the loan and are reviewed on a daily basis.

This would be a matter for NHS Lothian to address as part of their delegated responsibility for the provision of NHS services in the region.

There is no specific hourly rate for joiners or electricians in NHSScotland. Their rate would depend on the pay band a particular post had been placed on under the Agenda for Change job evaluation system and on the increment the individual is on within that band.

The Scottish Government has not commissioned independent assessment. Policy-making in respect of the Small Business Bonus Scheme is informed by objective internal analysis and wide-ranging stakeholder engagement. For example, the Federation of Small Business recently said that, having surveyed almost 1,000 business? owners to ask what would happen if the support through the Small Business Bonus Scheme was abolished:-

" About a fifth of small firms (18.9%) reported they would close the business, with similar proportions arguing that they would have to cancel investments (19.9%) and amend their plans for growth (18.3%)."

The interest rate that applies to subordinated debt for Non Profit Distribution (NPD) projects is commercially sensitive and covered by a confidentiality agreement until 2 years after construction handover, however all NPD contracts were competitively tendered. Typically subordinated debt is approximately 10% of the total finance and this is generally the investment that is most at risk. The remaining 90% of the project investment requirement on this project is sourced from 'senior lenders', such as the European Investment Bank and an institutional funder which lend at much lower rates.

The capped return for NPD projects are much lower than National Audit Office published information* from 2012 which showed an average tendered uncapped base-case return for PFI models of around 14% to the equity investors.

*Reference for info:

The National Audit Office undertook a study entitled “Equity Investment in Privately Financed Projects” published in February 2012. In relation to the higher risk project investment requirement, it shows an average tendered base-case return of around 14% to the equity investors; under PFI this is an uncapped return.

http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/10121792.pdf

The Scottish Government has always been very clear about the impact of classification on the NPD programme, which arose as a result of changes that were made in September 2014 to relevant Eurostat guidance, 18 months after the contract for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) project was published in the OJEU in January 2013 and after the winning bidder was announced on 11 June 2014.

The Scottish Futures Trust became aware in November 2014 that the Office of National Statistics (ONS) had considered the revised guidance and had identified potential issues in relation to the classification of privately financed projects within the UK. The ONS classified the AWPR to the public sector in July 2015.

As set out in successive Scottish budgets, provision has been made in capital budgets to reflect the classification of the AWPR and three other NPD projects that had been in advanced procurement at the time of the changes to the Eurostat guidance. The capital provision that has been made amounts to £398 million in 2016-17 and £234 million in 2017-18 and the expected cost of future revenue payments has been reduced accordingly.

The Scottish Government’s approach has ensured that classification has had no impact on the delivery timetable or cost of these projects.

Information on the non-profit distributing projects, including the capital value, is available from the following link:

www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/12308/NPDhubPipelinepayments

A breakdown of the amount of interest to be paid by each project is not, however, held centrally.

We have carried out an extensive consultation exercise to which the Brain tumour Charity responded to help inform our approach to social security in Scotland and we will be publishing a report on the consultation responses early in 2017. This will help to inform the work of the Disability and Carers' Benefits Expert Advisory Group which will be established in 2017 to provide recommendations and guidance on issues including assessment for benefits in Scotland. We will also continue engagement through our stakeholder groups and the establishment of ‘Experience Panels’ involving at least 2,000 people, with recent experience of applying for or receiving benefits, to help us design, build and improve the new system, and support our work on a longer-term basis.

This information is not held centrally.

Our cancer strategy, Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action, contains a commitment to support and fund a National Cancer Patient Experience Survey, keeping under review how best to measure what matters to people with cancer and ensuring appropriate action is taken on results.

The timing of the next cancer patient experience survey will be confirmed in due course.