Chamber and committees

The introduction of Air Departure Tax (ADT) in Scotland has been deferred to allow for issues raised in relation to the Highlands and Islands exemption to be resolved. As such, the current UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates and bands continue to apply in Scotland.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission’s most recent illustrative forecast from February 2020 – produced before the COVID-19 lockdown began - estimated a Scottish share of APD for 2020-21 of £297 million, though noting significant uncertainty. This illustrative forecast has not yet been updated to consider the impact of the pandemic – the SFC expects to produce its next forecasts including the effect of COVID-19 later this year.

The Scottish Government is committed to helping businesses with the impact of the pandemic and has put in place a package of business support measures worth over £2.3 billion.

The introduction of Air Departure Tax (ADT) in Scotland has been deferred to allow for issues raised in relation to the Highlands and Islands exemption to be resolved. As such, the current UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates and bands continue to apply in Scotland.

In May 2019 the Scottish Government announced that reducing ADT was no longer compatible with its new emissions reduction targets. The Scottish Government will accordingly engage with HM Treasury’s forthcoming consultation on APD reform, to find a solution for aviation that remains consistent with our climate ambitions.

The answer to S5W-30141 refers to the determination of planning applications.

Scottish Planning Policy (SPP, 2014) sets out policies which reflect Scottish Ministers’ priorities for the operation of the planning system and is a material consideration in the determination of planning applications. Paragraph 34 states that:

“Where a plan is under review, it may be appropriate in some circumstances to consider whether granting planning permission would prejudice the emerging plan. Such circumstances are only likely to apply where the development proposed is so substantial, or its cumulative effect would be so significant, that to grant permission would undermine the plan-making process by pre-determining decisions about the scale, location or phasing of new developments that are central to the emerging plan. Prematurity will be more relevant as a consideration the closer the plan is to adoption or approval.”

Scottish Planning Policy (2014) sets out development considerations in and around designated sites, which all planning authorities and National Parks need to take into account in their development plans and decision making on planning applications.

National Parks are designated under the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 and have four aims; to conserve and enhance the natural and cultural heritage of the area; promote sustainable use of the natural resources of the area; promote understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the area by the public; and to promote sustainable economic and social development of the area’s communities. Planning policy is clear that these aims should be pursued collectively, but that where is a conflict between them, then greater weight must be given to the first aim.

Planning authorities are required to consider any valid application submitted to them.

Under planning legislation, applications are determined in accordance with the development plan for the area unless material planning considerations justify a departure from it.

It is for the planning authority to identify relevant material planning considerations on a case-by-case basis, and what weight to attach to each material consideration in determining the application.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28451 on 25 June 2020. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

In both the private and public sectors the supply of PPE is primarily the responsibility of social care providers themselves, including care homes. However, when these private supply chains failed we set up from the 19th of March provision to make PPE supplies available from our national NHS stock.

To make sure that we could get the right PPE to the right people, we created direct distribution routes, including local PPE hubs for social care providers, which covers care homes. That was and continues to be a remarkable logistical achievement by the people who are involved. This is supporting the whole social care sector including care homes, with their PPE needs where their normal supply routes fail. Through these routes collectively, over 65 million items of PPE have been distributed to over 1,000 locations across Scotland for social care to date.

At present, the PPE top ups through the Hubs are being provided free of charge to all social care providers, including care homes which have consumed the majority of the over 65 million items of PPE distributed to date.

The Land Use Strategy 2016 – 2020 is an over-arching document encompassing all aspects of land use in Scotland.

It is designed to help deliver on our vision for all land use in Scotland - A Scotland where we fully recognise, understand and value the importance of our land resources, and where our plans and decisions about land use will deliver improved and enduring benefits, enhancing the wellbeing of our nation. Agriculture is by far the largest land use sector in Scotland and as such will be a fundamental in the development of Scotland’s third Land Use Strategy.

Scotland’s first Land Use Strategy brought forward two land use pilots to test collaborative land scape scale actions. These pilots demonstrated that through the collaborative optimisation of land use there is potential to generate multiple benefits across a range of priorities at both regional and national levels.

As a result the Scottish Government included a commitment to establish Regional Land Use Partnerships in the current Getting the Best from Our Land – A Land Use Strategy for Scotland 2016 - 2021.

This commitment was then re-iterated in the 2019 – 2020 Programme for Government and as a first step the Scottish Government has asked the Scottish Land Commission to prepare advice on the establishment of these Partnerships. Their advice is expected in the autumn of this year and as such the Scottish Government does not think it prudent to pre-empt this and will take time to analyse and digest this advice before discussing possible next steps.

The role of Scotland’s land to help both mitigate and adapt to climate change has rightly been highlighted by many stakeholders including the UK Committee on Climate Change.

The Scottish Government understands this and the changes in not only climate change policy but wider environmental, social and economic priorities shall all be taken into account during the development of Scotland’s third Land Use Strategy. It is the intention of the Scottish Government to engage with stakeholders throughout the process and we shall work with them moving forward through this unprecedented time to understand how this can be best facilitated.