Chamber and committees

An update to the guidance which provides information for professional dog walkers and other animal-related businesses was published on 28 August 2020 and is available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-animal-owners/ .

To 31 July 2020, under the Scottish Growth Scheme some £258.9 million has been in invested in 441 companies.

The following table contains a breakdown by year of the funding delivered by the Scottish Growth Scheme and also the proportion that was delivered by (a) European funding streams, (b) Scottish Enterprise and (c) other public bodies.

Yes. As can be seen in the Official Statistics: forthcoming publications database, Government Expenditure and Revenues (GERS) 2019-20 is due for publication on 26 August 2020.

The Scottish Government has put a comprehensive package of measures in place worth £2.3 billion to sustain businesses during the COVID crisis. This has included:

• A package of COVID rates relief and other non-domestic rates measures supporting an estimated 30,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties, worth around £972 million.
• Over £1 billion of grants allocated to small business, retail, hospitality and leisure.
• A bespoke fund of £185 million providing additional support for SMEs vital to Scotland’s economy through the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund, the Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund and other interventions.
• A package of support for seafood and fisheries industries worth over £18 million.

These funds, alongside various other funds have helped many business survive the crisis. Whilst the additional financial support provided to businesses through these schemes did not draw on existing Enterprise Agency budgets, all three Enterprise Agencies have repurposed staff time to appraise applications and distribute funding to businesses in need.

Our Enterprise Agencies will continue to support Scottish companies as they work to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, providing advice and guidance and using their budgets flexibly to support business growth, alongside delivering on their existing project commitments. It is not possible at this stage to confirm the proportion of agency budgets that will be used to help businesses survive the crisis as the situation is still evolving.

The budget position for our Enterprise Agencies in the next financial year (2021-22) will be subject to the draft Scottish budget and its subsequent agreement by the Scottish Parliament.

The proportion of budget available to the Scottish Investment Bank, once it exists, and its focus with regard to addressing Covid-19 impacts, will be a matter for the Bank’s board taking account of the missions to be set for the Bank by Scottish Ministers.

When procurement for the Reaching 100% (R100) programme launched in December 2017, there were around 85,000 premises classified as being ‘in scope’ for the North lot at that time. This figure included all eligible business and residential premises. The award of the contract for the North lot of the R100 procurement is currently subject to a legal challenge by Gigaclear Limited. Until these legal proceedings are resolved we are unable to award a contract as planned.

In the meantime we are developing a Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme for which anyone who will not have a superfast broadband connection delivered through the R100 contracts, or delivered commercially by the end of 2021, will be eligible. The voucher scheme due to launch later this summer, will ensure that every home and business in Scotland can access superfast broadband by the end of 2021.

The duration of legal proceedings are a matter for the courts to determine and it would not be appropriate to speculate as to how long these may take.

Given the reserved nature of telecommunications legislation, it is for the UK Government to ensure a successor State Aid scheme is negotiated with the EU to cover the possibility of Court proceeding extending beyond the 31 st December when the current, EU approved State Aid scheme expires. We have impressed upon the UK Government the urgency for such an agreement to be reached and will continue to push for progress.

Our Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme, due to launch later this summer, will however ensure that every home and business in Scotland can access superfast broadband by the end of 2021.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role the A1 plays in providing access to key markets, jobs and services between the south east of Scotland and north east England and beyond. The Borders Transport Corridors Study, published in March 2019, includes an option to complete the dualling of the A1, as one of 21 emerging recommendations from the study. All 21 of the study recommendations will be subject to more detailed appraisal, as part of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).

We remain committed to working with stakeholders to take forward STPR2 to support delivery of our National Transport Strategy, albeit in revised timescales, that take account of the Covid-19 impacts and as we work toward a green economic recovery. We will also need to understand how the impact of the pandemic may shape our future transport system and the demands placed on it. We will do that as part of an overall Government programme, before we can take individual decisions on schemes such as future road improvements to the A1.

The Scottish Government currently holds a 32.4% equity stake in Burntisland Fabrications Limited.

The Scottish Government has committed to publishing the outcomes of the Outline Business Case once it has been discussed with interested local authorities and next steps agreed. Discussions with potential local authority partners have been interrupted by Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions and the pressure of other work required in response to the crisis for both Scottish Government and the local authorities. We intend to resume those discussions as soon as possible and would plan to publish the report as part of a package setting out next steps.

S5W-18837 asked the Scottish Government about repayment of a £15 million loan to BiFab. As has been previously disclosed, the Scottish Government expanded this loan facility to BiFab to allow the completion of the BOWL contract, loan sums advanced under that facility were subsequently converted in to a minority equity stake in the company.

The Scottish Government holds a 32.4% equity stake in BiFab, and has not sought to sell its shares in the company, nor has it received any dividends from the company to date. The Scottish Government has been clear from the outset that the funding extended to BiFab was a long term investment to support continued operations in this strategically important renewable energy sector.