Chamber and committees

When affordable housing supply programme projects are submitted to the Scottish Government for approval an estimated completion date will have been provided. Details on approvals by financial year can be found in our published statistics at the following link, in the table ‘Affordable Housing Supply Programme Summary Tables – new style’ .

https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-for-scotland-new-house-building/

I can confirm that Aberdeenshire Council’s reported objection to the A90/A937 Laurencekirk Junction Improvement Scheme remains extant and would refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02821 on 23 September 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The process to return Glasgow Prestwick Airport to the private sector continues and decisions have still to be taken in relation to the prospective sale of the business.

We have committed to updating Parliament on the sale process at the appropriate stage and to protect the integrity of the process we will not be making any further comment at this time.

Section 195 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out exceptions from the requirements of that Act in relation to sport. The 2010 Act is generally reserved to the UK Parliament, including section 195, so the exceptions in the section would continue unaffected by the proposed provisions in the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. The Scottish Government continues to support the rights and protections that women currently have under the Equality Act 2010, and the proposed reforms in the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill do not affect this.

There is an explanatory note for section 195 that can be found here Equality Act 2010 - Explanatory Notes (legislation.gov.uk)

The full value of loan and its accrued interest remain repayable.

With the process to return Prestwick Airport to the private sector continuing, it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment further at this time.

The £0.5 million funding has been granted to Care and Repair Scotland to provide assistance in the business year 2021-22. Information on the number of homes assisted will be collected, and will be available at the end of this period.

The Scottish Government does not provide loans to home owners for the purpose of installing fire alarms that are compliant with the new standard. Local authorities have broad discretionary powers to provide assistance to home owners, in connection with work on private homes, including assistance by way of loans. Local authorities are best placed to determine what types of assistance are provided in their area, subject to local resources and priorities.

We recognise that some owners will have more difficulty, particularly with the option to fit alarms themselves, and we have provided £0.5 million additional funding for Care and Repair Scotland to provide help installing alarms for older and disabled home owners. We have also provided £1 million to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to provide alarms for owners who are considered most vulnerable to the risk of fire.

The latest annual ELC Census data published in December 2020 as part of the Schools in Scotland Summary Statistics report showed that 178 and 123 two year olds were accessing a funded ELC place in North Ayrshire and Inverclyde Council respectively in September 2020.

In December, the Scottish Government will publish Schools in Scotland, Summary Statistics report for 2021. This report will include figures to show the number of registrations of two-year-olds at national and local authority level in September 2021.

Eligibility criteria for 2 year old funded ELC is largely determined by a parents’ receipt of low or no income ‘ qualifying benefits’ which are administered by UK Government. We do not have robust information on the current eligible population at a local authority or national level due to UK Government restrictions on data-sharing. The Scottish Government is working with UK Government departments and the Office for National Statistics to establish a legal gateway through which we can acquire further UK Government held data which will enable us to measure the eligible population more accurately.

The Scottish Government wants to maximise the employment potential associated with the business and this requirement was included in the Eligibility Questionnaire for that reason. With the process to return Prestwick Airport to the private sector continuing, it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment further at this time.

The Eligibility Questionnaire required bidders to demonstrate their capability and commitment to maintaining Prestwick Airport as an operational airport. With the process to return Prestwick Airport to the private sector continuing, it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment further at this time.