Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Scottish Government on 21 August 2022.

UK’s deal with New Zealand “damaging” to Scottish farmers and food producers.

The UK’s Free Trade Agreement with New Zealand will allow for much higher quantities of produce to come into the UK tariff-free, leaving “a lack of a level playing field between Scottish and New Zealand farmers”, Scottish Ministers have warned.

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon and Trade Minister Ivan McKee have pointed to what appears to be a “stark contrast” with the agreement that the EU has secured with New Zealand – securing the same market access for its exporters but seemingly with better safeguards for its domestic producers.

In a joint letter to UK Government Minister of State for Trade Policy Penny Mordaunt, Ms Gougeon and Mr McKee said the UK’s deal “emphasises the futility and economic self-harm of the UK Government leaving the EU, making its own trade agreements, and then ending up with a worse deal than if we had stayed in the EU”.

In the first year of its FTA, the UK will allow 12,000 tonnes of New Zealand beef into the UK, while the EU has agreed to only 3,333 tonnes across all 27 EU countries. By year 15, the UK Government will allow 60,000 tonnes of New Zealand beef into the UK, and after that an unlimited quantity, while the EU will cap imports at 10,000 tonnes, and still apply a 7.5% tariff.

Ms Gougeon and Mr McKee have called on the UK Government to set out “what mitigations and compensation it will put in place for economic sectors and communities that suffer as a result of the UK Government’s trade deals.”

The press release issued by the Scottish Government on 19 August 2022.

Response to the public consultation published.

The proposed Islands Bond will not go ahead following responses to a consultation.

The key findings from the analysis of the Scottish Government Islands Bond consultation suggests that island communities do not support the proposed Bond – one of the initiatives announced last year to address the issue of depopulation.

Consultation respondents were fairly evenly split between those in favour and those opposed to the Bond, however those in favour of it were largely non-islanders.

Island respondents raised concerns about the proposed approach and whether it would achieve the objective of reversing population decline.

The greater focus on the importance of addressing population decline was welcomed by the islanders, as well as the commitment to work with communities to develop local solutions.

Welcoming the feedback from islanders, the Scottish Government is continuing to further develop other means to tackle depopulation including undertaking Practical Policy Tests, influenced by its engagement with island communities, that will inform the wider ‘Addressing Depopulation Action Plan’.

Rural Affairs and Islands Secretary Mairi Gougeon said:

“I would like to thank everyone who responded as part of the consultation process, and especially our island communities for their constructive feedback and suggestions. It is directly because of the feedback from islanders that we are changing our approach.

“The Islands Bond was never intended to be a silver bullet to address our island population challenges. Rather, it was just one element of our wider work, across all Scottish Government, to support our island communities.

“We will continue to address the issue of depopulation on our islands with our National Islands Plan commitment to develop an Action Plan to address this issue, with a draft publication in 2023.

“The learnings and suggestions gathered through the Islands Bond consultation will be used to shape a range of Practical Policy Tests to inform this Action Plan.

“Additionally, we are investing £8.3 million this year to deliver the National Islands Plan and critical infrastructure projects based on local priorities.

“Consultation with communities who are directly impacted by the introduction of new policies or strategies is a crucial part of policy development. Taking the decision demonstrates our continued commitment to listen to island communities and ensure policy is delivered in collaboration with them, rather than to them.”

Background

In our A Fairer, Greener Scotland Programme for Government 2021/22, we announced a commitment to develop an Islands Bond fund, providing up to £50,000 each for up to 100 households by 2026, by providing financial support for island residents to remain in their community, or to encourage people to move there.

Islands bond: consultation 19 stakeholder engagement sessions and 12 on-island in-person events took place last year.

Islands Bond Consultation Analysis Report

Scottish Government response to Islands Bond Consultation Analysis

The work around the Practical Policy Tests to inform the ‘Addressing Depopulation Action Plan’ will be driven forward over the next 12 months, in close collaboration with island communities, by delivering interventions that respond to unique island needs.

Scottish Government support for islands, and progress made towards delivery of the National Islands Plan, is recorded in our annual report, presented to parliament each year. The first of these was the National Islands Plan: annual report 2020, published 23 March 2021. The most recent report was the National Islands Plan: annual report 2021, published 23 March 2022.

The press release issued by the Scottish Government on 19 August 2022.

Full fibre broadband network extended.

More rural homes and businesses will access faster broadband following a further £36 million expansion of the Reaching 100% (R100) contracts.

The extension of existing contracts with delivery partner Openreach will see another 2,637 rural properties across Scotland able to access gigabit-capable connections through additional Scottish and UK Government investment in the R100 programme.

It will provide speeds more than 30 times faster than the Scottish Government’s original commitment and fulfil a 2021/22 Programme for Government commitment to deliver gigabit capable connections to the islands.

Contracts for both the North Lot – covering the north of Scotland and most of Scotland’s inhabited islands – and South Lot – covering Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders and stretching from East Lothian and East Ayrshire – are being extended with this new R100 investment.

The UK Government’s Project Gigabit will fund £16 million of this additional investment, which will be split between the R100 North and South contracts. The Scottish Government will invest a further £20 million in the North contract to help fund the gap between the cost of delivery and the contribution from Project Gigabit.

Business Minister Ivan McKee said:

“This latest investment will connect more homes and businesses in Scotland’s rural and island communities to gigabit capable broadband. That will have far reaching economic, social and development impacts.

“Our R100 programme is going further, and providing faster broadband, than originally envisaged. This takes time and significant investment, but we are fully committed to ensuring that as many people as possible are able to enjoy the important advantages of this future-proofed digital infrastructure.”

Digital Infrastructure Minister for the UK Government Matt Warman said:

“Bringing lightning-fast and reliable broadband to hard-to-reach areas is at the heart of the UK Government’s mission to level up communities, and that’s exactly what we’re doing in Scotland with our additional £16 million investment in R100.

“We’ve already delivered faster broadband to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across Scotland and there is even more investment on the way thanks to Project Gigabit, our record £5 billion programme to bring growth and prosperity to rural areas by putting them in the digital fast lane.”

Openreach Scotland Partnership Director Robert Thorburn said:

“The R100 build is once in a generation, bringing the fastest, most reliable technology to our most remote residents. Full fibre is future-proof – so the new network will always meet the nation’s needs.

“Connecting these properties one by one is one of the biggest broadband challenges in Europe. To make the most efficient use of resources, we’ll align the R100 build with our own rural investment. This will help us to get engineers and equipment to the most remote places, where they’re needed.

“We’ll continue to explore every option to reach more rural homes, faster.”

Background

The R100 North Lot contract extension covers an additional 1,488 premises in the following council areas: Argyll and Bute, Na h-Eileanan Siar (Outer Hebrides), Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands.

The South Lot contract extension covers an additional 1,149 premises in: Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire.

The North Lot extension will receive £20.2 million from the Scottish Government and £9.4 million from the UK Government. The South Lot extension is being funded with £6.6 million from the UK Government’s Project Gigabit programme. BT is also providing an additional supplier contribution of £0.9 million in the South Lot and £0.8 million in the North Lot. The South Lot extension is expected to be complete by March 2025 and the North Lot extension by March 2028.

The Scottish Government also remains committed to further enhancing broadband coverage in the R100 Central Lot contract covering the Central Belt, Perthshire, parts of Ayrshire and the Scottish Borders.

The online address checker at scotlandsuperfast.com confirms the broadband status of all Scottish homes and businesses, including a six-month delivery window for premises eligible for R100 contract connections within the next year and a half.

Project Gigabit is the UK Government’s £5 billion programme to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband in hard-to-reach areas across the UK.

The press release issued by the Scottish Government on 18 August 2022.

£3.5 million for landscape-scale biodiversity projects.

Longer-term projects that aim to transform Scotland’s natural environment can apply for a share of funding in the latest round of the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund.

Grants of over £250,000 are available to larger-scale initiatives that restore and protect habitats and species, including freshwater and coastal and marine areas, control invasive non-native species, and reverse the loss of lowland biodiversity in urban areas.

The multi-year Nature Restoration Fund is open to projects that help Scotland’s species, woodlands, rivers and seas back on the road to recovery.

Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater said:

“The Nature Restoration Fund is Scotland’s largest ever fund for nature and a vital opportunity to take positive action now and halt nature loss. It supports projects across Scotland – large and small – on land and at sea – that address the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.

“This summer we are also consulting on an ambitious new Biodiversity Strategy for Scotland. This sets out what our natural environment needs to look like by 2045 in order to reverse biodiversity decline and protect our environment for the future. I would encourage everyone to share their views and help us shape this crucial roadmap toward a better and more sustainable future for Scotland.”

Chair of NatureScot, Mike Cantlay said:

“To turn the biodiversity crisis around and tackle the climate emergency, we need to act urgently and decisively to regenerate nature in Scotland. The Nature Restoration Fund will champion ambitious, high-value projects to protect and restore Scotland’s biodiversity on land and sea in the critical years ahead. We are excited to see the initiative and ideas applicants bring forward. We need to take action to help nature in Scotland, not only to help us reach net zero by 2045 but also to create a healthier, more resilient country for us all.”

Background

Over this parliament we will invest at least £65 million through the Nature Restoration Fund, with at least £13.5 million available in 2022-23.

£3.5 million was allocated to support 46 smaller-scale projects during this year to help support biodiversity in rural areas across the country.

A further £6.5 million has been allocated to councils and Scotland’s National Parks for local nature restoration projects.

More information on the Nature Restoration Fund and details on how to apply can be found on the NatureScot website: Nature Restoration Fund – How to Apply | NatureScot

The strategic priorities for the large project element of the Nature Restoration Fund follow those in the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy consultation.

The press release issued by the Scottish Government on 18 August 2022.

A National Statistics Publication for Scotland.

An annual update on Homelessness Statistics covering 2021-22 has been released by Scotland’s Chief Statistician.

Findings for that period show:

There were 35,230 applications for homelessness assistance – an increase of 944 (3%) compared with 2020-21, but still below pre-pandemic levels (37,060 in 2019-20).

There were 28,882 households assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness – an increase of 840 (3%) compared to 2020-21, but still below pre-pandemic levels (31,612 in 2019-20).

There were 13,945 households in temporary accommodation at 31 March 2022 – a 4% increase compared with 13,359 at 31 March 2021. This compares to 11,665 at 31 March 2020.

The number of children in temporary accommodation has increased to 8,635 in March 2022 from 7,385 in March 2021 (17%). This compares to 7,280 at 31 March 2020.

There has been an increase in those becoming homeless from a private rented tenancy – 15% compared with 11% in 2020-21, almost reaching pre-pandemic proportions of 16% (2019-20). One contributory factor is likely to be the end of the ban on evictions imposed by emergency COVID-19 legislation, which was lifted on 17 May 2021.

There has been a decrease in rough sleeping, with 2,129 households reporting rough sleeping during the previous three months and 1,304 the night before the application. Both of these are the lowest in the time series (since 2002-03).

Homelessness applications that closed in 2021-22 which used temporary accommodation spent 207 days in temporary accommodation on average. This increased from 204 days in 2020-21 and 187 days in 2019-20.

There were 690 instances of households not being offered temporary accommodation. This is an increase of 16% compared to 2020-21 but a decrease of 85% compared to 2019-20. Almost all of these (670) were in Edinburgh.

82% of households assessed as unintentionally homeless secured settled accommodation in 2021-22, increasing from 80% in 2020-21, more in line with pre-pandemic proportions (83%).

It took an average of 256 days to close a case for homeless households in 2021-22, similar to 255 days in 2020-21, but greater than 225 in 2019-20.

Of the 28,882 homeless households: 63% of applicants were aged 25 to 49; 67% were single person households; 85% of applicants were of White ethnicity; and 52% of applicants had at least one support need.

Background

The Homelessness in Scotland: 2021-22 publication presents information on local authority homelessness applications, assessments and outcomes in the period from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, and places it in the context of longer term trends. It also provides data on the number of households in temporary accommodation throughout the same period.

Prior to 2020, there had been little change in the trends in homelessness since 2013-14. However, these have inevitably been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in larger than usual changes between years, as well as shifts in the direction of trends in some cases. The previous six-monthly update indicated a return of some of these trends to be more in line with what was experienced pre-pandemic. For that reason, the publication focuses on comparisons not only with 2020-21 but also 2019-20.

Trends appear to be returning to, or towards, pre-pandemic levels. COVID-19 impacted homelessness in the following ways: reported decreases in applications due to stay-at-home guidelines and extended eviction notice periods; cases remaining open for longer due to a limited ability to move households in to permanent accommodation due to lack of supply and ability to conduct repairs or viewings; greater use of temporary accommodation from existing applicants who had previously turned down an offer but who then required it. Local authorities have reported the ongoing effects of COVID-19, in particular high levels of backlogs due to the increased use of temporary accommodation during the pandemic. These backlogs have more recently been further exacerbated by a shortage of tradespeople and building materials, as well as the increased cost of materials to turn around empty properties. This will impact 2021-22 figures.

Official statistics are produced by professionally independent statistical staff – more information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland is available on the Scottish Government website.

The press release issued by the Scottish Government on 17 August 2022.

Marking one year of the Bute House Agreement.

New funding has been announced to cut carbon emissions in homes and commercial properties, as the Scottish Government continues to focus on delivering its net zero targets and support families with the cost of living.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Zero Carbon Buildings Minister Patrick Harvie announced £16.2 million funding for five zero emission heat networks during a visit to ng Homes in Glasgow.

The announcement coincides with the first anniversary of the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party Parliamentary Group signing the Bute House Agreement, a plan to work together to build a green economic recovery from COVID, respond to the climate emergency and create a fairer country.

In its first year the agreement has delivered a range of benefits for households, communities and businesses and seen work begin on a number of longer-term reforms.

Particular progress has been made across a range of areas including:

Doubling the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per week per eligible child from April 2022, with plans to extend eligibility to under 16s and further increasing the payment to £25 per week by the end of 2022.
Bringing ScotRail into public ownership.
Introducing free bus travel for under 22s to cut the cost of living for young people, encourage sustainable travel behaviours early in their lives and improve access to education, leisure, and work.
Investing a record £150 million in active travel in 2022-23, including more than doubling the funding for the National Cycle Network, a new walking fund, and supporting pilots for free bikes for school age children who cannot afford them.
Publishing Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation setting out how Scotland will transition to a wellbeing economy.
The Agreement set out a strategy for over a million homes to be using zero carbon heating systems by the end of the decade and allocating funds from a total planned investment of £1.8 billion to cut energy bills, improved building energy efficiency and reduce climate emissions.

Scotland’s Heat Network Fund offers long term funding support to deliver more climate-friendly ways of heating Scotland’s homes and buildings. It has enabled the rollout of new zero emission heat networks and communal heating systems, as well as the expansion and decarbonisation of existing heat networks across Scotland.

Moving forward, the Scottish Government is primarily focused on four key tasks: reducing child poverty; addressing the climate crisis; the recovery from COVID of Scotland’s public services including the delivery of the National Strategy for Economic Transformation; and the development of the prospectus for an independent Scotland and an independence referendum in October 2023.

The First Minister said:

“The world has changed substantially since the Agreement was reached 12 months ago. The conflict in Ukraine and the rising cost of living crisis have profoundly impacted everyone’s lives.

“However, the stable and collaborative government provided by the Agreement, has helped to deliver immediate action in the face of these challenges, including supporting those displaced from Ukraine and using the powers that Ministers have to address the cost of living crisis.

“Action is needed now to support communities to respond to the cost of living and climate crises, and Scotland’s Heat Network Fund is just one of the many initiatives that the Scottish Government has already undertaken. The projects that receive support from the Fund will fully align with the Scottish Government’s aim to eradicate fuel poverty by supplying heat at affordable prices to consumers, which is especially important now when we are seeing record rises in the cost of heating.

“The Bute House Agreement was reached to equip us best to deal with the challenges we face, because we believe that new ideas and ways of working are required to deal with new problems. An unstable world needs more co-operation and more constructive working towards building a consensus, if governments are to be equal to what the people need of them.”

Mr Harvie said:

“One year on from the Scottish Greens entering government as part of the Bute House Agreement, I am proud of what this Government is doing to build a fairer, greener Scotland. From free bus transport for young people to doubling the Scottish Child Payment, we are committed to accelerating action to tackle the climate and cost of living crises.

“The energy crisis households across Scotland now face is being driven by rocketing prices for gas, which we depend on for heat. We are clear that we need to redouble our efforts to improve the efficiency of our homes, making them more comfortable and cheaper to run, and end our reliance on gas for heat. That’s why we are investing £1.8 billion in our green homes and buildings programme.

“Delivering a just transition to net-zero and seizing the opportunities this presents is a major focus of the Scottish Government, and rapidly increasing Scotland’s renewable energy generating capacity and securing accompanying jobs and investment will be central to our work over the rest of the parliament.

“During the first year of the Agreement firm foundations have been built, demonstrating delivery and progress on shared policy priorities and adopting an approach that is both challenging and constructive.”