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The Scottish Government have been advised by HM Treasury that Barnett consequentials will be passed to the Scottish Government as a result of the £63m swimming pool support package announced by the UK Government.

As you will be aware any Barnett consequentials will be added to the Scottish block as a whole and Scottish Ministers will decided how best to allocate resources. As part of this process, consideration will be given to what support can be provided to the sport and leisure sector in Scotland.

The Scottish Government welcomes today’s publication of the Independent Review (the “Review”) of the Scottish Welfare Fund (the “SWF”) . The Review highlights the importance of the SWF as a national safety net. It provides an essential source of crisis support and helps with independent living. The Review confirms that local delivery remains the right approach for getting financial assistance to people in need.

The SWF is a lifeline for many people and the Review recognises the positive impact it has on recipients. We acknowledge the SWF is a vital service and note its importance at a time of crisis. We therefore want to ensure it is a programme that continues to deliver for people in the best way possible. After a decade in place, it is time to make improvements to ensure the SWF remains a robust and reliable service. That is why we commissioned Ipsos Scotland to undertake this comprehensive Review. We thank all those who have been involved in the Review and for the suggestions for improvement.

Since the SWF began in 2013, in excess of £360 million has been paid to more than 490,000 households. The current financial pressures facing many households and the hardship that brings has shone a spotlight on the need for such emergency funds, and we can be proud we have a national service like the SWF in place to provide support for people in need. There is no doubt that the current cost of living crisis and the inadequacy of UK Government welfare for everyday living has contributed to increased demand for the SWF.

We note there is no desire for a centralised SWF system, but it is clear we must increase parity and consistency of application and decision making across the country, as well as improving the promotion of the SWF. These will be central to our improvement actions.

We will now act on the findings of the Review and assess future sustainability of the SWF. We will establish a Policy Advisory Group to inform an action plan to make the improvements the SWF needs to ensure it continues to deliver for those in need. We will also continue to work closely with Councils and stakeholders in this work and plan to publish the action plan by the end of Spring 2023.

We will address directly the suggestions for improvement in the Review and take action to ensure grants are delivered consistently, effectively and efficiently by:

• Improving clarity and consistency of communication and promotion of the SWF to the public so no matter where people live, they know what they are eligible for, to maximise knowledge about the SWF from before and through the application process;
• Increasing and strengthening consistency of decision making to address the disparity between council areas;
• Increasing awareness and improving accessibility to the SWF;
• Simplifying and streamlining the application process including the form content;
• Reducing processing timescales and assessment prioritisation;
• Updating statutory guidance; and,
• Creating a new data, monitoring and audit approach.

Our approach to the action plan will be guided by four key objectives, which are to:

1. Assess the evidence base from the Review and develop policy improvements in collaboration with stakeholders including through a Policy Advisory Group;

2. Strengthen the relationship with delivery partners in Local Authorities, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman and the Scottish Prison Service, ensuring that policy improvements are implemented well;

3. Implement policy improvements in a sustainable way and establish an outcome auditing process to measure ongoing effectiveness; and,

4. Support the sharing of best practice and communicate positive outcomes driven by the SWF in the longer-term.

Crown Estate Scotland will announce today (24 March 2022) the outcomes their evaluation of applications to the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas decarbonisation (INTOG) offshore wind leasing round.

In total 13 projects were successful and will be offered exclusive development rights over areas of seabed in Spring 2023.

Five new innovative wind projects (with a potential generation capacity of 449MW) were successful, providing opportunities for the new growth sector of hydrogen production, novel commercial solutions and stimulation of the supply chain.

To support secure energy supplies and the decarbonisation of fossil fuel production and extraction in Scottish waters, eight projects (totalling 4.96GW) providing green electricity directly to oil and gas platforms were also successful.

A full sustainability appraisal to support the INTOG planning process is underway and a public consultation later in 2023 will be carried out by Scottish Government, on a draft Sectoral Marine Plan. INTOG projects in the final adopted plan will be offered full Option Agreements by Crown Estate Scotland in 2024 and the consenting process can then proceed.

The Programme for Government 2022-2023 set out a commitment to introduce a Scottish Aggregates Levy Bill within this Parliamentary year. The Bill will set out key arrangements for a devolved tax on the commercial exploitation of aggregates in Scotland, including to provide for its administration by Revenue Scotland.

Consistent with the Framework for Tax, the Scottish Government is consulting and engaging with stakeholders to help inform development of the Bill.

Following public consultation and taking stakeholders’ views into account, the Scottish Government concluded that further work is needed to ensure that decisions on Bill provisions are based on optimal evidence. An advisory group has been formed to assist with this process.

Given this, the Bill will now not be introduced before the end of the current Parliamentary year.

The NHS Forth Valley Assurance Board met for the first time on 1 December 2022 and aims to meet fortnightly. It last met on 23 March 2023, it will next meet on 11 April 2023.

The Assurance Board has previously met on the following dates:

• 1 December 2022
• 13 December 2022
• 10 January 2023
• 24 January 2023
• 7 February 2023
• 22 February 2023
• 9 March 2023

Updates from the Assurance Board, including minutes, and other materials associated with the group, are available on the Scottish Government website: NHS Forth Valley Assurance Board - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16001 on 24 March 2023. 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

a) Details of Ministerial travel and gifts are proactively published on a monthly basis and can be found on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/ .

b) The breakdown by route and calendar year for civil servants is as follows:

Interim reporting from the pilot local authorities on the number of ELC places needed for children deferring entry to P1 has been used to inform budget settlement decisions for 2023-24. The final evaluation report will be published in May 2023 and will provide information about implementation in pilot areas and explore the impact of the pilot on parental awareness and perceptions of the entitlement.

We are aware that, currently nine Health and Social Care Partnerships have fully implemented the guidance on the provision of short-term wheelchair loans, with a further three in the early implementation stage.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15841 on 24 March 2023. 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 .