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The Scottish Government has had a number of meetings with Ricardo AEA Ltd since May 2021:

• Meetings to discuss research and analysis that Ricardo AEA Ltd has been commissioned to deliver for Scottish Government: this has involved around 20 research commissions, each with regular meetings to discuss project progress and direction, to agree method and approaches and to review and sign off outputs.
• Meetings related to working groups and advisory groups to which Ricardo provides technical expertise, for example related to air quality, either convened by Scottish Government or convened by others (eg UK Government) and in which Scottish Government is a co-participant. These meetings discuss matters such as data and evidence provision, analytical methods and research dissemination.

The Scottish Government is committed to tackling all forms of antisocial behaviour and to making all of our communities safe places where people can live free from fear or harm. I will monitor the development of the UK Government’s Antisocial Behaviour Action Plan as I consider how best to continue to prevent and tackle antisocial behaviour in Scotland.

The Scottish Government continues to support local authorities and Police Scotland to further reduce the damage caused by antisocial behaviour in our communities, including investing in prevention and early intervention. These agencies have a range of powers available to tackle antisocial behaviour. Additionally, the Scottish Government has been working with the Scottish Community Safety Network to better understand how we can prevent antisocial behaviour, and limit its harms.

Consistent with Scotland’s Framework for Tax we are consulting and engaging to help inform the development of the Scottish Aggregates Levy Bill.

This process began with a public consultation conducted last autumn, complemented by engagement with stakeholders. Taking account of feedback, it was concluded that more work was needed to ensure that decisions on Bill provisions are based on optimal evidence.

In January 2023, the decision was taken to establish an advisory group to assist this process. The group is designed with a broad mix of expertise and perspectives and is chaired by a senior Scottish Government official.

The group has already met twice and expects to hold its next meeting on 19 April. Through constructive and informed discussions, it is providing valuable insights to help refine policy positions and, in turn, Bill provisions. Summaries of its work will be published on the Scottish Government website in due course.

The Scottish Government appreciates the contribution of all members of the group, which will likely have a further role to play as the Bill progresses.

The Scottish Government supports transparency and responds positively to suggestions for the inclusion of information in the range of reports that the Scottish Government produces. Since the publication of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts 2021-22 and the related audit reporting, the Scottish Government has updated the reporting on the financial position in the recent Finance Update and Spring Budget Revision, will shortly lay in Parliament the Final Outturn report for 2021-22, which will update the outturn reporting from the Provisional Outturn statement and in the suite of annual accounts and will continue to engage with Audit Scotland on how transparency can be further improved in the next round of financial reporting. Finance and Public Administration Committee: finance update and Spring Budget Revision 2022 to 2023 guide - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ).

The approach to performance reporting is developing; Audit Scotland reported in its Annual Audit Report on the 2021-22 Scottish Government’s Consolidated Accounts that improvements had been made in 2021-22 to the performance report in the Consolidated Accounts. The Scottish Government is committed to build on those improvements in 2022-23 and we will continue to enhance our approach across the organisation, with a particular focus on outcomes.

Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website . The spreadsheets include a wide range of information including details of the organisation/individuals Ministers met along with the subject discussed.

Officials also engage with stakeholder organisations as part of the policy development process. Officials work closely with Scottish Women’s Aid as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to our Equally Safe Strategy, Scotland’s strategy to eradicate and prevent violence against women and girls. A representative from Scottish Women’s Aid also sits on at least one working group within the Scottish Government, the Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board (ES JSB) and further detail on this can be found on the Scottish Government’s website: Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government continues to meet with Advice Direct Scotland on a regular basis. The purpose of these meetings are to discuss the key issues affecting Scottish consumers and agree how we can work together to ensure we are delivering support and advice to as many people who need it as possible.

Scottish Government officials meet with local authority Directors of Finance representatives on a monthly basis and last met on 10 March 2023. The Scottish Government will continue to meet with COSLA and individual local authorities on a regular basis to cover a range of topics, including current and future budget pressures.

The independent Barclay Review of non-domestic rates reported in 2017 and made 30 recommendations, the majority of which were accepted by the Scottish Government in the implementation plan published in December 2017. All of the agreed recommendations of the Review have been implemented, including those which came into effect on 1 April 2023 such as the move to revaluations with a one-year tone date, the introduction of a new two-stage appeals process, and powers for councils to tackle rates avoidance.

The annual local government finance settlement consists of both revenue and capital grants and local authorities also receive additional ring-fenced funding outside the annual settlement.

In 2022-23 the General Revenue Grant funding within the annual local government finance settlement was paid in equal instalments every Wednesday throughout the year with the General Capital Grant payments being made monthly, in or around the middle of each month. All other ring-fenced funds are paid as and when required throughout the financial year.

Details of the final 2022-23 local government finance settlement are set out in the Local Government Finance Circular 3/2023 - Local government finance circular 3/2023: settlement for 2023-24 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) and the provisional funding out-with the settlement was set out in the 2022-23 Scottish Budget document Table 5.17 - Scottish Budget 2022 to 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government engages fully in the audit process and the related scrutiny. The Action Plan at Appendix 1 of the Annual Audit Report 2021-22 sets out the audit recommendations and the Scottish Government responses and agreed actions. It is the nature and timing of the audit process that there are aspects where action has already been taken and where action is in progress. The Public Audit Committee has considered the Auditor General’s report and the Permanent Secretary and relevant officials have attended a session with the Committee and responded to Committee questions.