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The Scottish Government is establishing a group to help identify potential place demonstrator projects, including in towns and town centres, as part of our 5 year £325 million Place-Based Investment Programme.

The budget allocated to the Energy Investment Fund in 2021-22 was up to £13 million, no budget has been allocated for any future financial years. There are new investment mechanisms in place through the Scottish National Investment Bank which supports the Scottish Government's strategic priorities to achieving our net zero ambitions.

The Energy Investment Fund will close at the end of this financial year 2021-22. The Fund was established in 2013, (succeeding the Renewable Energy Investment Fund) with funding from the Fossil Fuel Levy, to address market failure in capital funding in specific renewable energy sectors. The Fund has been very successful over the years, however, the market for capital funding has changed since 2013. There are new investment mechanisms in place, through the Scottish National Investment Bank, which supports the Scottish Government's strategic priorities to achieving our net zero ambitions.

Collective bargaining agreements are not considered as part of that assessment.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has advised that it is in discussions with the manufacturer of Palforzia ® , Aimmune Therapeutics UK Limited, regarding their plans for a submission to the SMC’s appraisal process. The decision to make a submission, and the timing of that submission, are entirely for the manufacturer to make. Information on SMC timelines and submission scheduling can be found here . Once the manufacturer has provided the Palforzia ® submission to the SMC, information on the specific timelines for this assessment will be available via the search facility available on the home page of the SMC’s website here . After a submission is received and scheduled for review by the SMC, the resulting advice is e published and takes effect for NHS Scotland from the month following the review meeting.

As soon as the medicine is submitted to the SMC for appraisal, Health Boards have procedures in place using the Peer Approved Clinical System “PACS Tier Two” process which provides an opportunity for doctors, on a case by case basis for individual patients, to request the use of the medicine in advance of the SMC completing the appraisal process and issuing its advice.

Vessel procurement is not considered as part of this assessment.

The vessel procurement strategy will be taken forward in the Islands Connectivity Plan and details have already been included in the Infrastructure Investment Plan.

The community needs assessment process is focussed on identifying communities needs for travel.

However, the procurement process for the next CHFS contract will consider potential community benefits including employment and training opportunities .

We currently have no plans to collect information on how many applicants for Young Carer Grant have No Recourse to Public Funds.

My officials have worked closely with VoiceAbility, and continue to support them to develop comprehensive training packages for their advocates. This training will be delivered through VoiceAbility’s newly established training centre and Scottish headquarters in Glasgow.

Training provides all necessary information on Scottish benefits; the application and appeals process; and the Scottish Social Security Principles set out in the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 and underpinned by Social Security Scotland’s Charter. In return, VoiceAbility Learning and Development leads have supported Social Security Scotland counterparts to develop training resources for client advisors – setting out the principles of advocacy, as well as the client journey following referral to the service.

Officials will continue to monitor the service as it develops to ensure that all training packages are relevant and up to date.

There are a number of actions in place to promote Best Start Grant School Age Payment. We are promoting this payment as part of the Five Family Payments campaign. This campaign focuses on the three Best Start Grant payments, Best Start Foods and Scottish Child Payment. It includes paid-for television and radio advertising that encourages parents and carers to access the support to which they are entitled.

We are also promoting the School Age Payment through tailored and targeted social media posts, as well as news stories and press releases. This includes interviews containing School Age Payment case studies which ran on TV last year when the new school year started. Through all of this activity, we have been highlighting the deadline for applications which is the 28 February 2022.

Using information from DWP and HMRC, Social Security Scotland writes directly to families who may be eligible, inviting them to apply for School Age Payments. This proactive approach to maximising benefit uptake is a first for Social Security Scotland.

Social Security Scotland has written to all nurseries and primary schools in the country, ahead of the application deadline, to raise awareness of the payment. Through their monthly stakeholder newsletter, Social Security Scotland continually promotes the School Age Payment.