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In light of that answer, there is no fixed date for when I will come to Parliament with a response to the consultation.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government has transferred all of the £35.4 million budgeted to Independent Living Fund Scotland.

The fund budget for the Independent Living Fund (ILF) for 2016-17 is £47.2 million. The Scottish Government has initially set aside an additional £1.1 million for administration costs for 2016-17, however the final budget is still to be agreed between Scottish Government and ILF Scotland. The Scottish Government has also committed an additional £5 million to open the fund to new users.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-30523 on 17 March 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Independent assessors (IA) play an important role in the assessment of potential living donors. Once accredited with the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), they act as a representative of both the donor and the HTA. There are sufficient IAs in Edinburgh, however the transplant unit based at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow recently experienced a shortfall in the number of IAs required to interview potential donors and recipients. Following a recruitment exercise, several people have submitted applications to the HTA and will undergo training in March 2016.

All solid organ transplant services in Scotland are nationally commissioned by NHS Scotland’s National Services Division (NSD). Following publication of A Donation and Transplant Plan for Scotland 2013-2020, NSD undertook a comprehensive review of the potential future of solid organ transplantation in Scotland which included a health and social care resource impact analysis for all types of solid organ transplantation (including living kidney donation). The report entitled Commissioning Transplantation to 2020 was published in 2015 and can be viewed at the following link: http://www.nsd.scot.nhs.uk/%5C%5C/publications/servicereviews.html.

No data is available on how long it takes to become a living donor, broken down by NHS board. Assessment to become a living donor is tailored to individual needs and commitments and varies from person to person. The process usually takes at least three months. However it may take more or less time depending on factors such as the number of potential donors who come forward to be assessed for each recipient; the health of the potential donors and the type of tests they require; and the general health of the potential recipient. Information on the process involved in becoming a living donor is available on the Organ Donation Scotland website at the following link: https://www.organdonationscotland.org/sites/default/files/living_kidney_donation.pdf.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-30523 on 17 March 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government HR official statistics publication of 16 March 2016 contains the most recent staffing position, showing that at 31 December 2015 there were 5,120 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in Core Scottish Government directorates:

http://www.gov.scot/stats/bulletins/01203.

Our historic data shows that at 31 March 2007 there were 4,200 FTE employees in Core Scottish Government/Executive directorates.

The increase of 920 FTE is largely caused by the transfer of staff and functions into the Core Scottish Government in the following public bodies between 2007 and 2009:

Communities Scotland

Scottish Agricultural Science Agency

Scottish Building Standards Agency

Mental Health Tribunal

Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency and Fisheries Research Services

Staffing numbers are also published via the Office for National Statistics quarterly public sector employment series. The Office for National Statistics website provides the last five years of historical information. The most recent publication is available at the following link:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/publicsectoremploymentreferencetable.

Revenues from Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) remain firmly on track and overall devolved tax revenues are expected to exceed the Scottish Government's forecast for 2015-16.

Residential LBTT revenues in the year to date remain broadly in line with expectations, allowing for the effects of forestalling which were excluded from the original forecast for 2015-16 of £235 million.