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The Scottish Government welcomes the hard work of the National Tartan Day New York Committee in organising Tartan Week each year. They come together to honour their heritage and celebrate the impact of Scots in the US. Our office in Washington DC works closely with members of the Brand Scotland partnership, including Scottish Development International and Visit Scotland, to create a programme of engagement that harnesses the increased focus on Scotland during this time.

I am pleased to see Tartan Day also celebrated in Canada (where it originated) and the celebration of Scotland in other parts of the world throughout the year, including various Highland Games, Burns Suppers, Tartan Balls and Festivals. Our Scottish Connections Framework outlines our approach to supporting diaspora engagement with Scotland and people in other countries.

The percentage of the local government finance settlement that has been ring-fenced, by local authority, in each year since 2016-17, is set out in a document that has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, Bib number 64545.

Screen Scotland’s Economic Value of the Screen Sector in Scotland in 2021 report, published this August, shows the continued exceptional growth of Scotland’s screen industry, which contributed £627bn total GVA to the economy in 2021, and generated 10,940 FTEs of employment.

While Glasgow and Edinburgh account for the largest shares of economic impact, nearly £264m of that total GVA was generated elsewhere across Scotland, with nearly £175m GVA, and 2,980 total FTEs, in the fours areas named in the question.

The report clearly demonstrates the direct and indirect value of the screen sector to other key parts of Scotland’s economy, including hospitality and tourism, which is driven by titles like Outlander , set across Scotland’s uniquely beautiful landscapes.

To ensure the benefits of the sector’s success continue to be felt nationally, Screen Scotland are undertaking a range of strategic work, including: developing the network of Local Film Offices and liaisons across Scotland, who provide local, expert advice to incoming productions; through their Screen Commission, providing advice on locations and facilities across Scotland to domestic and international productions, to ensure that areas outside the central belt are considered and made accessible; supporting a range of skills and training programmes outside the Central Belt, including Stornoway, Aberdeenshire, and West Dunbartonshire, as well as through the Professional Development Fund, which is open to support travel and accommodation for anyone in Scotland to attend training to develop their career.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the continued growth of our screen sector nationally, including by incentivising productions to come to Scotland; encouraging the development of new studio space and infrastructure; increasing skills provision, and; pressing public service broadcasters to increase production from Scotland, so that the sector can continue to grow sustainably as part of the wider creative economy.

A current list of Special Advisers and their responsibilities can be found on the Scottish Government website .

The current financial year ends on 31 March 2024. As such it is not possible to provide the total cost of Special Advisers in the current financial year. Information on the total cost for 2023-24 will be published when it is available, in line with the provisions of the Scottish Ministerial Code.

The Scottish Government is engaging with Screen Scotland to explore all avenues for supporting the future of Screen Machine. I am also meeting with Regional Screen Scotland, who operate the Machine, on 5 October, so I can hear directly about the Machine and the support it needs to continue.

We recognise the value of cinema to communities as an important cultural asset, and we particularly understand the role Screen Machine plays in bringing cinema to communities for whom such access is limited.

We welcome the funding provided by Screen Scotland earlier this year, which allowed Screen Machine to lease a temporary replacement cinema until April 2024.

The Scottish Government delivers support for energy efficiency measures in owner occupied household through a number of schemes.

Information about the number of measures installed by councils as part of our Area Based Schemes is not reported on a monthly basis. Annual returns based upon the information provided by councils are published on the Scottish Government website:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/area-based-schemes/

Information about the number of measures installed by the scheme managing agent, Warmworks, as part of our Warmer Homes Scotland scheme is not reported on a monthly basis. Annual reports are published on the Warmworks website:

https://www.warmworks.co.uk/our-work/warmer-homes-scotland/

The number of households supported with energy efficiency measures through the HES Grant and Loan, including payment for funding offers issued under the predecessor HES Loan and Cashback Scheme are set out in the following table.

While it has published historic data for reported overflows for 2018-22 at Overflow Spill Data - Scottish Water , the reasons for spills is not available for historic events reported to SEPA, and this information is not correlated to rainfall data. However, Scottish Water publishes all reportable pollution events each year to SEPA and this information can be found at: Annual Reports - Scottish Water .

Scottish Water’s list of high priority assets identified for investment under Improving Urban Waters commitments can be found at High Priority UIDs.pdf (scottishwater.co.uk) . There are currently 163 High Priority Unsatisfactory Intermittent Discharge (UID) needs across Scotland, 155 Medium priority UID and 259 Low priority UID needs. Whilst this list is not updated annually, classification and prioritisation of unsatisfactory combined sewer overflows is ongoing in response to instances of pollution and water quality monitoring. More information about how these assets have been prioritised is available at: Prioritisation of Sewer Overflows in Scotland - Scottish Water

In August 2022, the Scottish Government committed funding to increase capacity across a range of advice services to help to address demand as a result of the energy crisis. This funding supported the Home Energy Scotland advice service to increase its capacity by 20% which helped to support over 138,000 unique households in 2022-23, with over 71,000 of those vulnerable to fuel poverty. This was an increase of over 70% of households at risk of fuel poverty receiving support from the service, versus the previous year. Home Energy Scotland's Energycarer service was boosted at the same time, allowing for an increase in visits to extremely vulnerable households who would otherwise struggle to engage with the service via the telephone or online. The expanded level of service has been maintained in 2023-24.

By using a risk-based approach and focusing resources on maintaining critical assets, Scottish Water aims to minimise the risk of failure and ensure that infrastructure is functioning properly. The approach combines proactive and responsive measures, underpinned by regular inspections and data analysis. This helps Scottish Water provide a reliable and high-quality service to customers while also being cost-effective and efficient. Additionally, Scottish Water completes around 3,600 sewer repairs every year to ensure the sewer network operates effectively whilst providing an opportunity to survey adjacent pipes for any defects which could allow groundwater to enter the system.