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The Scottish Government is continuing to look into this matter and awards to TN Trawlers or associated companies over the periods of time covered in the BBC’s recent reporting.

The Scottish Government committed £60 million to the Young Person’s Guarantee in 2020/21, £70 million in 2021-22, and £45 million in 2022-23.

Funding for 2020-21 and 2021-22 came from UK Government Consequentials. From April 2023 the Young Person’s Guarantee has been mainstreamed across Government, with activity across education, skills and employability supporting young people into opportunities.

The Young Person’s Guarantee Measurement and Evaluation Framework was published in February 2022. This set out the approach envisaged at the time to monitor and evaluate the progress with the Guarantee, including Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and a planned Implementation Evaluation. The framework is available at: Young Person's Guarantee: measurement and evaluation framework - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

The Young Person’s Guarantee Implementation Progress Report (July 2021) and Update Report (March 2023) both highlight progress made over the 2 years. The reports also summarised developments at the time in relation to KPIs identified in the monitoring and evaluation framework. These reports can be found at:

Young Person's Guarantee - implementation: progress report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Young Person's Guarantee: update report March 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government published the Implementation Evaluation of No One Left Behind & the Young Person's Guarantee in August 2023. This evaluation considered progress in implementation and delivery, the experiences of service providers and service users, barriers and enablers to implementation and identified lessons from early delivery.

The Implementation Evaluation of No One Left Behind & the Young Person's Guarantee is available at: No One Left Behind and the Young Person's Guarantee: implementation evaluation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

From April 2023 the Young Person’s Guarantee has been mainstreamed across Government, with activity across education, skills and employability supporting young people into opportunities.

CMAL are the procurement authority and administer the tendering process through their staff. This would be a normal BAU cost by way of paying the salaries of the staff involved.

The Scottish Government is continuing to look into this matter and awards to TN Trawlers or associated companies over the periods of time covered in the BBC’s recent reporting.

The Scottish Government is continuing to look into this matter and awards to TN Trawlers or associated companies over the periods of time covered in the BBC’s recent reporting.

The Scottish Government has spent approximately £6.4 million on the necessary design and assessment work for the A720 Sheriffhall Roundabout scheme since Transport Scotland appointed its technical advisor, AECOM, in July 2013.

This figure is inclusive of VAT where applicable and covers costs associated with design and assessment work. This includes costs associated with options assessment, engineering design and preparation work, environmental assessment (including environmental survey work), traffic and economic assessment, stakeholder engagement, statutory process including public local inquiry, and supervision of ground investigation works.

The Scottish Government is continuing to look into this matter and awards to TN Trawlers or associated companies over the periods of time covered in the BBC’s recent reporting.

The previous UK Government had committed £8m of Union Connectivity funding for the Scottish Government to take forward design development and assessment of options for the realignment of the A75 around the settlements of Springholm and Crocketford. This funding was over the period of 2024/25 to 2026/27 of which £1,480,500 was received for 2024-25.

However, the UK Chancellor in her recent statement announcing £22 billion of cuts, also included a number of investment projects that will now no longer proceed as planned but will need to wait for the conclusion of forthcoming spending review process.. The earliest point at which we will know whether or not the UK Government is able to commit to this funding over the relevant future financial years, allowing the design development and options appraisal for these by-passes to be concluded is Spring 2025. We have therefore been offered no guarantee that such funding will be available.

The Scottish Government is disappointed that this lack of commitment by the UK Government is impacting on our ability to make meaningful and demonstrable progress for the people and businesses of the South-West of Scotland who rely on this vital route.

Transport Scotland officials have progressed a robust procurement process to appoint a technical advisor to take forward the design development and assessment work, however, re-confirmation of the UK Government’s funding position is awaited prior to awarding the contract.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving safety, resilience and reliability on the A75 for all users traveling on this important route to benefit not just the people of Scotland but those from the wider UK too. As such, the Scottish Government will continue to engage positively and collaboratively with the UK Government on our shared priorities for transport.

Financial support is available for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems through the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, which provides support for the retrofit of Registered Social Landlords' existing housing stock, and targeted support is also available through our Warmer Homes Scotland and Area Based schemes.