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The Bank receives funding through Grant in Aid which it uses to cover operating costs and fund its investments. From launch in November 2020 to the end of March 2023, the Bank received a total of £325m and has invested £304m. The annual breakdown is detailed below. The amount of cash invested in 2023-24 will be confirmed in the Bank’s audited Annual Accounts which will be published in the coming months.

The Scottish National Investment Bank is operationally independent of Government. It makes commercial debt and equity investments to deliver on the three Missions set for it by Scottish Ministers. The Scottish Government will provide the Bank with £174m of budget for investment during 2024-25. Some of that budget will support existing investment commitments with the remainder available for new and follow-on investments.

The Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland made recommendations with regard to ensuring that audiologists are eligible for registration upon completion of training but did not include a recommendation for audiologists to be regulated by statute. At present, audiologists below the academic qualification threshold for statutory registration with the Health and Care Professions Council are expected to join the Professional Standards Authority-accredited voluntary register held by the Academy of Healthcare Science (AHCS). The review implementation group will be considering whether accreditation with the AHCS remains appropriate and sufficient. Discussions on the statutory regulation of audiologists would also need to take place on a four-country basis.

Making reasonable adjustments to meet client’s needs is intrinsic to the design of Social Security Scotland.

Client choice in application routes, appointment type, length and time of appointments are all things agreed in discussion with the client on the pre-call Client Support Advisers have with clients before an appointment.

All staff meeting clients in their home go through an extensive training routeway when joining Social Security Scotland. Training focusses on the technical skills required for their role, and the personal skills needed to support vulnerable clients, such as Trauma Informed Practice, Clients at Risk of Harm, Managing Risk and Mental Health Awareness. This is supplemented with communications training to provide insight and understanding of the impacts a condition can have on a client’s ability to communicate. Given the wide range of conditions that clients can have, staff work closely with Social Security Scotland’s own Health and Social Care Practitioners to gain more specialist knowledge and understanding of medical conditions. Training is supplemented with a consolidation period to ensure learning has been fully understood .

Social Security Scotland is focused on continually reviewing and improving its services. People are encouraged to give feedback, whether this is positive or negative, through the official Social Security Scotland feedback process to capture the experiences of their clients.

The Charter, developed with clients, sets out a range of standards for their performance and each year they publish the Charter Measurement Framework to share how they are delivering against their Charter commitments.

The Local Delivery appointments process was developed using feedback from their clients and stakeholders. The service is client led with clients having full control over the type of appointment (home visit/outreach location/video/telephone), the time of the appointment and whether they feel they will need more than one appointment to complete the activity.

To ensure Scottish Security Scotland continue to deliver against the Charter, and meet the needs of their clients, they conduct regular surveys with their clients. These surveys cover all aspects of the service, including clients experience of appointments, whether the service meets their needs and where they can improve. This allows Social Security Scotland to continually review and adapt their service to meet the needs of their clients, regardless of their location or individual needs.

Social Security Scotland services were designed in consultation with clients and stakeholders. In shaping the design and Policy underpinning the service, staff consulted with the Disability and Carers Benefits Expert Advisory Group. As benefits launched the Agency Implementation Group and latterly the Operational Reference Group were created to ensure that they continually learn from those who interact and use their services. Social Security Scotland has also engaged with the clients that use the service, initially through Experience panels and then as benefits launched, the Client Experience panels. Their Inclusive Communication Group worked with clients to understand the challenges they face in dealing with Organisations and the barriers to getting the support they need. Through this direct feedback, and understanding of client’s needs, Social Security Scotland have built a client led, flexible service that supports clients in a way that meets their individual needs.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government. The Academy for Healthcare Science is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) , which demonstrates that it has achieved the PSA standards in governance, standard-setting, education and training, management of the register, complaints handling and equality, diversity and inclusion. It is the register itself that is accredited by PSA, not the practitioners who register with it.

An up-to-date list of European Structural Fund projects, including notional allocations, is available on our website: European Structural and Investment Funds: operations funding - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish National Investment Bank does not consider ‘applications for funding’. Rather, it makes commercial debt and equity investments to deliver on the three Missions set for it by Scottish Ministers. The Bank is operationally independent of Government and the Government does not hold the information sought.

Social Security Scotland works closely with individuals and disability organisations to design it’s services. Every stage of the application process has been tested to ensure that Social Security Scotland are taking a human rights-based approach to what they do, as set out in Our Charter. This means treating everyone without discrimination and in line with their values. This includes finding processes that work and are inclusive and fully accessible.

Social Security Scotland is committed to delivering a social security system that is inclusive. They do this by carrying out user research and testing with people who have lived experience of the benefit system, people who communicate in different ways and relevant stakeholders across Scotland. This is to embed inclusive communications across the entirety of Social Security Scotland. Social Security Scotland work with these stakeholders to influence how they develop their services and processes.

Social Security Scotland clients understand information and express themselves in different ways. To accommodate this, Social Security Scotland provide different channels clients can use to contact them in a way that suits them. Social Security Scotland can make written communications available in different formats and languages such as Braille and Easy-Read. Social Security Scotland can also arrange for interpreters for clients who request that level of support as well as support for clients who are non-verbal.

Social Security Scotland provide in-person support to clients who need it when accessing their services at a place and time that suits them. Social Security Scotland have specially trained advisors based in every local council area across Scotland who can support clients with appointments at home, in local community venues or by telephone or video call.