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The Scottish Government receives quarterly financial reporting from IJBs which includes information on the funding received from their Local Government and NHS partners. The reports consolidate information already in the public domain as published by individual IJBs, and are published on the Scottish Government website. This exercise began in 2018 and no data collection was performed by the Scottish Government in respect of IJB funding prior to this.

The funding figures, taken from the IJB reports provided have been collated below. The totals include reported figures from all 30 IJBs and the position in respect of the NHS Highland Lead Agency arrangement. Any information regarding IJB funding prior to 2018-19 can be found in the annual accounts published by individual IJBs.

The Scottish Government has made clear our support for indigenous languages, including Scots.

The Scottish Government provides around £550,000 of funding to Scots organisations who support Scots education. Organisations such as the Scots Language Centre, Dictionaries of the Scots Language, The Association of Scottish Literary Studies, Scots Hoose and Yaldi Books are all supporting Local Authorities through the development of high quality Scots language learning and resources which allow young people access to Scots.

In addition, the Scottish Government works alongside Education Scotland and the SQA who have worked to standardise, promote and make the Scots language more readily available in schools. The Scottish Government’s Scots language policy was officially launched in 2015 and in 2017 Education Scotland published its Scots Language in Curriculum for Excellence report, which outlines good practice for teachers and senior leaders in Primary and Secondary and to Local authority officers with responsibility for literacy and 1+2 implementation.

We are currently considering the responses to the recent consultation on the future of Gaelic and Scots, this will help inform part of the work to develop Scots language policy and future guidance for Local Authorities, as well as the upcoming Scottish Languages Bill.

The Scottish Government published its formal response to the recommendations of the Independent Review into the Delivery of Forensic Mental Health Services on 29 October 2021. The response can be viewed at the following link: Independent Review into the Delivery of Forensic Mental Health Services: Scottish Government response - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Due to the ongoing unprecedented challenging financial context the timetable for delivery of the remaining measures in the act has been revised in order to effectively fund the development and delivery of each provision. While full implementation of the Act will take place over a longer period of time, the revised timings will continue to deliver clear, tangible incremental progress, subject to parliamentary process:

• Firework Control Zone provisions will commence in advance of bonfire night 2023 as originally planned. Guidance for local authorities on how to consider and designate zones will be published to coincide with the powers coming into force.
• The personal fireworks licensing scheme will begin operating in autumn 2024 at the earliest – work is currently underway to procure and develop the IT system for this
• The implementation of the restricted days of supply and use provisions is paused to a future financial year. This includes the compensation regulation making power, which is attached specifically to restricted days of supply.

We will continue to monitor and evaluate the impact of each of the provisions as they are delivered to encourage the safer use of fireworks and reduce firework related harm and injury.

Social Security Scotland directly employed 3,976 staff (headcount) as at December 2022. Of this amount, 69 were fixed term, fixed term student placements and modern apprentices. The remaining 3,907 staff were permanent.

Information on Social Security Scotland’s workforce are published quarterly with the most recent statistics from December 2022 published 14 March 2023, published workforce statistics .

The Scottish Government’s ambition, shared with COSLA, is for a trauma-informed workforce and services across Scotland. Since 2018, we have invested over £6 million in a National Trauma Training Programme, which provides freely available, evidence-based trauma training resources developed by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and informed by experts by experience.

A trauma-informed approach has been incorporated into all learning plans for Social Security Scotland colleagues including recoveries officers. In addition to this, all recoveries officers undertake bespoke learning on understanding the potential impact of bereavement and having sensitive conversations. Specialist training in relation to vulnerability and debt collection has also been commissioned from Money Advice Scotland.

Recommendation 19 of the Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 (STPR2) recommends a review of station accessibility across Scotland. This will identify and remove barriers to travel and improve access for all to the rail network, prioritising those stations that have particular accessibility related issues. The anticipated timeline for completion of the review remains Spring 2024.

Transport Scotland is currently waiting for release of the Department for Transport (DfT) accessibility audit review findings in order to inform the STPR2 work.

Rail accessibility remains reserved to the UK Government, which is not an appropriate arrangement for Scotland’s Railway. Nonetheless Transport Scotland officials work closely with the DfT in identifying priorities for the allocation of UK Access for All funding in Scotland.

Transport Scotland officials regularly meet with the Mobility and Access Committee Scotland (MACS) to ensure that Ministers are provided with relevant and accurate advice and information on accessibility needs in Scotland. Transport Scotland also works with ScotRail and Network Rail to ensure that accessibility forms a key part of any Scottish Government funded investment projects and operational policy.

The Scottish Government places great importance on leisure facilities and believes everyone should have access to these services.

We understand the challenging financial circumstances of operating and maintaining leisure facilities faced by local authorities, largely due to the cost of living crisis.

For its part, the Scottish Government has increased the resources available to Local Government by over £793 million in 2023-24, a real terms increase of £376m or 3%. However, it is for locally elected representatives to make local decisions on how best to deliver services to their local communities.

In addition sportscotland, our national agency for sport, works in partnerships with Scottish Governing Bodies of sport (SGBs), local authorities, leisure trusts, sports clubs and community organisations, schools, colleges and universities to provide opportunities for all to participate in sport. Since 2016, sportscotland has invested £621,200 into swimming pool facilities, via its National Lottery-funded Sport Facilities Fund programme. An annual breakdown is provided below.

2021-22 Aberdeen City - £100,000

2020-21 Argyll & Bute - £200,000

2018-19 Scottish Borders - £70,000

2017-18 Aberdeen City - £200,000

2016-17 Highland - £51,200.

The Secretary General and I had a constructive meeting in November last year during which Mr Ferrer and his colleagues provided me with an insight on the Paradores model and the work being done to repurpose and restore historical buildings and bring commercial activity to areas of historical importance.

The subject of Scottish independence was not an agenda item in discussions. However, Scottish ministers will always be polite enough during international meetings to answer any questions put to them about the Scottish Government's stated policies, including a legal, constitutionally sound referendum, as set out in our Programme for Government.

Local sport and leisure facilities, including swimming pools, are vital in supporting the physical and mental health of the nation.

We understand the challenging financial circumstances of operating and maintaining leisure facilities faced by local authorities, largely due to the cost of living crisis.

Following the announcement by the UK Government of the financial package to support swimming pools in England, we are considering what support, including ensuring the longer term sustainability and energy efficiency of these facilities, can be provided to the sport and leisure sector in Scotland.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with sportscotland, local authorities, COSLA, Community Leisure UK and Scottish Swimming to understand the challenges facing swimming pools and leisure facilities.