Chamber and committees

The Just Transition Fund has within the last three years provided £988k in capital funding support to the following projects:

• £361,767 over 2022-23 to the Cabrach Trust for development of the Cabrach Distillery. The project aimed to create permanent skilled employment opportunities in the area, attract tourism, and support local economic growth and regeneration.
• £626,734 over 2022-24 to Ripcell for its pilot Sustainable Solvent Recovery for EV Battery Recycling project utilising pot ale a whisky waste product.

a) The Scottish Government’s Counter Fraud Toolkit within the Counter Fraud Framework contains a range of processes for assessing risks associated with fraud and corruption in all areas of public sector spending. These are aligned with the UK Government's Counter Fraud Standards and international best practice on the effective prevention of public sector fraud and corruption.

b) The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) contains the requirements for assessing and responding to the risk of corruption in all areas of public finance and infrastructure spending. Where the risk of fraud or corruption of any kind is identified, the SPFM requires that appropriate measures are put in place to prevent these risks.

At the time of writing, the Scottish Government last met with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) on 4 February 2025. Scottish Government officials met with SSEN’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Head of Public Affairs and Policy colleagues to discuss recent regulatory and policy developments.

The measures to mitigate the impact of potential international corruption in the management of public resources in Scotland are found in the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM), and within the relevant Scottish Government policies and Civil Service Code. Requirements within the SPFM cover the appropriate standards for the handling of all elements of public finances in terms of payments made, received, and in how they are documented and authorised.

The SG engages with external partners and colleagues from the UK Government Public Sector Fraud Authority, the International Public Sector Fraud Forum, Audit Scotland and the Scottish Public Sector Counter Fraud Network. This facilitates the sharing of expertise and current practice in the prevention of fraud and corruption, as well as horizon scanning on future risks, providing assurance on the management of fraud and corruption risk and the protection of public resources.

The Scottish Government has in place a Fraud Risk Management Framework and Counter Fraud Strategy, which both align to the UK government functional standard 013 - Counter Fraud, and the principles of this standard. The SG framework focuses on four areas that determine the Scottish Government’s high-level approach to fraud and corruption. These centre on the areas of:

• Governance
• Risk assessment
• Prevention and detection
• Fraud response

This framework and approach can be used to inform assessment and response to any fraud or corruption risks.

Please find below a table with a list of who attended each meeting. Any formal minutes will be published on the Scottish Government’s website and at the time of writing, there are no meetings with SSEN scheduled in ministerial calendars.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. This would need to be requested from the NHS Boards directly.

It is for NHS Boards to ensure best use of available resources to support service delivery whilst prioritising patient safety and care.

The objectives for my visit were to raise the profile of Scotland’s energy offer in Germany, with a view to future trade and investment possibilities; to position Scotland as a leading player in the energy transition, with valuable learning to share with Germany and internationally; and to engage strategically with major German energy companies to gain insights on their growth plans and promote Scotland as a destination for further business opportunities.

I addressed the Handelsblatt Energy Conference, where around 1000 senior energy stakeholders were in attendance, and secured widespread coverage in German media of Scotland’s energy offer and the attractiveness of our industrial sites and workforce. The high profile of the Handelsblatt platform and subsequent media coverage further promoted innovation and investment opportunities in the Scottish supply chain.

My visit enabled me to meet with a number of German businesses to promote investment in the Scottish sector, including RWE Generation, EnBW and Siemens Energy. These meetings helped progress and deepen important relationships with German stakeholders who will be important to Scotland’s developing green hydrogen and CCUS propositions, as well as helping to develop the energy sector to facilitate Scotland achieving its climate targets. I also met with Germany’s former hydrogen commissioner, the CEO of Germany’s largest transmissions system operator, and senior officials from the German Foreign Office. Officials will now take forward actions from those discussions, in Scotland and Germany, to progress companies’ commercial interests in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-34080 on 13 February 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Maintenance/replacement costs for road studs on the A90 from August 2022 can be seen in table A.

Table A

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33259 on 11 February 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers