Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government’s Strengthening Communities Programme (SCP) is a revenue fund which provides support to community anchor organisations to build capacity and sustainability.

No new houses have therefore been built as a direct result of funding from SCP since 2021. However, SCP provides organisations such as Raasay Development Trust (Highlands), Sanday Development Trust (Orkney), Tomintoul & Glenlivet Development Trust (Moray) and Fair Isle Development Trust (Shetland) with capacity building funding which includes support for delivering new housing developments.

The 2026 Commonwealth Games will be delivered by the Glasgow 2026 Organising Company, in partnership with the Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Scotland. Glasgow 2026 Ltd is the corporate vehicle established to deliver the Games. The event will be privately funded by the Commonwealth Games Federation, commercial income from ticketing, broadcast revenue, sponsorship, hospitality and merchandising, and additional investment from Commonwealth Games Australia.

This private investment will provide direct economic benefit for the Scottish supply chain. Glasgow 2026 Ltd has committed to the creation of a Scotland-focused procurement strategy which will provide operational and event-based contracts for Scottish suppliers and ultimately create a number of Scottish jobs, in line with other similar sized events. In addition, Glasgow 2026 Ltd will seek to make best use of the world-class event specialists in Scotland as it works to deliver the Games, providing further employment opportunities.

Visitors to the event are also expected to provide further direct spending into the economy. It is anticipated that approximately 500,000 tickets will be available for sale. Past Commonwealth Games have strongly supported the visitor economy, driving tourism and footfall. For example, 34% of all visitors to the West Midlands in 2022 said they were influenced to attend because of the Games. As with all major events it will undoubtedly bring visitors and media attention to the city, provide an opportunity to promote Scotland to key Commonwealth markets as well as reinforce our reputation as the perfect stage for events.

At this stage, Commonwealth Games Scotland estimate the total economic value of the Games to Scotland to be £150 million. Anticipated benefits will be assessed throughout the project planning phase and the event will be subject to a final socio-economic impact evaluation.

This is a matter for the Scottish Charity Regulator. It is a non-ministerial office and its operations are independent of Scottish Ministers. The information requested is not held centrally and questions about any operational matters should be put directly to the Scottish Charity Regulator.

The Draft Scottish Budget on 4th December 2024, announced plans to invest £3 million in 2025-26, through a new Bright Start Breakfasts Fund which aims to expand access to free breakfast club places across Scotland, providing a healthy breakfast for children and supporting early drop off for working parents.

At this stage the Budget remains subject to Parliamentary approval, and more detail about how a new Bright Start Breakfasts fund will be administered and managed will be provided in due course.

This is a matter for the Scottish Charity Regulator. It is a non-ministerial office and its operations are independent of Scottish Ministers. The information requested is not held centrally and questions about any operational matters should be put directly to the Scottish Charity Regulator.

Housing developments are not commonly the focus of proposals submitted for Islands Programme funding.

Since 2021-22, four awards made through the Islands Programme have had the development of housing units among their deliverables. For some of these projects, the Islands Programme supported the delivery of enabling infrastructure, survey or other work required to proceed with the construction of housing units.

The following table provides a summary of housing projects that have received funding through the Islands Programme since 2021-22.

In 2024, the Scottish Government commissioned the Improvement Service with support from Assist FM, to map breakfast provision across Scotland. The results of this survey indicate that almost half of all primary and special schools in Scotland currently provide breakfasts in some form.

Existing breakfast club provision is delivered through a mixed model of delivery via a range of service providers including public, private and third sector. Therefore, we do not hold a data set or register of breakfast club delivery at individual local authority level, although this data may be available locally.

The Islands Programme awarded £120,000 in 2021-22, £72,000 in 2022-23 and £700,000 in 2023-24 to infrastructure projects supporting the delivery of housing units on islands.

Housing developments are not commonly the focus of proposals submitted for Islands Programme funding.

The Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund forms part of the broader Affordable Housing Supply Programme which is based on flexible grant funding arrangements to ensure that affordable housing projects across Scotland, which are identified by local authorities as a priority, can be supported. Local authorities should engage with a range of organisations in their localities, including public sector employers, key agencies, including Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise, as well as local businesses and registered social landlords to develop proposals for use of the fund for consideration by the relevant More Homes Division area team.

Local authorities and registered social landlords are expected to agree the level of grant required for property acquisitions through the Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund with the relevant More Homes Division area team. This should reflect the types and valuations of properties being targeted for purchase, as well as likely required investment to ensure quality standards are met.

Further information on acquisitions through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, including those through the fund, is available on the Scottish Government website.

This is a matter for the Scottish Charity Regulator. It is a non-ministerial office and its operations are independent of Scottish Ministers. The information requested is not held centrally and questions about any operational matters should be put directly to the Scottish Charity Regulator.