Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government have been advised by HM Treasury that Barnett consequentials will be passed to the Scottish Government as a result of the £63m swimming pool support package announced by the UK Government.

As you will be aware any Barnett consequentials will be added to the Scottish block as a whole and Scottish Ministers will decided how best to allocate resources. As part of this process, consideration will be given to what support can be provided to the sport and leisure sector in Scotland.

We recognise the current pressure on the third sector, and understandably there are calls being made on the Scottish Government every day for more support.

SCVO estimate that the public sector as a whole invests around £1.4 billion each year to support the work of charities and social enterprises. Of that, around £500m comes from Scottish Government via a broad range of programmes including those supporting community empowerment, mental health and wellbeing, children and families and health and social care.

We will continue to invest widely in the third sector from across the Government and have committed to increase multi-year funding wherever possible. This includes investing £21.9m in Third Sector infrastructure and programmes that provide the ‘backbone’ support and development to the wider sector.

A range of resources and advice can be accessed through the Find Business Support service which Families Like Us that support the Juniors Play Café may find helpful. These can be accessed at the following link: Find Business Support .

Meeting frequency will be determined by the Taskforce when it meets. We envisage that there will be a series of meetings and separate subgroup meetings focusing on the key themes within the terms of reference, and the frequency will vary by workstream, and as work progresses.

The Scottish Government will agree the date of the first meeting in due course, following confirmation of representatives and proposed structure.

As the member will know, rail accessibility is reserved to the UK Government. However, Transport Scotland continues to develop opportunities, where possible, to deliver accessibility improvements within larger projects, such as at Carstairs, and additionally at Pitlochry, Aviemore, Kingussie and Nairn stations.

A list of railway stations in Scotland, including accessibility categorisation, is available on the ScotRail website. https://www.scotrail.co.uk/sites/default/files/assets/download_ct/20221123/vW4AP--fp0CW1OEJTomvU8Old-7vG-_dxpytivxd8kA/in429_atp_station-accessibility_info_april_2022.v5.pdf

Since ScotRail’s publication of this information, Croy and Johnstone have been made fully accessible and two new fully accessible stations were opened at Reston and Inverness Airport. Of the 361 Scottish Stations, 181 have step free access to one platform and 42 have no step free access.

Transport Scotland, through its Trunk Road Operating Companies and Design Build Finance Operate (DBFO) Concessionaires, is responsible for the management and maintenance of the strategic trunk road network, including motorways. Repair of potholes on all other roads is the responsibility of the local authorities.

Due to the scale and significance of this project, in addition to the NHS Capital Investment Group, the Executive Team in Investment Mode, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, will also review the Outline Business Case at their meeting on 11 April 2023. A decision on next steps will be made after that meeting.

I have engaged with a wide breadth of stakeholders in the offshore energy sector during this period, in the North East of Scotland and across Scotland. Regarding formal meetings with companies in the North East Scotland region I had the following formal meetings:

12 October 2022 - St Fergus Terminal /Segal Terminal Site Tour which included meeting with St Fergus field visit with North Sea Midstream Partners (NSMP), Storegga and Shell attending 26 October 2022 - OEUK UK1 March 2023 - Decom North Sea meeting.

This list is not exhaustive of all the engagement I have with offshore energy companies, I speak with companies and stakeholders at all the events that I attend and take part in. Some of the stakeholder events I attended in this time period include:

2 November 2022 - Speaking at Supporting Scotland's Renewable Energy Supply Chain, Scottish Renewables 22 November 2022 – Speaking at the event International Scotland Report, Fraser of Allander Institute and CMS Partners Event 22 November 2022 – Visit to NESCOL Altens 30 November 2022 – Meeting with the North Sea Transition Forum 10 October 2022 – SEE - Maximising Scotland’s Energy Potential: Achieving a Just Transition Conference 8 December 2022 – OEUK Awards Ceremony

The Scottish Government welcomes today’s publication of the Independent Review (the “Review”) of the Scottish Welfare Fund (the “SWF”) . The Review highlights the importance of the SWF as a national safety net. It provides an essential source of crisis support and helps with independent living. The Review confirms that local delivery remains the right approach for getting financial assistance to people in need.

The SWF is a lifeline for many people and the Review recognises the positive impact it has on recipients. We acknowledge the SWF is a vital service and note its importance at a time of crisis. We therefore want to ensure it is a programme that continues to deliver for people in the best way possible. After a decade in place, it is time to make improvements to ensure the SWF remains a robust and reliable service. That is why we commissioned Ipsos Scotland to undertake this comprehensive Review. We thank all those who have been involved in the Review and for the suggestions for improvement.

Since the SWF began in 2013, in excess of £360 million has been paid to more than 490,000 households. The current financial pressures facing many households and the hardship that brings has shone a spotlight on the need for such emergency funds, and we can be proud we have a national service like the SWF in place to provide support for people in need. There is no doubt that the current cost of living crisis and the inadequacy of UK Government welfare for everyday living has contributed to increased demand for the SWF.

We note there is no desire for a centralised SWF system, but it is clear we must increase parity and consistency of application and decision making across the country, as well as improving the promotion of the SWF. These will be central to our improvement actions.

We will now act on the findings of the Review and assess future sustainability of the SWF. We will establish a Policy Advisory Group to inform an action plan to make the improvements the SWF needs to ensure it continues to deliver for those in need. We will also continue to work closely with Councils and stakeholders in this work and plan to publish the action plan by the end of Spring 2023.

We will address directly the suggestions for improvement in the Review and take action to ensure grants are delivered consistently, effectively and efficiently by:

• Improving clarity and consistency of communication and promotion of the SWF to the public so no matter where people live, they know what they are eligible for, to maximise knowledge about the SWF from before and through the application process;
• Increasing and strengthening consistency of decision making to address the disparity between council areas;
• Increasing awareness and improving accessibility to the SWF;
• Simplifying and streamlining the application process including the form content;
• Reducing processing timescales and assessment prioritisation;
• Updating statutory guidance; and,
• Creating a new data, monitoring and audit approach.

Our approach to the action plan will be guided by four key objectives, which are to:

1. Assess the evidence base from the Review and develop policy improvements in collaboration with stakeholders including through a Policy Advisory Group;

2. Strengthen the relationship with delivery partners in Local Authorities, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman and the Scottish Prison Service, ensuring that policy improvements are implemented well;

3. Implement policy improvements in a sustainable way and establish an outcome auditing process to measure ongoing effectiveness; and,

4. Support the sharing of best practice and communicate positive outcomes driven by the SWF in the longer-term.

The Scottish Government has today launched a survey seeking views from anyone with an interest in Scotland's world-class event industry on the review of the national events strategy, Scotland the Perfect Stage. The strategy was first published in response to Scotland's burgeoning potential to be a global leader in the events industry and was last updated in 2015. The event sector has recently experienced a period of unprecedented disruption, presenting a number of challenges and potential opportunities for the sector in Scotland. A refreshed strategy is needed to address these.

The survey seeks views on spreading economic benefits, a just transition to net zero, skilled workforce and fair work practices, the wellbeing benefits of events, and measurability and sharing good practice. Boosting equality, promoting diversity and showcasing Scotland on the international stage also sit at the heart of the strategy review. The review's priorities and the survey paper have been developed with representatives from the event sector, public bodies, local authorities and trade unions.

The survey will be open for 3 months, closing on 30 June 2023, and can be found at found at

https://consult.gov.scot/culture-tourism-and-major-events/national-event-strategy-review-and-refresh . In parallel, VisitScotland and the Scottish Government will be undertaking a number of engagement events with stakeholders around Scotland to explore emerging themes in more detail. It will be essential for this work to draw strongly on the knowledge, expertise and experience of those working in and taking part in events, and I would encourage engagement to the greatest extent possible.