By 31 August 2023, there were 84,660 cardholders in Aberdeen City within the National Concessionary Travel Schemes. In Scotland, there are a total of 2,263,403 cardholders. This includes cardholders in the free bus schemes for those aged 60 and over, those aged under 22 and eligible disabled people.

Cardholder data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO) and is provided by local authority.

NECPO supports the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data. The figure includes travel products collected from the Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile app.

Rail accessibility in Scotland is a reserved matter for the UK Government. In June 2022, the Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed, in writing, to Transport Scotland that nominated stations will be assessed primarily against similar criteria to those used in previous Control Periods. This criteria includes:

• Footfall, using figures published by the Office of Rail and Road.
• Stations where there is a particularly high incidence of disability in the area, based on Census data.
• A particular local circumstance such as the proximity of hospitals, a school for disabled children or a military rehabilitation centre for example, or stations with relatively high numbers of interchange passengers.
• The availability of third-party funding.
• Stations that would help to fill “gaps” in accessibility on the network such as in an area where there are no accessible stations.
• Letter of support from the constituency Member of Parliament (MP).

Transport Scotland work closely with Network Rail and ScotRail to agree the Scottish Government nominations, taking account of the criteria against which these will be evaluated by the DfT. The finalised submissions are approved by Scottish Ministers prior to submitting to the Department for Transport.

We are making available at least £60 million for the National Acquisition Programme. Spend will be reliant on suitable properties being available to purchase that align with local authorities’ strategic housing priorities. We are working closely with partners to identify and support projects to be brought forward.

Our veterans and armed forces community are an asset to our society and we want to make sure they have a suitable home that meets their needs. Funding can be made available through our Affordable Housing Supply Programme to deliver homes specifically for veterans where local authorities identify this as a strategic priority. Veterans and armed forces personnel also have priority access to the Low-Cost Initiative for First Time Buyers shared equity scheme. The Scottish Government continue to support Housing Options Scotland which includes their Military Matters project and our social housing allocations practice guidance includes a specific section on armed forces and veterans to help landlords consider the needs of this group and respond appropriately.

Social Security Scotland do not make decisions on whether an application is fraudulent. Where fraud is suspected, appropriate investigations would be undertaken and when complete, a report would be made to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal for their consideration. If after due process a conviction is achieved, fraud is then confirmed by the Scottish Judicial System.

Prevention of fraud is a priority, with measures and controls embedded in Social Security Scotland’s processes and systems to minimise the opportunities for fraud.

With regards to combined levels of both fraud and error these are included in the Social Security Scotland Annual Report and Accounts.

Social Security Scotland carefully considers the information on counter fraud activity that can be placed into the public domain to ensure that any information released does not undermine the ability of Social Security Scotland to prevent and detect crime.

The Scottish Government is pleased to announce that the Scottish Onshore Wind Sector Deal has been launched today at the Scottish Renewables Onshore Wind Conference.

Myself and the Minister for Energy and Environment have signed the deal on behalf of the Scottish Government.

A copy of the deal will be available on the Scottish Government website – https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781835213810

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service will give careful consideration to any reports of alleged criminal conduct which are submitted by the police, or any specialist reporting agency.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has no policy whereby it will not accept offences reported to by the police, or any specialist reporting agency.

The 2023-24 Programme for Government and Pay Strategy maintains our commitment to a four-day working week public sector pilot to assess environmental, health and wellbeing benefits and productivity gains this could bring.

The pilot and the concluding report will ensure meaningful insights are gained on the benefits and risks of a four-day working week approach.

We are currently seeking an expert partner organisation to support pilot participants, assist with the pilot design and produce an evaluation report. The work of the expert partner organisation will define the framework to judge the effectiveness of the public sector four-day working week pilot proposal.

The following table sets out the number of accused receiving a direct measure as a first substantive marking compared to the total number of accused receiving a first substantive marking (all types including: court, direct measure, no action, no decision) in cases including an assault charge (within the Scottish Government Classification of “Common Assault”):

The Scottish Government places great importance on indoor sport facilities, such as ice rinks. They are crucial to the wellbeing of all our country and most importantly, for our children and young people to be healthy and active.

We are aware of the current challenges and difficult financial circumstances facing many operating indoor sports facilities due to the cost of living crisis. We have repeatedly called on the UK Government to use all the powers at its disposal to tackle this cost of living crisis and to provide appropriate energy bill relief to leisure facilities.

Where indoor sports facilities are operated by the local authority or leisure trust, it is for local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities. In 2023-24 the Scottish Government provided nearly £13.5bn in the Local Government Settlement and increased the resources available to local government by more than £793 million, including £100 million of additional funding at Stage 3 of the Budget Bill, funded in part by consequentials provided at the UK Budget. This was a real terms increase of £376 million or 3% compared to the 2022-23 Budget figures. In addition, Scottish Ministers allocated a further £55m ahead of the summer. This follows on from the additional £1 billion of funding provided to Local Government in 2022-23.

The Scottish Government understand that access to facilities is necessary for a range of sporting activities. That’s why our Programme for Government for 2023 to 2024 sets out our intention to convene a working group, including representatives of sports organisations, community organisations and CoSLA, to explore how community access to community facilities, such as the school estate, can be enhanced. This will be a priority action in our refreshed Active Scotland Delivery Plan.