Chamber and committees

The accounts are published and available for download on the Scottish Government website for the financial years 2015-16 to 2023-24:

2023-24 (page 89) https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-consolidated-accounts-year-ended-31-march-2024/

2022-23 (page 109) https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-consolidated-accounts-year-ended-31-march-2023/

2021-22 (page 100) https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-consolidated-accounts-year-ended-31-march-2022/

2020-21 (page 95) https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-consolidated-accounts-year-ended-31-march-2021/

2019-20 (page 63) https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-consolidated-accounts-2019-2020/

2018-19 (page 55) https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-consolidated-accounts-year-ended-31-march-2019/

2017-18 (page 44) https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-consolidated-accounts-year-ended-31-march-2018/

2016-17 (page 41) https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-consolidated-accounts-year-ended-31-march-2017/

2015-16 (page 46) https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-consolidated-accounts-2015-16/

The accounts prior to 2015-16 are not published online, with information back to 2004-05 held within Scottish Government electronic records. Years prior to 2004-05 are not held.

Tables showing staff numbers by portfolio, in line with the published accounts, for the years 2004-05 to 2014-15 have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. Number 65408).

Social Security Scotland communicate the reasons why Funeral Support Payment applications are denied to applicants on an individual basis by letter. Applications can be denied if the client is not eligible or provides insufficient evidence to support their Funeral Support Payment application.

Social Security Scotland routinely publishes information on Funeral Support Payment including applications received, application outcomes and payments.

The latest statistics publication for this benefit can be found at: Social Security Scotland - Funeral Support Payment Statistics.

Decisions on future funding for third sector organisations dealing with domestic abuse will be confirmed on completion of the budget process later this year.

The contracts for support services for the Small Vessel Replacement Programme commenced in 2019 and will conclude in 2027. The value of these contracts is commercially confidential.

The content of any legal advice is confidential. By long-standing convention, successive Scottish and Westminster Governments have not disclosed the source or content of legal advice other than in the most exceptional circumstances.

However, we have sought to provide some further details of the relevant legal background. There are multiple constraints on the ability to legislate in relation to this matter. Firstly, the Scottish Parliament cannot make laws which relate to a reserved matter. The relevant reserved matter is Section L2 of Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998 which reserves the subject matter of “Equal opportunities”. A proposed new duty relating to inclusive communications relates to this reserved matter and therefore falls within one of the limited exceptions to this reservation.

Further, in terms of section 29(2)(c) and schedule 4 of the Scotland Act 1998, the Scottish Parliament cannot make laws which modify the law on reserved matters. The Equality Act 2010 is a law on reserved matters and as such a new duty related to inclusive communications cannot modify any provision of it. Lastly, the enabling power for a new duty was limited to the following (as per section 153 of the Equality Act 2010): regulations which have the purpose of enabling the better performance of listed authorities of their public sector equality duty.

As part of discussions around the development of a fiscal framework, and in direct response to specific requests to explore a general power of competence, both officials and Ministers have held numerous meetings with COSLA, SOLACE and Local Government representatives to clarify what additional powers Local Government would wish to use and to better understand the restrictions of the wide latitude of existing legislative provisions, which include a power for local authorities ‘to do anything to advance well-being’ in their local area. Regular discussions are ongoing, with the most recent meeting held on 14 October, and further meetings planned to develop robust proposals for such a power to ensure that any legislative amendments will be effective in delivering the greater freedoms local authorities wish to have while providing assurance over potential increased financial risk.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of accountability and seeks to ensure that it is built into everything that we do. Regarding monitoring arrangements, the responsibility for oversight of compliance with the Equality Act 2010, including compliance with the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 including Regulation 11, rests with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which has issued guidance on how the Regulations should be applied in practice.

This work related to a new duty related to inclusive communication in Scotland made under the Equality Act 2010. This means that the legislation could only relate to communities who have protected characteristics set out in that Act.

However, the Scottish Government’s policy understanding of inclusive communication, is as follows: “Inclusive communication is giving information in a way that is accessible to as many people as possible. It ensures people can receive information and express themselves in ways that best meet each individual’s needs.” Therefore we anticipate that many communities could benefit from activities to enhance the use and understanding of inclusive communication across the public sector.

Our commitment relating to inclusive communication was part of our work considering improvements to the operation of the Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”) in Scotland, which is contained in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. The Scottish Government has limited competence to legislate in relation to equal opportunities including the PSED.

In relation to supporting public authorities to better comply with the PSED, the only available legislation making power Scottish Ministers have is to impose specific duties under the Equality Act 2010, therefore no other alternative legislative route is available.

Scotland is the only part of the UK that already offers 30 hours per week, in term time, of funded ELC to all 3 and 4-year-olds regardless of whether their parents are working or not. We also make 1140 hours available to around a quarter of 2 year olds and to all children whose entry to primary school is deferred.

It is far from clear that a universal system of government funded childcare would deliver either value for money for the Scottish taxpayer or the best outcomes for our children and young people.

Before turning to the detail, I think it is important to recognise the financial context that the Scottish Government is currently having to work within. As the Cabinet Secretary for Finance outlined in the fiscal statement on 3 September, we cannot shy away from the fact that Scotland continues to face one of the most difficult public spending environments that this devolved Parliament has ever seen.

That is why we have committed in this year’s Programme for Government to work with local authorities to maximise uptake of funded early learning and childcare for eligible two-year-olds, with a particular focus on families most at risk of poverty and areas with some of the lowest uptake rates.

Over the next two years we are also investing £16 million within six early adopter communities to continue our work to understand what it takes to design and deliver local childcare systems that support those families most at risk of living in poverty.

The engagement and targeted delivery that takes place for younger children in our six EACs will be a key element of our developing evidence base to inform future delivery.

We are continuing to support the ‘Extra Time’ Programme, investing £4 million in a partnership with the Scottish Football Association to deliver before, after school and breakfast clubs, providing 3,000 targeted free places each week for children and their families. We have also invested close to £1 million to deliver free or subsidised school age childcare services through our Access to Childcare projects. These projects consider specific challenges for families, including remote and rural childcare provision, and specialist provision for children with disabilities or complex additional support needs.

We remain committed to expanding funded ELC to reach more young children and to building a system of School Age Childcare, and we are going as far and as fast as budgets allow to deliver that.