Chamber and committees

In Scotland we have a well established policy framework supporting our communities, delivered through a range of programmes and funds including funding to develop and improve community facilities.

For example, our Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP) has invested over £180m capital funding since its launch in 2021-22. The PBIP includes investment delivered through local government and the delivery of the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF). PBIP is shaped by the needs and aspirations of local communities and has provided direct support for community and voluntary sector organisations to create and improve local facilities.

The RCGF provides capital funding to community-focused projects to help deliver regeneration in deprived and fragile areas. RCGF is primarily aimed at either providing new infrastructure or enhancing existing infrastructure that will improve the economic, social, and physical environment of communities. The fund has supported communities across Scotland to create and improve hundreds of assets and facilities, bringing back into use vacant and derelict buildings, including historic and landmark buildings.

Our Empowering Communities Programme complements the PBIP with revenue investment enabling communities to connect with and maximise impact from the capital investment, supporting the capacity, resilience, and sustainability of communities.

The Scottish Government delivers support for the historic environment through sponsorship of Historic Environment Scotland, which is the lead public body to investigate, care for and promote Scotland’s historic environment.

Historic Environment Scotland provides a wide range of grants and funding for projects that aim to protect and promote historic places. It provides circa. £14 million each year to local communities to repair and revitalise the historic environment.

The Scottish Government has been engaging with Historic Environment Scotland, Church of Scotland and other stakeholders on the closures of historic and listed churches.

We will continue to work closely with the Church of Scotland and leaders of all faiths and denominations, to regularly discuss issues impacting on their communities.

The Scottish Government understands the importance of physical activity in Scotland and the positive impact that has on physical, mental and social health and wellbeing. We should all feel included, and able to take part and access the benefits of being active.

It is the responsibility of local authorities, under the Local Government and Planning Act 1982, to ensure that there is adequate provision of facilities for recreational, sporting, cultural and social activities within the local authority. This should include the provision of gym facilities that are accessible and inclusive, with a fair pricing structure.

sportscotland’s 2022-23 annual review of local authority charges for sports participation in Scotland highlighted 27 local authorities, offered a concessionary scheme for disabled people which provided reduced or free use access to sports and leisure facilities.

Scotland’s AI Strategy was published in March 2021. Taking account of recent and fast-paced technological developments and a growing international focus on the opportunities and threats which AI can offer, it is essential that Scotland has in place a strategy which keeps us on the forefront of those developments.

In a Scottish Parliament debate on 1 June 2023, I announced that I would ask the Scottish AI Alliance Leadership Group to undertake an independent review setting out what Scotland needs to do to optimise the benefits of AI. The review will set out recommendations on how we can maximise the potential of AI whilst minimising its risk and ensuring benefit for all.

The final review report and recommendations are expected to be available in early 2024, and will be shared publicly when available. The review is not a formal update of the strategy, more a refocus and refresh given the speed of development.

Stantec's Community Needs Assessment report on transport connectivity for Cowal and Rosneath has recently been finalised and is intended for publication by Transport Scotland in the new year once its contents have been reviewed and considered.

Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic.

However, I can confirm that the Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance activated the Bellwin Scheme on 23 October 2023. The Bellwin Scheme is a discretionary scheme to give special financial assistance to local authorities as a result of providing relief and carrying out immediate work due to large-scale emergencies.

Argyll and Bute Council is one of six local authorities to have notified the Scottish Government of a potential claim relating to Storm Babet.

Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic.

However, I can confirm that the Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance activated the Bellwin Scheme on 23 October 2023. The Bellwin Scheme is a discretionary scheme to give special financial assistance to local authorities as a result of providing relief and carrying out immediate work due to large-scale emergencies.

Argyll and Bute Council is one of six local authorities to have notified the Scottish Government of a potential claim relating to Storm Babet.

Our Diabetes Improvement Plan contains a specific commitment to support further roll-out of technologies such as insulin pumps and Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs), as well as emerging technologies such as hybrid closed loop and artificial pancreas systems. Between 2016 and 2022, we have invested £29.6 million of additional funding specifically to support this.

This is over and above the baseline funding that Scottish Government provides to NHS Boards and it is for them to determine how best to utilise this funding to meet the needs and priorities of their local populations.

We work closely with boards to identify and resolve any issues regarding access to diabetes technologies and we recognise that there are still significant challenges for some people living with diabetes to access the technology they are eligible for.

The Accelerated National Innovation Adoption (ANIA) pathway based within the Centre for Sustainability Delivery (CfSD) has recently established a national team to provide dedicated support to NHS health boards and roll out the technology faster and more efficiently across Scotland. We will monitor this pilot closely to determine how best to support NHS Boards in the future.

A review of the expressive arts curriculum as outlined in the Scottish Government’s response to recommendations made by the National Partnership for Culture, is being coordinated by Education Scotland. The review is currently at the planning stage, the aim being that the review will move to examine the role of knowledge in the expressive arts curriculum framework in partnership with educators and stakeholders later this academic year.

The Scottish Government allocated an additional £500k in capital funding to Museums Galleries Scotland in both 2021-22 and 2022-23.This was in recognition of the important contribution museums make to our communities, and was directed towards crucial repair and maintenance work, to reduce museum running costs and increase resilience.

Government officials will continue to engage with and discuss the sector’s capital needs with Museums Galleries Scotland. The creation of an ongoing open access capital fund will be considered as part of future capital budget processes.

The capital outlook is extremely challenging as the UK Government did not inflation-proof their Capital Budget which has resulted in a projected 6.7% real terms fall in our capital funding over the medium term between 2023-24 and 2027-28.