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The Scottish Government does not collect this information. The local councils are independent corporate bodies, separate from the Scottish Government, and it is up to each council how it manages its risks. Under the Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland (2021), the Scottish Government strongly encourages all public bodies to seek appropriate and regular independent assurance of their critical technical controls.

From May 2021 to date, £9,419,808 has been spent on the provision, maintenance and servicing of free bikes. This figure includes the cost of accessories such as locks, lights and helmets, and includes the total cost of the project associated with free bike provision. This includes bikes distributed under the Free Bikes for School Children pilot programme between August 2021 and March 2023, the Free Bikes Partnership in financial year 2023-24, and under the Regional Transport Partnership-led People and Place programme in financial year 2024-25.

Due to reporting schedules, the final evaluation of the People and Place programme for financial year 2024-25 has not been completed at the time of writing. The free bikes data for 2024-25 may therefore be subject to change.

Given the nature of operating a refinery, significant regular operational expenditure would be required, alongside frequent capital expenditure, to enable the asset to continue operating - and we continue to urge the UK Government to leave no stone unturned when it comes to securing the future and the workforce of the site.

The public and business community should be confident that the Scottish Government is committed to attracting and securing investment in Grangemouth’s future, underpinned by our £25 million Grangemouth Just Transition Fund which will be utilised to support near term low carbon opportunities identified by the Grangemouth Investment Taskforce and Project Willow.

The Scottish Government recognise that workforce and pay costs driven by a period of prolonged high inflation are now contributing to significant budget pressures across health and social care, the wider Scottish Government budget and the whole of the public sector. This Government has been clear that the extent of these challenges will not be addressed in a single year and we will continue to make the tough choices necessary to support sustainable public finances, whilst also seeking to minimise the impact on frontline services as far as possible.

The Agenda for Change pay deal focuses on rewarding staff such as nurses, midwives, paramedics, porters and others for the dedication and effort they provide to NHS Scotland. Delivering a renewed and stronger NHS is a key commitment for the Scottish Government and at the heart of that are our hard-working healthcare staff who we want to ensure feel valued and rewarded.

Refugee Festival Scotland is coordinated by Scottish Refugee Council. The Festival did not run in 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Direct Funding

The Scottish Government did not provide any direct funding for Refugee Festival Scotland between 2020-2025.

Indirect Funding

In August 2020, the New Scots partnership secured funding from the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) for the New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project (NSRIDP) to enhance the delivery of the New Scots refugee integration strategy. The project was led by the Scottish Government in partnership with COSLA, Scottish Refugee Council and the UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts at the University of Glasgow.

A total of £6 million of EU funding was secured, for a £6.6 million project running between October 2020 and December 2023, with the Scottish Government required to provide 10% match funding for the project. The project ended following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

During the project lifespan, the following funding was included for Scottish Refugee Council to deliver Refugee Festival Scotland:

• 2020-21: £5,207.80
• 2021-22: £65,085.80
• 2022-23: £63,035.46
• 2023-24: £114,866.51

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37757 on 30 May 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The approach to pay for staff at the Scottish National Investment Bank aligns with other UK development banks and reflects the need to attract and retain staff with the necessary skills, experience and expertise from the financial services sector.

The Bank now has £786 million of investment commitments and has crowded in over £1.4 billion of third-party co-investment, bringing the total committed by, or alongside the Bank, to over £2.1 billion.

The Bank posted their first operating profit in 2023-24 of £3.2 million and have recently published their annual Impact Report up to the end of December 2024. The Report included these highlights:

• 207,042 people positively impacted by investments since launch
• 742 new homes supported since launch
• 3,091 jobs directly or indirectly supported during 2024
• £227 million supply chain spend in Scotland since launch
• 135,531 tCO2e avoided or removed since launch, equivalent to removing over 72,000 cars from our roads

Considering these positive results, the Bank and the management are delivering value for money.

The criteria for the Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) are developed by the Bank’s Remuneration and Nominations Committee for the start of each financial year. This committee is a subset of the Bank’s Board and do not themselves benefit from the LTIP scheme. Ministers review and approve the criteria suggested by the committee but have no role after that and are not involved in agreeing or approving any staff payments.

Once the LTIP criteria are agreed, the Bank’s Remuneration and Nominations Committee is responsible for assessing how the Bank’s staff have performed against them and approve any payments.

The Bank’s Annual Report and Accounts include a Report from the Chair of the Bank’s Remunerations and Nominations Committee which might be of interest (see page 96 onwards).

The list of public appointments by public body, which was published on 25 March 2025, is an exhaustive list of Ministerial regulated public appointments only. Ministerial regulated public appointments are those governed by the Ethical Standards Commissioner and the Code of Practice for Public Appointments (2022). The Code requires publication.

The list is intended to be published to always reflect recently made appointments. It was last published in October 2024, January 2025 and February 2025. It was corrected on 25 March 2025 following the identification of errors.

Officials commenced a process of methodically checking the full list for accuracy on 25 March 2025. Once complete, the list will be re-published.

The cost of the Scottish Governments Directly employed workforce rose from £239M in 2015-16 to £623M in 2023-24 - An increase of 161%.