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As part of the final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), published on 16 March 2020, we carried out an analysis of the potential for DRS to affect consumer choice. The BRIA can be viewed here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/deposit-return-scheme-scotland-full-business-regulatory-impact-assessment-2/ . It concludes that any shift towards larger containers is likely to be small.

The Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government wrote to local authorities on 20th March committing additional resources of £50 million for a Hardship Fund with no restrictions. Local authorities have flexibility in how they use the funding as part of their overall response to COVID-19, including any additional costs they incur in administering the Business Support Grant fund.

The valuation of all non-domestic property is a matter for independent assessors and Ministers have no locus to intervene in that process.

In the 2020-21 budget, we maintained a number of measures aimed at reducing carbon emissions and supporting the renewables sector. This includes the renewable energy relief which is available to subjects that are used for the purpose of the generation of renewable heat or power where the scheme provides community organisations with at least 15% of their annual profit, or annual profits as is attributable to at least 500 kW of the total installed capacity of the project.

This renewable energy relief applies equally to all different types of renewables subjects, and relief is available to schemes based on a sliding scale presented in the following table:

The Scottish Government is committed to a fair and sustainable non-domestic rates system and we already offer a renewable exemption, as well as a number of reliefs for low carbon and renewables schemes. This includes the renewable energy relief which is available to subjects that are used for the purpose of the generation of renewable heat or power where the scheme provides community organisations with at least 15% of their annual profit, or annual profits as is attributable to at least 500 kW of the total installed capacity of the project. In addition, we provide the most generous relief for small-scale hydro schemes anywhere in the UK.

Through COP 26 Scotland will mobilise action on climate change by providing a stage for a Global response. Harnessing the will and ambition of the Scottish Government and the Scottish people to firmly positioning us as a world leader in research, technology and debate.

We will ensure that Scotland has a meaningful role in COP 26 which supports our climate change agenda, and enhances Scotland’s leadership on social justice and just transition. We will ensure Scotland derives a positive legacy from the event, including lasting benefits for trade, investment, business outcomes and the well-being of people. Our approach includes activities and engagements throughout Scotland, not just Glasgow or its surrounding areas, and we envisage this will be reflected in the medium/long terms economic benefits that hosting large events brings. This is strengthen by an overall approach that Global efforts to tackle climate change must put people and communities first.

Our engagement to date has confirmed this position with commercial organisations, Civic Society and communities throughout Scotland making contact to advise that they are organising activities and engagements that will attract footfall specifically related to COP26. Our overall approach is that Global efforts to tackle climate change must put people and communities first.

Through our flagship Fair Work First policy, we are extending Fair Work criteria, which includes payment of the real living wage, to as many funding streams, business support grants and public contracts as we can by the end of this parliament. We are developing monitoring arrangements to support this.

The Scottish Government does not hold information relating to the payment of the real living wage by individual organisations in the creative industries sector.

A Culture Strategy for Scotland adopts a broad and inclusive view of culture as the way a society expresses itself and includes languages as well as many formal, informal, established, evolving and emerging forms of culture, heritage, creative expression and practice. Both mapping exercises will seek to establish the full extent of current cultural provision either funded or delivered by local authorities (including cultural trusts) and national performing companies and collections across the whole of Scotland. This will aid forward planning and partnership working to ensure geographic equity of cultural provision going forward.

The announcement was made on 10 March 2020 and details of the announcement are available online at: https://www.screen.scot/news/2020/3/green-light-for-studio

The Broadcast Content Fund is run by Screen Scotland, the dedicated partnership focused on growing our TV and film industry. Since Screen Scotland launched the fund in 2018, they have allocated 52 awards totalling £5,985,781. Of these awards, 19 were for development projects, 14 for production and 19 were for slate development.

Twenty-six awards have been contracted and publicly announced and details of these are available online:

• On 28 March 2019, 6 Scottish production companies received £900,500.
• On 20 April 4 2019, Scottish production companies received £371,182 .
• On 21 August 6 2019, Scottish production companies received £836,820.
• On 3 December 2019, 9 production companies received £751,176.
• On 5 December 2019, 1 production company received £300,000.

The contracts on some of these awards are not yet completed and remain confidential.

The total anticipated budget of all individual production and development projects supported through the Broadcast Content Fund amounts to £31,562,899. Screen Scotland has also provided slate development funding to 19 Scottish production companies, with an aggregated anticipated development budget of £3,456,348. Therefore, the total anticipated budget for all projects supported to date through the Broadcast Content Fund is £36,704,493.

As a number of the funded projects are currently still in development or pre-production, the total Scottish expenditure from funded projects is not yet known but all projects are expected to comply with Ofcom’s updated criteria for a “Scottish” production, with budgets equivalent to those anticipated in their applications.

The Scottish Government encourages and supports participation in local democracy and values the role of Community Councils who undertake a wide range of activities for the benefit of their community.

Community groups play an important role in the cultural life of their areas. Community groups and grassroots cultural activity is the bedrock of creative life in Scotland. Community Councils and other groups have been key to transforming their areas, supporting creative activity and amplifying local voices.

A Culture Strategy for Scotland recognises and celebrates each community’s own local cultures in generating a distinct sense of place, identity and confidence and this aim underpins one of the three main ambitions set out in the strategy: Empowering through culture.

The Strategy seeks to enable people to shape the cultural life of their communities to better value, protect and nurture Scotland’s rich cultural heritage which inspires creativity today and celebrate the diversity of culture as part of every community.

For example, the Creative Communities programme, which will be delivered by Inspiring Scotland working with Creative Scotland, is a new initiative to support and empower individuals and communities to further develop their own cultural activity locally.