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We recognise the current pressure on the third sector, and understandably there are calls being made on the Scottish Government every day for more support.

SCVO estimate that the public sector as a whole invests around £1.4 billion each year to support the work of charities and social enterprises. Of that, around £500m comes from Scottish Government via a broad range of programmes including those supporting community empowerment, mental health and wellbeing, children and families and health and social care.

We will continue to invest widely in the third sector from across the Government and have committed to increase multi-year funding wherever possible. This includes investing £21.9m in Third Sector infrastructure and programmes that provide the ‘backbone’ support and development to the wider sector.

A range of resources and advice can be accessed through the Find Business Support service which Families Like Us that support the Juniors Play Café may find helpful. These can be accessed at the following link: Find Business Support .

The Scottish Government will agree the date of the first meeting in due course, following confirmation of representatives and proposed structure.

The Programme for Government sets out that a Circular Economy Bill will be introduced in 2022-23 and we remain on track to meet that deadline. Further, the Deposit Return Scheme remains on track to go live in August 2023.

All applicants were advised to demonstrate and evidence how their proposal would deliver against all four areas of action for the fund, and that these were the criteria against which their application would be assessed. The criteria are:

• tackling poverty and inequality, including child poverty
• developing and sustaining place based approaches
• community-led regeneration
• ensuring a just transition to net zero

All applications were assessed equally against the criteria and organisations were advised that previous support through ICF did not guarantee a future award.

The Investing in Communities Fund will support over 100 organisations receiving a share of £27 million over the three years 2023-24 to 2025-26.

There was significant interest in the fund, with a total of 801 applications submitted which were assessed in line with the process that was set out in the fund’s published guidance, concluding with the Independent Assessment Panel.

The assessment process fully allocates the available budget and as such the fund’s guidance made clear that the Panel decision was final and there is no appeals process.

Scottish Government officials are currently identifying representatives according to the draft terms of reference and will proactively publish the agreed membership in due course. There may also be opportunity to extend the participants list further as the meetings progress if required.

Meeting frequency will be determined by the Taskforce when it meets. We envisage that there will be a series of meetings and separate subgroup meetings focusing on the key themes within the terms of reference, and the frequency will vary by workstream, and as work progresses.

The terms of reference are in draft format and will not be finalised and agreed until following the first meeting of the Taskforce. The Scottish Government will proactively publish the agreed terms of reference in due course.

The draft terms of reference sets out its proposed scope on a series of specific issues, though is not intended as a fully inclusive list, as further issues may surface in the context of discussion. Nonetheless, the existing list of identified issues reflect clear themes around Culture and Leadership, Wellbeing, Attraction, Education and Development, and Retention – all in aid of the development of a sustainable workforce that enables the implementation of safe staffing legislation.

The NHS Forth Valley Assurance Board met for the first time on 1 December 2022 and aims to meet fortnightly. It last met on 23 March 2023, it will next meet on 11 April 2023.

The Assurance Board has previously met on the following dates:

• 1 December 2022
• 13 December 2022
• 10 January 2023
• 24 January 2023
• 7 February 2023
• 22 February 2023
• 9 March 2023

Updates from the Assurance Board, including minutes, and other materials associated with the group, are available on the Scottish Government website: NHS Forth Valley Assurance Board - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish Government provides funding to support our local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships who are responsible for the design and delivery of treatment and recovery pathways at the local level. They ensure a full range of recovery services are available such as aftercare, detox, residential rehabilitation and psychosocial treatments.

We acknowledge that alcohol recovery for most people is not a linear process, and for those whose goal is abstinence there is a risk of relapse at various points in their recovery journey, so alcohol services are supportive of people re-engaging after relapse. For others, they may want to consume alcohol but at a lower level. Alcohol services are open to and supportive of these individuals in achieving their goals. Services are also supportive of re-engagement if after meeting a goal an individual relapses into previous drinking patterns or if they want to work towards a new goal regarding their drinking.

The Scottish Government has consulted on restricting alcohol advertising and promotion to protect vulnerable groups, including those in recovery. Evidence suggests that alcohol marketing can be a barrier to successful recovery. Following analysis of responses we will consider possible restrictions.