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The Scottish Government has always worked in partnership with Local Government to enable local authorities to provide services which deliver positive outcomes for the people and communities we jointly serve.

There have been a range of laws passed since 1999 which have provided more powers and responsibilities for local authorities and have impacted on the services they deliver. For example, the Islands Act 2018 handed more powers to our island communities and introduced measures to support and help meet the unique needs of our islands. We will also shortly be devolving Empty Property Relief to local authorities from 1 April 2023 with a concurrent transfer of £105m to local government, which is significantly more than the estimated cost of maintaining the national relief in light of the decision to freeze the poundage. However, it is not possible to provide a comprehensive list of all those policy and legislative changes within the timeframe being asked.

It is important to note that any new legislative change that results in additional expenditure by local authorities is expected to be fully funded by the relevant policy area.

To maximise the benefits of the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) in mitigating climate change, the 2023 round will target support for agri-environment, organics and slurry storage applications. This approach will focus on enabling options within the scheme, offering support to as wide a number of beneficiaries as possible.

Significant budget cuts arising from the UK Government reneging on public commitments that farmers and crofters would not be worse off as a result of the EU Exit, has led to the difficult decision to suspend some elements of the 2023 round, including public funding for the mechanised and chemical control of bracken.

The suspension of mechanical and chemical bracken control applies to applications for AECS funding in 2023 and there are no plans to offer alternative funding in 2023.

Manual bracken control continues to be offered, and this is often the preferred treatment method on species rich grassland and other habitats offering high biodiversity value.

Those with existing AECS contracts or new contracts, following the 2022 AECS awards announced on 19 January 2023, which contain bracken control through chemical and mechanical means will continue to be supported.

Decisions on future rounds of AECS will be taken once detail is confirmed on the budgetary position for 2024 onwards.

Support for heather restoration through the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) has been suspended since 2020 following advice from NatureScot that the commonly used chemical treatment was not tested for use in rough grazing and upland areas. This treatment had negative implications for biodiversity and carbon sequestration.

As there is no suitable alternative, this option was suspended. If in future, a chemical treatment is approved by the Chemicals Regulation Division (CRD) for use in upland areas this decision will be reviewed. Existing commitments at the time of suspension were removed without penalty.

The Scottish Government established the independent review to develop a new funding model to ensure victims have access to high-quality, accessible specialist support. The call for written evidence is one part of the overall review process which includes around 80 engagement sessions with stakeholders.

The Call for Evidence report refers to respondents’ views that wide geographic coverage is needed for a range of services, including refuge. The necessity to take a holistic approach to the provision of services supporting people experiencing violence against women and girls, with a combination of different services working together in a coordinated way, was also flagged.

The Funding Review, as per its remit, will seek to provide recommendations on “the development of a Scotland-wide framework which establishes a definition of the minimum level of specialist service provision” and Ministers will consider it’s recommendations in due course.

This Government is clear that industrial action in our schools is in no one’s interest, least of all for pupils, parents and carers who have already faced significant disruption over the past three years.

As indicated by the Office of National Statistics, it is concerning that this industrial action is putting parents and carers are at further financial loss.

We are absolutely committed to reaching teachers’ pay deal and are working closely with the teaching unions and local government partners to reach a resolution as soon as possible. We also continue to urge the teaching unions to suspend industrial action while these talks are ongoing.

The information requested is not collected or held centrally by the Scottish Government and would require to be obtained from Health Boards.

The Scottish Government is committed to investing in Changing Places Toilets over this parliamentary term, in order to increase the number of these facilities across the country and to support mobile Changing Places Toilets to allow people easier access to events and outdoor venues.

Our Scottish approach to delivering Changing Places Toilets will respond to local needs in communities across the country. Our Changing Places Toilets: Planning Guide makes clear that anywhere the public has access should be considering the requirement of installing a CPT.
We are committed to designing a funding programme that ensures that the Changing Places Toilets which are built are fit for purpose and are installed in appropriate locations to meet the needs of those that will use them.

This investment will be delivered in phases over the course of this parliamentary term.

As part of the Scottish Government’s work to increase provision of Changing Places Toilets, we are aiming to transform attitudes across Scotland so that more organisations, including businesses, are aware of, and understand the importance of, Changing Places Toilet facilities.

The Scottish Government has already introduced Scottish Building Regulations in 2019 requiring the provision of Changing Places Toilets in larger new buildings to which the public have access.

We also published our Changing Places Toilets: Planning Guide and an accompanying easy read in November 2022. This guide, written in collaboration with PAMIS (Promoting A More Inclusive Society), details practical considerations when considering installing a Changing Places Toilet in both existing and new buildings. This helpful toolkit has been designed to improve and encourage Changing Places Toilet provision in the immediate term and ensure that new toilets built following our changes to legislation are appropriate and well considered.

The Scottish Government annually update and publish information relating to Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) contracts and their associated unitary charge payments. This information is collated from the relevant procuring public sector bodies including local authorities and published on the Scottish Government website at the following link www.gov.scot/npd/pfi

The Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) (most recently published in 2021) ( The Scottish Government's Medium Term Financial Strategy - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ) sets out the range of funding available to the Scottish Government to invest in infrastructure, including revenue finance models. As part of the National Infrastructure Mission commitment, the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) were commissioned to examine new privately financed profit-sharing schemes. SFT assessed different funding models (such as evolved Private Finance Initiatives, financial transactions and MIM variations) against their ability to deliver additional investment, value for money, affordability, investor interest and financial risk. More information on the analysis performed by SFT can be found here: sftoptionsappraisalreportlowres.pdf (scottishfuturestrust.org.uk) .

The Scottish Futures Trust also supports the Scottish Government in considering the range of sources of finance and their relative merits for different types of infrastructure investment– a summary of which can be found in Appendix 5, here:

NPF4_Draft_3.QXP_Layout 1 (scottishfuturestrust.org.uk)