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The Scottish Government has no plans to create through its agencies a capital funding stream for community services and community spaces. It is for agencies to determine how best to apply allocated funding from Government, including capital and some of them do fund community oriented activity and infrastructure. Examples would include South of Scotland Enterprise Agency, Transport Scotland and Forestry and Land Scotland.

The Student Mental Health Plan is currently being developed in consultation with stakeholders via the Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Working Group, and is linked to the wider Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy that is also under development. The Plan will be research and evidence informed.

Any future funding is subject to the annual budget process and Parliamentary approval of the Scottish Budget.

Payment of the real Living Wage has always been central to our Fair Work First approach; the policy has been applied to some £4bn of public sector funding since 2019.

As committed to in the Bute House Agreement, we will introduce a requirement on public sector grants to pay at least the real Living Wage, and provide appropriate channels for effective voice, subject to limits on devolved competence. Ministers will confirm the detail of the conditionality in the coming weeks.

Fair Work is more important than ever, and we will use all the levers we can to drive fair work practices. Public sector funding should leverage wider benefits, support the development of a sustainable economic recovery and a successful wellbeing economy. One example will be the future civil engineering framework (£600m over four years) that includes a requirement to pay at least the real Living Wage.

Fair Work, including fair pay, is vital in tackling the cost crisis, in-work poverty and child poverty.

In answer to part (a), information on spending on the Lord Advocate’s reference to the Supreme Court was published on 22 September, at: www.gov.scot/publications/independence-referendum-supreme-court-referral-legal-costs .

In answer to part (b), as is usual for any Bill, when independence legislation is introduced in Parliament the Financial Memorandum accompanying the Bill will set out a detailed estimate of costs arising from the Bill, and the Parliament will have opportunity to scrutinize this.

For the final part of your question I refer you to the answer to your previous question, S6W-11224 on 1 November 2022. 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 .

Information on how many people have been helped through the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme can be found under the Monitoring Information Report heading here: https://www.gov.scot/policies/homeowners/help-to-buy/

Veterans who have left the armed forces within the past two years are a priority access group for the Low Cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers (LIFT) shared equity schemes, which includes the Open Market Shared Equity and New Supply Shared Equity schemes.

Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited (SCSL) chose to submit a rebasing proposal in accordance with the provisions of the Franchise Agreement. An alternative commercial proposal was also submitted. Following careful analysis, review and negotiation with SCSL, a financial position which represented value for money to Scottish taxpayers could not be presented; subsequently neither proposal was accepted.

I am pleased to confirm that the report of the working group has been submitted to me and I am today publishing the report: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781804358184 .

I am extremely grateful to the Working Group and all those who gave evidence to them, for delivering a very thoughtful report. I have accepted the main conclusion that a Parades Commission, along the lines of the one in Northern Ireland, is not required in Scotland.

The report also highlights a range of other conclusions and recommendations on how the processes surrounding processions could be improved. I can confirm that the Scottish Government will now engage with partner organisations, including COSLA, Local Authorities, Police Scotland and human rights experts, to examine the conclusions and recommendations in more detail and consider which should be taken forward. These considerations will include looking at the practicalities of implementing the conclusions and recommendations in a way which would ensure human rights are maintained, and how we might go about piloting key recommendations.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10773 on 
23 September 2022.

As committed to in our Programme for Government, the Public Health (Restriction of Promotions) Bill will be introduced to the Scottish Parliament in the 2022-23 parliamentary year.

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 Scottish Government allocates a budget of £70,000 per annum to the Ready Scotland campaign, comprising a website, social media, radio and digital advertising. If required spend is likely to exceed this figure, facility exists within the relevant Scottish Government Directorate to increase the available funding.

This £70,000 budget has been in place each year since 2019-20. The actual amount spent on the Ready Scotland campaign in each financial year fluctuates markedly due to the variable number of Amber or Red weather warnings each year which require a campaign activation.

The costs in the table show the actual spend at financial year end. In the case of 2022-23 the total costs is shown as the actual spend at 31 October 2022.