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The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that there is a thriving music industry in Scotland and so provided £750,000 across 2021-22 and 2022-23 to enable Scotland on Tour to take place.

Scotland on Tour has facilitated new concerts in venues across Scotland at a time when the postponement of concerts, due to the pandemic, had left little room for new concerts to take place in 2022.

While there are no plans to reopen the fund, we will work with the culture sector to ensure our diverse and world class cultural scene continues to thrive.

Since 2020-21, the Scottish Government has allocated funding levels of £2,650,000 for all Saltire Scholarship programme students; this consisted of £200,000 in 2020-21 and £2,450,000 in 2021-22.

The most recent figures, as of 1 June 2021, are available in Table 2 of the Non-Domestic Rates Relief Statistics 2021 publication, at https://www.gov.scot/publications/non-domestic-rates-relief-statistics-2021/ .

Section 70 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 provides that any interested party can make a complaint to the Scottish Ministers that a responsible body has failed to discharge a statutory duty relating to education.

Following investigation of the complaint, Scottish Ministers may make an order declaring the responsible body to be in default of the duty and requiring them to discharge the duty by a specified date.

Information about the number and outcome of section 70 complaints since 2011 can be found at: Section 70 Complaints and Outcomes: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Public Library COVID Relief Fund was announced as part of the 2021 Programme for Government. The Fund was delivered by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC). 31 local authority library services in total submitted applications to the Fund, across two rounds of funding.

The first round of funding closed to applications in October 2021. 21 services received a total of £1,045,681 (in the first table).

In January 2022, the Fund reopened for a second round to unsuccessful services and those that did not apply during the first round. 7 services received a total of £215,870 (in the second table).

Across the two rounds, the following library services have been awarded funding:

At the time of the Scottish Budget, the Scottish Government estimated that up to 30,000 properties would potentially be eligible to claim the Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure relief in 2022-23, subject to a business-level cap on the value of relief.

The non-domestic rates income figures for each year, broken down by local authority, are available in Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics, at https://www.gov.scot/collections/local-government-finance-statistics/#scottishlocalgovernmentfinancialstatistics . The figures can be found in the respective annual publications, in Table 1.15 for 2016-17 and 2017-18, Table 1.14a for 2018-19 and 2019-20, and Table 2.14 for 2020-21.

The most recent figures, as of 1 June 2021, are available in Table 6 of the Non-Domestic Rates Relief Statistics 2021 publication, at https://www.gov.scot/publications/non-domestic-rates-relief-statistics-2021/ .

Adult Disability Payment launched as a three phased pilot starting with new claims being accepted in a small number of local authorities from 21 March. Phases two and three of the pilot have been rolled out with new claims being accepted from additional local authority areas from 20 June and then 25 July ahead of the full national launch on 29 August.

(a) Social Security Scotland has proactively promoted Adult Disability Payment through national and local media activity, stakeholder communications, social media along with more direct targeted activity. Although media and social media activity has been carried out on a national basis, the more direct marketing has been targeted to areas where Adult Disability Payment is available. Targeted activity in pilot areas has included campaigns across radio, social media, digital and local press print adverts. We are taking learning from campaigns running in the pilot areas and will build on this insight when promoting the payment on a national level.

Awareness raising has also included the delivery of an extensive series of stakeholder engagement events to inform third sector and public sector stakeholders of the roll out of Adult Disability Payment. To support stakeholders a range of marketing materials including leaflets, posters and factsheets are available. Versions of these materials are available in different formats such as easy read, British Sign Language (BSL) and language translations.

(b) Plans are in place for media activity at national launch and continue targeted marketing activity throughout this financial year to drive take up and awareness. This activity will target people through TV, radio, print adverts, out of home advertising, online adverts and social media. Social Security Scotland will also continue to work closely with public sector services and third sector organisations to promote this payment.

People in Scotland with existing UK Government disability assistance awards (Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA)) will not be asked to go through an application process again. They will be transferred automatically to Social Security Scotland and will receive written notification in advance of that happening so they know what to expect.

It is essential that care home staff and residents are comfortable in their environment and this includes mitigating against the effects of heat. Care providers including care homes are therefore expected to take steps to ensure that the environment is suitable for both staff and residents. This is outlined in the Health and Social Care Standards which set out what people should expect when using a Health or Social Care service in Scotland. Standard 5.21 requires care homes to “provide plenty of natural light and fresh air and that lighting, ventilation and heating can be properly adjusted”. The Care Inspectorate regularly assess a care home against their application of the Standards.

In view of the recent high temperatures, the Care Inspectorate issued advice to all care providers of adult services about steps that should be taken to maintain safe temperatures and mitigate the effects of heat. This included ensuring people are kept cool, well hydrated and drinking plenty of fluids and using cold compresses to keep people cool. The information provided also included a link to the recent UK Governments’ Department for Health and Social Care and Health Security updated heatwave advice for Health and Social Care staff. It includes advice both on caring for people most at risk during a heatwave, and on organising others who provide care. This advice is available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/heatwave-plan-for-england/supporting-vulnerable-people-before-and-during-a-heatwave-for-health-and-social-care-professionals

Public Health Scotland’s COVID-19 - information and guidance for social, community and residential care settings, provides detailed advice on the importance of good ventilation in indoor spaces to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading. The guidance also sets out steps to safely maintain adequate room temperatures for the comfort of staff and residents. This includes maximising fresh air during hot weather, wherever possible through natural ventilation - opening windows, vents and doors (excluding fire doors). Where buildings have mechanical ventilation systems, these can maximise the amount of fresh air being introduced and minimise the recirculation of air in rooms and throughout buildings. This advice is available here: www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/covid-19-information-and-guidance-for-social-community-and-residential-care-settings/covid-19-information-and-guidance-for-social-community-and-residential-care-settings-version-22/

The Health and Safety Executive ventilation in the workplace guidance also provides practical steps on improving ventilation. This advice is available here: www.hse.gov.uk/ventilation/overview.htm . The UK Health Security Agency recommends keeping room temperature to at least 18ºC as temperatures below this can affect health, especially in those who are 65 years or older, or have a long-term health condition and they published information ahead of the recent heatwave here: ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2022/07/14/staying-safe-in-extreme-heat/

The Care Inspectorate has produced guidance for service providers around design, planning and construction considerations for new or converted care homes for adults. This guidance includes information on ventilation of adult care homes and is available here: Care Homes for Adults – The Design Guide.pdf (careinspectorate.com) .