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The Scottish Government is not currently working to build a sovereign wealth fund. Under the current constitutional arrangements, the Scottish Government does not have the power to set up a sovereign wealth fund, similar to that of Norway, which is currently worth $1.2 trillion. We will set out our proposed approach to the economy of an independent Scotland in the forthcoming independence prospectus papers.

A: The Scottish Government has not held any recent meetings with the government of Norway where the viability of replicating a sovereign wealth fund in Scotland was discussed.

Transport for London’s Veteran Oyster Card scheme is specifically tailored to London’s ticket and fare system. Whilst there are no current plans to roll out such a scheme in Scotland, I have asked my officials in Transport Scotland to meet with TfL to learn more about the scheme’s operation and where we might be able to learn lessons in Scotland.

There have been no recent meetings between veterans' groups and the Scottish Government to discuss concessionary travel. However, I will be meeting Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans in the near future to discuss issues including concessionary travel.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08754 on 14 June 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

The following table details the total cost of operation and number of journeys completed by the Government Car Service since 2011.

As set out in response to S6W-08423 on 19 May 2022 , we remain firmly focused on supporting the six priority family types identified within our first Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan and will continue to engage with our partners, including gender representative stakeholders and women with experience of poverty, to ensure an intersectional and gendered approach is embedded in the development, implementation and monitoring of the actions set out in the plan.

‘ Best Start, Bright Futures ’ , our second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan for the period 2022-26, recognises that to tackle poverty effectively we must deliver holistic, person-centred services and support that meets the needs of families - whilst also driving forward the transformation in our wider economy, necessary to tackle inequalities in our labour market.

The Plan is underpinned by robust data and evaluation, this includes our recently updated Child Poverty Measurement Framework as well as policy level evaluations and overall Child Poverty Evaluation Strategy . We also produce focus reports on the various child poverty family groups that explore progress achieved over time. This includes experiences of lone parents (who tend to be women) and mothers aged under 25.

Whilst quantitative data will enable us to track progress towards our outcomes, families will often fall into more than one priority group and in reality many face a combination of barriers and discrimination. We will ensure we use lived experience and a deeper understanding of the impact of intersection of characteristics in the design, implementation and monitoring of our actions and policies to ensure delivery approaches which are increasingly tailored and, ultimately, more effective.

To support our focus on implementation we have strengthened our approach to governance, including establishing a new Child Poverty Programme Board bringing together leaders, decision-makers, delivery partners and those who champion change across Scotland. The Programme Board will complement the statutory functions of the Poverty and Inequality Commission to ensure we hold ourselves to account on our performance against the plan, challenge our ambition, maintain a focus on our priority families and implement learning from the new approaches we are taking and testing.

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 is provided in the following table.

Figures are available for the past 6 years. Between 2017 and 2022 there were 13 incidents within core Scottish Government where information was determined to have been inappropriately released to the media. During that same time period 2 people were identified as having breached protocols.

This information is provided in Scottish Water’s Annual Report and Accounts which is published on Scottish Water’s website and laid before Parliament each year. The information is copied in the following table.