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Scottish Government’s delivery partner, Inclusion Scotland, published a report in May 2021 after the Parliamentary elections. The report includes an evaluation that Inclusion Scotland held with award holders. Most award recipients said their overall experience of the Access to Elected Office Fund was very good or excellent. Most participants said the fund removed some impairment-related barriers to campaigning and importantly, most recipients said that the funding did help them to campaign and/or pursue party selection on a more level playing field with non-disabled candidates.

Immediately after the Scottish Parliamentary elections were concluded, the Access to Elected Office Fund needed to promote the upcoming local elections for May 2022 in order to ensure sufficient lead time for any applicants, whilst incorporating learning from the impact of COVID-19.

Inclusion Scotland has worked with the Equal Representation Coalition and the Scottish Government to develop an equalities monitoring form with the aim of collecting data on the protected characteristics of candidates for the May 2022 Local Authority elections.

Further improvements include the updating of processes and procedures. For example, for those receiving a Personal Assistant (PA) support award, the option was added to allow them to use a self-employed PA with the aim of tackling the barriers to recruitment.

Under the Equality Act 2010, individual public authorities are responsible for ensuring that they make reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of people with protected characteristics. Responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 rests with individual authorities/organisations.

Data from the Business Ventilation Fund has not yet been published. In line with all previous funds, the Scottish Government will publish data on the Business Ventilation Fund. This is planned for May.

Under the Business Ventilation Fund, the limit of any reimbursement claim was £2500 for each eligible premise. Where a business operates multiple premises, it was able to apply for a grant for each eligible premise. An upper limit of £50,000 in total was applied to any eligible business operating multiple premises.

Further information on the capped value of claims for each improvement item can be found here: What businesses can claim - Coronavirus (COVID-19): Business Ventilation Fund - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07731 on 25 April 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07731 on 25 April 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

An evaluation report was written in 2017 which reviewed the pilot Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) (AEOFS) programme and made recommendations for the future of such a scheme. Thereafter, operational funding was maintained for the Fund until October 2021, and further funding was provided through the Equality and Human Rights Fund to run the programme for a further 3 years.

Various changes were made to improve the programme in its second iteration, including opening the new fund for applications well in advance of the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections, leaving a longer lead in time to support those running for selection and as a candidate; and committing to funding AEOFS awards with no upper limit, ensuring that as many candidates as possible can apply for selection and be secure in the knowledge that funding will not be a barrier to their success. Further consideration was also given to addressing the particular barriers faced by BSL users, and the fund supported the first BSL user to be elected to a Scottish Local Authority in a by-election in 2019.

In addition, an ‘Access to Politics Charter’ was developed with disabled activists to support political parties to be more inclusive and promote disabled people as potential candidates. The Charter addressed a range of issues raised in the evaluation report. All of the five parliamentary political parties have signed up to the ‘Access to Politics Charter’ and each now has a disabled members’ group following charter principles.

In 2017, 44 disabled people were supported by the Fund. 39 became official candidates either as an independent or through their political party.

In 2021, 30 disabled people received Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) (AEOFS) awards to run for party selection and as candidates in the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections. 14 AEOFS recipients became regional list candidates or dual constituency/regional list candidates for the Scottish Parliament.

Between 2018-2021, two disabled people received AEOFS awards to run for party selection and as candidates in Scottish local council by-elections. One recipient became a candidate in a local council by-election and was elected as the first BSL-user councillor in Scotland.

In 2022, currently, there are 52 applications for support from the AEOFS.

We know that the recent increases in energy prices we have seen will be concerning to many consumers including those using mobility scooters. Whilst the Scottish Government does not have powers over the setting of energy prices, we have looked to provide assistance where we can.

As part of our wider £290m package of funding announcements made to tackle the cost of living crisis, we have committed a further £10m to continue our Fuel Insecurity Fund from April to help households at risk of self-disconnection, or self-rationing their energy use, due to unaffordable fuel costs.

We are also making financial support for disabled people and people with long term health conditions more straightforward to access. Through the introduction of Adult Disability Payment, we are providing a new, simplified, compassionate system that will treat people with dignity, fairness and respect. The application process has been designed with disabled people to make sure it is as clear as possible. People can apply in the way that’s best for them, either online, by post, over the phone or face-to-face.

South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) advertised for four new Board members in Autumn 2021. Applicants were asked to demonstrate evidence of their skills, knowledge and experience in one of three areas: land based industries; governance/strategic management; or digital transformation. On 15 February 2022, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy announced the appointments, with two of the successful candidates having extensive expertise in land based industries. In addition, two existing members of the Board have knowledge of agricultural matters.