- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what funding has been made available to the Association of Chief Officers of Scottish Voluntary Organisations, and what the objectives associated with that funding were, for each of the last five financial years.
Answer
Please see the following table outlining the funding made available to the Association of Chief Officers or Scottish Voluntary Organisations and the objectives associated with that funding for each of the last five financial years.
Financial Year | Grant name/amount | Objectives/Outcomes of Grant |
20-21 | ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £164,773 | The main objectives / expected outcomes of the Grant are: - Inspire: Champion Third Sector Leadership
- Excel: Build Skills and Confidence for Excellent Leadership
- Develop: Develop and Sustain ACOSVO as an Organisation which is an Example of Leadership and Governance Good Practice
- Support the government and communities in responding to Covid-19, as required.
|
20-21 | Resilient Leadership Study £8,000 | - To support the study of “Resilient leadership in the third sector in Scotland”
- To expand intelligence gathering amongst third sector leadership to support this
- To deploy learning in support of leadership exchange work, the Scottish Leaders Forum and other priorities as agreed.
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21-22 | ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £219,697 | The main objectives / expected outcomes of the Grant are: - Inspire: Champion Third Sector Leadership
- Excel: Build Skills and Confidence for Excellent Leadership
- Develop: Develop and Sustain ACOSVO as an Organisation which is an Example of Leadership and Governance Good Practice
- Support the government and communities in Covid-19 recovery and renewal and responding to the end of the EU Exit transition as required.
|
21-22 | Cyber Resilience – Voluntary Sector “Be Better Informed” Project £5,200 | - Increase access to, and use of, threat intelligence to inform understanding of risk
- Promote the use of NCSC’s Cyber Information Sharing Platform (CISP)
- Include information on cyber threat and risk in advice and guidance from third sector advisory and regulatory bodies
- Promote the range of cyber security standards and regulations available to support clearer choices for the Third sector based on their exposure to risk and their risk appetite.
|
22-23 | ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £219,697 | The main objectives / expected outcomes of the Grant are: - Inspire: Champion Third Sector Leadership
- Excel: Build Skills and Confidence for Excellent Leadership
- Develop: Develop and Sustain ACOSVO as an Organisation which is an Example of Leadership and Governance Good Practice
- Support the government and communities in Covid-19 recovery and renewal and responding to the end of the EU Exit transition as required.
|
23-24 | ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £228,485 | - SUPPORT, DEVELOP & INSPIRE voluntary sector leaders at all stages in their journey
- ADVANCE thinking, ideas and resilience for the future
- STRENGTHEN connections, organisations, governance, sustainability and partnerships.
|
23-24 | £44,000 | The expected outcomes of the Grant are: - Implementing the recommendations of ACOSVO EDI survey on Learning and development;
- Transition and succession planning; and
- Participating in Delivering Equally Safe at Work
The targets/milestones against which progress in achieving objectives/expected outcomes shall be monitored are: Monitoring of progress against outcomes and objectives is expected to be a joint and shared process. We will develop with the Grantee a proportionate approach to monitoring and reporting, via enabling relationships based on partnership, a focus on outcomes, and mutual learning, that takes forward our shared thinking, and can inform future policy. |
24-25 | ACOSVO Core Grant Funding £228,485 | Outcome 1. SUPPORT, DEVELOP & INSPIRE voluntary sector leaders at all stages in their journey Outcome 2. ADVANCE thinking, ideas and resilience for the future Outcome 3. STRENGTHEN connections, organisations, governance, sustainability and partnerships. |
24-25 | £44,000 | The expected outcomes of the Grant are: - Implementing the recommendations of ACOSVO EDI survey on Learning and development;
- Transition and succession planning; and
- Participating in Delivering Equally Safe at Work
The targets/milestones against which progress in achieving objectives/expected outcomes shall be monitored are: Monitoring of progress against outcomes and objectives is expected to be a joint and shared process. We will develop with the Grantee a proportionate approach to monitoring and reporting, via enabling relationships based on partnership, a focus on outcomes, and mutual learning, that takes forward our shared thinking, and can inform future policy. |
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to improve accountability and performance management within the civil service, and whether it is reviewing dismissal procedures for any underperformance.
Answer
Performance management procedures in place for Senior Civil Servants and for Civil Servants at delegated grades, are regularly reviewed and include procedure in relation to management of poor performance and dismissal.
While workforce and terms and conditions of employment for Scottish Government civil servants are delegated to Scottish Ministers, the terms and conditions of Senior Civil Servants (SCS) are reserved to the UK Government and any changes made by UK Ministers and their application will be considered by Scottish Ministers in due course.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 14 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to the Scottish Communities Climate Action Network since 2021.
Answer
The Scottish Communities Climate Action Network has received the following funding from the Scottish Government since 2021:
2021-22: £67,000
2022-23: £88,800
2023-24: £135,787
2024-25: £80,000
In addition to their core grant they received funding to support the design and set up of a number of climate action hubs. They employed regional co-ordinators to work with community groups to understand their needs and priorities and identify how this could be best delivered by a hub for their area.
To support this work they received the following:
2022-23: £441,000
2023-24: £393,921.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 12 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many non-departmental public body, also known as quango, employees earn salaries exceeding £85,000 per year.
Answer
As part of the commitment to be an open and transparent government, we promote the disclosure of names and salary details of senior public sector staff. Since October 2010, Scottish non-departmental public bodies have been asked to list the names and salary details of members of their senior leadership teams. You can find links to each body’s website at or on the Public Sector pay website at .
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 12 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the highest salary currently paid within the non-departmental public bodies, also known as quangos, is.
Answer
The highest salary currently paid is £240,000 for the Chief Executive of the Scottish National Investment Bank. This is also the figure published in the Bank’s . Senior salary information can be found for individual public body’s on their websites. You can find links to each body’s website at .
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 12 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the Scottish budget is allocated to public bodies and how this has changed over the past decade.
Answer
Given the changes in the Scottish Government’s devolved powers over the last decade, it is not possible to apply direct like with like comparisons in Scottish Government funding levels over the past decade, notably due to the addition of around £5.6 billion of funding for devolved social security benefits.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 12 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on public sector wages for non-departmental public bodies, also known as quangos, in each of the past five years.
Answer
This is a matter for the individual non-departmental public bodies. You can find links to each body’s website at where each body will have their published annual accounts which should cover staffing costs.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 12 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills has held with the (a) chief executive of (i) the SQA and (ii) Education Scotland and (b) general secretary of the EIS since March 2023.
Answer
I undertake regular engagement with Scotland’s national education bodies and teaching professional associations at Chief Executive/General Secretary and official level. Details of these engagements are published on the .
The register is currently published up to end October 2024. Engagements are published three months in arrears in line with Ministerial Code.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 11 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many non-departmental public body, also known as quango, employees are employed in roles related to equality, diversity, and inclusion, and what the total cost is of these roles.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally; this is a matter for individual non-departmental public bodies. You can find links to each body’s website at where there will be further information.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 11 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effect of free tuition fees on the financial situation of universities in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s resolute commitment to free tuition means that in Scotland access to university remains based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay. Through the Scottish Funding Council, we invest over £1.1bn for teaching and research in Scotland’s universities and this investment in university education ensures that Scottish domiciled and international students benefit from the learning provided by our world-class universities in near-record numbers.
The Scottish Government fully appreciates the financial sustainability challenges being faced by many universities across the UK given the downturn in international student recruitment due to UK immigration policies, and the increase to employers’ National Insurance Contributions. The Scottish Funding Council is engaging across the sector as it responds to these challenges.
