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The Self Build Loan Fund (“the Fund”) is a demand led and flexible fund available across all of Scotland. Recognising that self-build is an important option particularly for those in rural areas to provide a home that meets their needs, the fund offers support to self-builders who are unable to access traditional finance. The Fund was established in September 2018 following the success of a pilot in the Highland area and strong interest from outside this area.

The Fund was extended in November 2022 for up to 5 years and we will continue to monitor its implementation.

Road closures on the local road network are the responsibility of the local authority in that area. They have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic.

The Scottish Government can, where appropriate, require a traffic management plan as a condition of consent. Assessment of any impacts from road closures would be made by the local authority when approving the finalised plan.

The Bus Partnership Fund has so far delivered a number of projects for which Partnerships are currently undertaking monitoring and evaluation, with reporting once schemes have been in operation for a sufficient period of time.

Once complete, these will be collated to determine the impact that the funding has had to date. Initial reports from the Aberdeen City Centre bus gates are very positive with reduced bus journey times benefitting a significant number of passengers.

Other bus priority installed at signals to help buses get through them more quickly are also reporting improvements in journey times and reliability, with these having been implemented in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, Oban and North Ayrshire. A number of studies were also funded which have identified further measures which will feed into the longer term public transport vision.

The Bus Partnership is one way in which we are delivering the Second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) recommendation of the provision of strategic bus priority measures. This included an assessment of the impact of strategic bus priority, the reporting of which can be found on Transport Scotland’s website - .

We have awarded £26.9 million in funding for bus priority through the Bus Partnership Fund, with £20.5 million expected to be spent by 31 March 2024. However that figure will need to be confirmed following the processing of final claims from Partnerships - consisting of local authorities, bus operators and other key stakeholders – in the coming months.

The awards made through the Bus Partnership Fund to date were the first step towards delivering long term investment in bus priority infrastructure, beyond the course of the parliament.

Following the United Kingdom autumn statement delivering the worst-case scenario for Scotland and a nearly 9 per cent real-terms cut in our capital budget from the UK Government, the Scottish Government had to take difficult decisions to deliver a balanced and sustainable spending plan for 2024-25. As such, regrettably, the Bus Partnership Fund has been paused for 2024-25. However, future funding availability will be considered as part of our annual budget-setting process and prioritisation exercises.

A total of 101 applications have been made to date, including 2 for the same project, 1 of which was subsequently withdrawn. From those applications 49 loan offers have been made and accepted, with a total value of £7,389,567. This sum is higher than the value of the Fund due to its recyclable nature, whereby repaid loans can be re-used to fund more self-build projects during the life of the Fund.

At present, there are no plans to increase the value of the Self-Build Loan Fund (“the Fund”). The Fund is demand led, but currently has sufficient uncommitted funding to meet potential demand. The funding is also recyclable, meaning that repaid loans can be re-used to fund more self-build projects during the life of the Fund.

The £500 million investment in bus priority infrastructure to tackle the negative impacts of congestion on bus services is over the longer term.

The Bus Partnership Fund is the first step towards delivering this investment which will extend beyond the term of this parliament.

Following the United Kingdom autumn statement delivering the worst-case scenario for Scotland and a nearly 9 per cent real-terms cut in our capital budget from the UK Government, the Scottish Government had to take difficult decisions to deliver a balanced and sustainable spending plan for 2024-25. As such, regrettably, the Bus Partnership Fund has been paused for 2024-25. However, future funding availability will be considered as part of our annual budget-setting process and prioritisation exercises.

The Self-Build Loan Fund (“the Fund”) offers short-term loan funding of up to £175,000 to self-builders who are unable to access standard bank lending, to assist with development costs to support build completion. The Fund is not intended to replace market lending and provides short-term loan funding to borrowers who have exhausted finding alternative market options. The focus is on supporting projects with the necessary consents in place to allow work to commence quickly, and already delivers genuinely additional new homes primarily but not exclusively in rural areas.

People who have had a clinical diagnosis of coeliac disease or dermatitis herpetiformis are eligible to access staple gluten-free food products on NHS prescription. There are no current plans to change the criteria.

Coeliac disease is an auto-immune disease whereas wheat intolerance alone does not meet the criteria for gluten-free food products on prescription. Patients with a wheat intolerance should be encouraged to be tested for coeliac disease. If coeliac disease has already been ruled out, they could request referral to the local Dietetic Service for dietary advice and support to help manage a wheat free diet.

The Scottish Government recognises the devastating impact land mines have, killing and maiming thousands each year. Indiscriminate and unpredictable, their presence drives whole communities from their homes and land. That is why, in September 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Scottish Government provided £300,000 to the Halo Trust. Through this grant, teams on the ground were able to cover 206,663m2 enabling Ukrainian famers to safely farm their land again. This not only benefitted 14,000 people in Ukraine, but the clearance of agricultural land is playing a crucial role towards restoring global food security.