Scottish Government budget 2022/23

Letter to the Convener from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, Mairi Gougeon, about the 2022/23 Scottish Government draft budget, 3 December 2021

Dear Finlay,

Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee - 2022-23 Scottish budget

Thank you for the letter dated 4 November 2021 setting out the Committee’s approach to budget scrutiny over Session 6. I acknowledge your point that the Committee is newly established and will be adopting a full-year approach to scrutiny. Thank you for including the summary work programme outlining Committee priorities for the session that you have provided.

In response to the questions raised by Committee:

• The expected publication date for the National Islands Plan annual report 2021;
• The expected date for publication of the National Islands Plan annual report 2021 is 23 March 2022.
• The expected publication date for the report on the operation of the act, required under s28 of the 2018 Act;
• The report on the operation of the Act will be published no later than 6 July 2022.
• A full breakdown of the £30m funding commitment proposed in the Programme for Government to “support delivery of the National Islands Plan and a fair, integrated, green and inclusive recovery”.
• The full response to this question will be provided after the 2022-23 Scottish Budget document is published on 9 December 2021;
• The information that I can provide at the moment is that during the 2021/22 financial year, £9.5 million funding will be delivered through three key strands: the Islands Infrastructure Fund, the Island Communities Fund and the Healthy Islands Fund.

The Committee will also want to be aware that the Scottish Budget document will contain a pre-budget scrutiny chapter which will highlight the main points made by the Parliament’s Committees in their pre-budget scrutiny reports.

I look forward to continuing my engagement with the Committee throughout the 2022-23 Scottish Budget process.

Yours sincerely,

Mairi Gougeon