The annual sums distributed from the non-domestic rates pool in each year from 1999-2018 are set out in the following table. Future years figures will be published in the relevant annual Budget (Scotland) Bill.

Local authorities are best placed to communicate with individual households by council tax band. In recognition of this, the £2.44 million funding added to the local government budget in 2016-17 to cover the administration costs of implementing the reforms to council tax and the council tax reduction scheme includes specific provision for communicating the changes.

The first phase of the Scottish Government's benefit take up campaign began on the 6 March, directing people to Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) whose website makes specific reference to the council tax reduction scheme.

Following research published in 2015 by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, we are working with the EHRC to tackle the issues around pregnancy and maternity discrimination highlighted in its report. This work is part of the Scottish Government’s wider measures to deliver a more inclusive workforce.

I am chairing a working group, made up of representatives from the public, private, union and third sectors. The working group met for the first time in December 2016 and again earlier this month. Its remit includes: improving employers’ access to advice to ensure best practice; developing an industry-specific communications strategy around the benefits of positive pregnancy and maternity policies; and strengthening health and safety advice. The working group is also exploring ways to include best practice within the Scottish Business Pledge, and seeking to improve public monitoring and reporting of pregnancy and maternity under the Scottish Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).

This government, within our current powers, is driving forward a range of activity to enable employers to address women’s inequality in the workplace. This includes:

Ensuring greater pay transparency by lowering the threshold for listed public authorities to publish their gender pay gap and equal pay statements, from those with more than 150 employees to those with more than 20.

Legislating for gender balance on public sector boards by the end of this parliamentary year.

Supporting initiatives such as our innovative project to help women returners back into the workplace.

Working with the EHRC to tackle pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace and the Minister for Employability and Training chairs a working group whose remit includes creating guidelines for employers to ensure best practice, as well as improving access to guidance for pregnant women and new mothers. The group have met twice already.

Providing £205,000 to 'Close the Gap' in 2016-17, to encourage and enable action to address the gender pay gap.

We are actively tackling the gender gap in enterprise through supporting the refresh and implementation of the new Women in Enterprise Action Framework due to be launched in 2017.

SDS is working collaboratively with partners to ensure that apprenticeship opportunities are open to all across Scotland. Through a number of measures set out in its Equality action plan it aims to reduce to 60% the percentage of MA frameworks where the gender balance is 75:25 or worse by 2021

Scotland remains the best performing of all of the four UK countries in terms of paying the real Living Wage, with around 80% of employees paid the Living Wage or more. We will continue to work with the Poverty Alliance to increase the number of employers paying the Living Wage which will be of particular benefit to women who dominate low paid, part-time work.

The annual percentage growth in the actual amount of non-domestic rates income collected in each year since 1999 is provided in the following table.

* Figures up to and including 2015-16 are based on final audited data from local authorities. Figures for 2016-17 and 2017-18 are based on estimates of the amount to be collected and are subject to change when the final audited data becomes available.

Estimates for 2018-19 and beyond will be considered as part of the next Budget setting process.

The long-term trends in relation to the gender pay gap are positive. Both the full time pay gap and overall pay gap (full and part-time) have narrowed considerably in Scotland since 1999 - the full-time pay gap from 16.7% in 1999 to 6.2% in 2016 and the overall pay gap from 24.6% in 1999 to 16.8% in 2015.

Despite this improvement over time, we cannot be complacent and we are taking forward a number of actions designed to contribute to closing the gender pay gap. In particular we are legislating for gender balance on public sector boards, tackling pregnancy and maternity discrimination through our new working group, and piloting a Returners Project so that women can get help updating their skills and knowledge after a career break.

In addition, we fund Close the Gap to challenge and change employment practices and workplace cultures to support gender equality and close the pay gap.

a) The Scottish Government want all children and young people to realise their full potential regardless of their circumstances or any protected characteristic, including sex (gender). Education in primary schools and Early Learning and Childcare establishments is underpinned by policies which have equality considerations embedded throughout, including: Getting it Right for Every Child; Curriculum for Excellence; and Additional Support for Learning.

Education Scotland’s self-evaluation tools How Good is Our Early Learning and Childcare? How Good is Our School? And How Good is our College? enable early learning settings, schools and colleges to evaluate the quality of outcomes for learners’ wellbeing, equality and inclusion.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has published a Gender Action Plan in order to address gender imbalances and reduce gender gaps in college and undergraduate courses, while its Outcome Agreements ask colleges to remove barriers and support full participation and successful outcomes for all groups of learners in their local community. This, for example, helps us recruit more males in to early learning and childcare. In turn, ensuring a more gender balanced workforce, with more male role models for our young children.

The “Standard for Childhood Practice” sets out the learning outcomes all candidates must demonstrate when studying for a career in early learning and childcare. One of which includes: ‘demonstrating an awareness of the significance of race, ethnicity, gender, class, disability, sexuality and other social backgrounds and the interactions between them in the development of individual children and young people and; promoting fairness and justice and adopt anti-discriminatory practices which challenge inequalities of race, ethnicity, gender, class, disability, sexuality and other social backgrounds and their interactions’. This creates an awareness and understanding of gender equality in our young children, but also in the workforce who are developing the children’s understanding.

b) In response to Developing the Young Workforce recommendations, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) published the Equalities Action Plan for Modern Apprenticeships in Scotland in December 2015. The five year plan outlines the challenges to be addressed and the actions SDS will undertake with partners to improve the participation of under-represented groups within the MA programme.

Apprenticeship areas where there are gender imbalances, for example females in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and males in childcare related apprenticeships, will be tackled by the plan.

An annual report detailing progress against the plan will be published by SDS shortly.

The Scottish Government wants all children and young people to realise their full potential regardless of their circumstances or any protected characteristic, including sex (gender). School education is underpinned by policies which have equality considerations embedded throughout, including: Getting it Right for Every Child; Curriculum for Excellence; and Additional Support for Learning. We published a 2013-17 equalities outcome for education, which includes a focus on gender, and reported progress on mainstreaming the equality duty in 2015. We will report progress again in April 2017.

We define our vision for Equity and Excellence in schools in the 2017 National Improvement Framework (NIF) and Improvement Plan. NIF sets out our high-level strategic plans for improvement and identifies specific improvement activity, such as actions around teacher professionalism and school leadership intended to mainstream equality.

Gender equality in Further and Higher Education is a priority for all of Scotland’s colleges and universities as both an employer and educational establishment. The Scottish Funding Council has published a Gender Action Plan in order to address gender imbalances and reduce gender gaps amongst staff and students. Its Outcome Agreements ask institutions to remove barriers and support full participation and successful outcomes for all groups of learners in their local community.

The Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill announced in the Programme for Government 2016-17, will require positive action to be taken to redress gender imbalance on public sector boards, including colleges and universities.

Education Scotland’s self-evaluation tools How Good is Our Early Learning and Childcare?, How Good is Our School?, and How Good is our College?, enable early learning and childcare settings, schools and colleges to evaluate the quality of outcomes for learners’ wellbeing, equality and inclusion.

Priority for social housing in Scotland is based on an assessment of an applicant’s need and circumstances. Scottish housing law requires social landlords (registered social landlords and local authorities) to give reasonable preference to certain applicants, including those who are homeless or threatened with homelessness. Veterans who find themselves homeless, threatened with homelessness or with a high level of housing need will receive priority for social housing.

Scottish Government practice guidance on allocations provides advice to social landlords to consider and address the needs of ex-Service personnel as part of their housing allocations policies and procedures and ensure they are not disadvantaged. It includes practice examples that highlight approaches used by social landlords to respond to the housing needs of Service leavers and the wider veterans' community.

NHS Scotland, Health and Social Care Partnerships together with local authorities and third sector partners are ideally placed to work together to provide a range of care, services and support that responds appropriately to the assessed health and mental health needs of veterans and their families.

The Scottish Government set out its commitment to Veterans in Renewing Our Commitments, which recognised veterans and their families as a true asset to Scotland and reaffirmed that no member of the Armed Forces, Service family member or veteran in Scotland should face disadvantage when accessing services and support. Amongst other achievements, Renewing Our Commitments highlighted the Scottish Government’s funding of over £3.6 million over three years to 2018 in partnership with NHSScotland for the provision of specialist mental health services for veterans resident in Scotland at the Hollybush House Combat Stress facility in Ayr.

The Scottish Government will also shortly publish a new ten-year national Mental Health Strategy to transform and improve mental health and wellbeing. The strategy will build on previous successes and will set out a longer term vision for Scotland where good mental health and wellbeing flourishes for all, including veterans. The strategy, underpinned by additional investment of £150 million over five years, will focus on the need for prevention and early intervention, joined up accessible services that respond appropriately, and tackling the early mortality rate of people experiencing mental ill health.