The integration joint board Section 95 officer is responsible for the proper administration of its financial affairs. In terms of the living wage commitment, the Section 95 officer must prepare a budget for approval by the integration joint board that includes an allocation to its local authority partner for social care services that is sufficient to meet the cost of the living wage commitments. More generally, the Section 95 officer must provide assurance to the integration joint board that the commitments in relation to social care spending set out in the letter from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy of 27 January have been met.

The sanctions set out in the letter from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy of 29 January 2016 apply to local authorities.

The £250 million investment will help to alleviate the issue of a two-tiered workforce. Currently care workers employed by local authorities are already paid the living wage. This additional investment will help enable councils to support the joint aspiration for care workers, including in the independent and third sectors, to be paid £8.25 an hour.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-30141 on 26 February 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Partnership working between the Scottish Government, local government and our stakeholders, including the third and independent sectors, is key to ensuring we achieve the intended outcomes of this additional investment.

This has been the approach we have followed during the past year in which, following extensive dialogue with local authorities and providers, we made available £12.5 million in 2015-16, as part of a tripartite agreement worth £25 million to improve the quality of care by jointly investing to encourage fair work practices for care workers, including progress to the living wage.

The significant increase in resources being made available through the budget will build on this success.

We have not stipulated a specific contribution expected from providers in regards to the 2016-17 local government settlement. We would expect a more finely grained analysis of the situation regarding wages and fair work within contracted out care services at integration authority level and as part of the negotiations on the National Care Home Contract – that is why the target date has been extended to 1 October 2016 rather than implementation by 1 April 2016.

In correspondence to chief executives of local authorities, regarding the local government settlement, I said that this investment assumes that private and third sector providers will meet their share of the costs. I did not stipulate a specific contribution expected from providers. We would expect a more finely grained analysis of the situation regarding wages and fair work within contracted out care services at integration authority level and that is why the target date has been extended to 1 October 2016 rather than implementation by 1 April 2016.

The allocation of this significant enhancement in resources will help enable councils to allow adult social care workers, including in the independent and third sector, to be paid the living wage of £8.25 an hour. This assumes that private and third sector providers will meet their share of the costs.

It is accepted that councils have no such direct leverage in respect of care providers offering services exclusively to self-funding clients. However, progress in achieving the living wage through care commissioned by local authorities will be an important influence on the wider care market.

The Scottish Government routinely publishes details of ministerial visits overseas. Details can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/About/People/14944/travel/visitsoverseas.

Overseas visits during the period to May 2016 will be published three months in arrears in line with the ministerial code.

The package of funding the Scottish Government is providing for the financial year 2016-17 to local government will enable councils to increase the pace of reform and improve public services to communities across the country. Taking into account the addition of the £250 million to support the integration of health and social care, the strong but challenging financial settlement for local government represents the equivalent to a reduction in local authority overall estimated expenditure of less than one per cent in 2016-17. I believe that such a reduction should have minimal impact on the jobs or services as Scotland's councils should be able to address these challenges from a healthy base as local government funding has been rising in Scotland in recent years with core funding protected and new money provided for additional responsibilities.

The package of funding the Scottish Government is providing for the financial year 2016-17 to local government will enable councils to increase the pace of reform and improve public services to communities across the country. Taking into account the addition of the £250 million to support the integration of health and social care, the strong but challenging financial settlement for local government represents the equivalent to a reduction in local authority overall estimated expenditure of less than one per cent in 2016-17. I believe that such a reduction should have minimal impact on the jobs or services as Scotland's councils should be able to address these challenges from a healthy base as local government funding has been rising in Scotland in recent years with core funding protected and new money provided for additional responsibilities.

The Scottish Government has always attached the highest priority to maintaining public sector employment.

The funding provided last year to improve quality of care through fair work practices, including paying the living wage, used a tripartite model where care providers and local government each provided a 25% contribution of the investment agreed.

In correspondence to chief executives of local authorities, regarding the local government settlement, I said that this investment assumes that private and third sector providers will meet their share of the costs.

We have not stipulated a specific contribution expected from providers in regards to the 2016-17 local government settlement. We would expect a more finely grained analysis of the situation regarding wages and fair work within contracted out care services at integration authority level and as part of the negotiations on the National Care Home Contract – that is why the target date has been extended to 1 October rather than implementation by 1 April 2016.

We will work in partnership with stakeholders in the coming months to achieve our shared goal, that being to help raise the status and public image of social care as a profession to help improve the quality of care in Scotland.