5. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the operation of the town centre fund. (S5O-03001)

The £50 million town centre fund, which I announced in the budget, has been developed in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and was launched on 1 March. The fund will be distributed across all local authorities to enable them to stimulate and support a wide range of investments that encourage town centres and city neighbourhoods to diversify and flourish. The distribution of the fund was agreed jointly by Scottish Government and COSLA leaders. It will be for local authorities to allocate the fund against the themes of “Town Centre Action Plan—the Scottish Government response”.

I thank the cabinet secretary warmly for allocating the highest amount—some £4.3 million—of that funding to Fife Council. Can the cabinet secretary clarify how, as the member of the Scottish Parliament for the Cowdenbeath constituency, I can ensure that towns in my constituency get their fair share of that very welcome Scottish Government funding?

First, I welcome the warm welcome from Annabelle Ewing for those resources, which will be transformative for our town centres. The precise figure for Fife is £4,335,000. The campaign to ensure that there is fairness for every part of the constituency that Annabelle Ewing represents has, I think, already begun, and Fife Council will be well aware of it. It will be for the council to determine the distribution of that money.