5. To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it is providing to strengthen communities in light of the challenges that many face as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. (S5O-04537)

As we move from the immediate response to recovery, we will refocus part of the communities fund into a £25 million community and third sector recovery programme, which will include business support and investment to help organisations adapt their operations and income generation to increase sustainability. The funding will support our third sector to continue to support people and communities to respond to the on-going impact of the pandemic.

Will the Cabinet secretary set out—both in general and specifically with regard to Dundee—how the initial £350 million community fund has supported and targeted the communities and individuals who are most in need and who do not always have the expertise and resources to make applications for funding?

The initial £350 million funding package has been distributed in a number of ways, with flexibility added to ensure that—exactly as Shona Robison described—support reached communities that perhaps would not have had the capacity or expertise to access it.

The supporting communities fund was delivered using a targeted approach through community anchor organisations—CAOs—enabling the funding to be distributed locally to active groups supporting Covid work. Across Dundee, seven CAOs have been awarded a total of £269,000. In addition, 110 organisations and projects in Dundee have received awards totalling £605,000 through the wellbeing fund, 46 organisations have received £686,000 through the third sector resilience fund, and £2,167,000 has been delivered by the local authority through the food fund.

We published, and will look to refresh, data on the geographical spread of the awards, in order to be open, up front and honest about where the money is going and how it has been distributed. That information is on the Scottish Government website for MSPs who wish to see how their communities have been supported.

Does the Cabinet secretary agree that steps taken so far with local government—including the relaxation of some ring-fenced budgets, the front loading of weekly grants and close working with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities—has given authorities additional flexibility, both during the pandemic and as we have begun to move forward?

Absolutely. We took decisive action to allocate an additional £350 million in funding and to relax rules on some of the previously ring-fenced funding in order to provide flexibility, which is so important in enabling local authorities to respond effectively to the pandemic. We also agreed with COSLA to bring forward £455 million of grant payments to alleviate cash-flow problems.

The situation is not static and discussions with COSLA are on-going to examine what further financial support and flexibility could be delivered. It has been essential to put in place that flexibility to help local authorities.