Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on using the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to (a) support accessible tourism and (b) improve facilities for disabled people in Scotland.

The UK Government worked with the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to inform the most appropriate mix of UKSPF interventions for Scotland. Under the UKSPF delegated delivery model, local authorities are given the autonomy to make decisions on how funding is spent in their area. Local authorities in Scotland therefore might choose to make place-based investments for regeneration and town centre improvements, which could include better accessibility for disabled people, including capital spend and running costs; as well as providing funding for the development and promotion (both trade and consumer) of the visitor economy, such as local attractions, trails, tours and tourism products more generally.