1. Background

The Charter for Involvement was developed by the National Involvement Network, supported by ARC Scotland. The Charter establishes how disabled people who use support services want to be involved and to have a say about the services they receive, the organisations that provide their services, and their wider communities.

2. Introduction

ILF Scotland signed up to the Charter for Involvement in 2018 and we worked with the Advisory Groups to tailor the Charter Statements so that they were meaningful to our recipients. We co-produced the Charter and Action Plan and published this in April 2021.

This report provides an update to the Board on the progress made during 2025 to 2026. This update was shared and agreed by the Advisory Group members and by our Senior Management Team at its meeting of 26 May 2026 and published on our website on that date.

3. Key Progress

Three joint Scotland and NI Advisory Group meetings were held during the last financial year to enable the Group to review progress to date and identify Charter priorities for ILF Scotland to action. These are highlighted below along with progress made during 2025 and 2026.

Raising the Profile of Independent Living

Group members stressed the importance of raising the profile of Independent Living to a wide range of Stakeholders.

Response: ILF Scotland celebrated its 10^th birthday by holding events for our Recipients and their representatives and supporters in Scotland and Northern Ireland in June and July 2025. Attendees included our Advisory Group members, Recipients, carers, PAs, and partners from across government, public sector and third sector organisations. Speeches were delivered from advocates of disability and human rights, and people shared inspiring stories about how ILF Scotland helped them live with choice, dignity, and independence. Our website provides further information, including videos and photographs about the event: https://ilf.scot/news-post/celebrating-10-years-of-ilf-scotland/

Both events were a success and feedback from attendees demonstrated how impactful attendees felt the events were and provided helpful information on accessibility needs, the difference the funding makes in people’s lives, and suggestions for improvements at future events.

PA Recruitment and Retention – Support for Employers

Group members raised the significant difficulties people are experiencing in relation to the recruitment and retention of Personal Assistants (PAs) and asked for ILF Scotland to help promote the role.

Response: 13 November 2025, was celebrated as National PA Day across the UK to recognise PAs in social care who support independent living. Led by ILF Scotland, an inaugural PA week took place week commencing 24 November until 28 November 2025 to highlight the benefits of employing PAs and to highlight the need for PAs for disabled people.

Over the week, ILF Scotland launched our own dedicated content on a daily basis across our social media channels and our website, which included videos, blogs, news articles and graphics from Advisory Group members. We also created a dedicated page on our website for signposting information about employing PAs and we shared some other important resources from key partners / stakeholders, such as the PA Network.

The content was well received and we would like to dedicate the same week again this financial year, but with a lengthier lead in time. This will allow us more time to work with Group members on the content that they would like to see and for our colleagues in our Communications team to promote the content to a wider audience through additional media channels.

Support for Employers: We invited representatives from one of the insurance companies to deliver information sessions for Group members. This covered the support this particular company can provide to employers and the legal requirements of the employer role. The sessions were well attended and a future session has been agreed with an alternative insurance company commonly used by PA employers.

Managing ILF Scotland Awards

Members highlighted the need for further information, advice and guidance for Award Managers, particularly given the number of new Award Manager roles emerging as a result of the re-opening of ILF in Scotland. Members would like this to include, as a minimum, employer commitment, PA recruitment and retention, and independent advocacy.

Response: We have established an internal working group of Independent Living Assessors and Caseworkers to focus on Award Management. They have explored issues from their perspective as they are presented to them by existing and new Award Managers. They will report initial findings and these will be discussed with Advisory Group members with a view to incorporating their input and co-producing identified improvements. We plan to update our Employer Support Information Note and our Your Responsibilities Guide in 2025 to 2026 in consultation with Group members.

ILF Scotland Recipient Reviews

Group members highlighted the importance of continuously improving information, communication, and processes at all stages of reviews and that we continue to make sure that recipient choice is central to review discussions and outcomes.

Response: At least one colleague from our Independent Living Team, which includes all of our Assessors, attends meetings with the Advisory Groups to discuss Charter work and to ensure that they can participate in discussions with Group members and take suggestions on board in planning and conducting reviews and in relation to staff training.

Engagement and Involvement

Group members value the opportunity to influence policy and practice as it affects recipients and to co-produce key documents and initiatives.

Response: All ILF Scotland potential policy changes are discussed with the Group to obtain the views of the Group members as part of the policy development process. The Scotland Advisory Group met with the Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing in January 2026 and the Northern Ireland Advisory Group met with the Minister of Health in February 2026, highlighting important wider policy issues. Group members participated in the co-production events to develop ILF Scotland’s Strategy: Re-Opening and Beyond. Members have been involved in the co-production of our new Feedback Strategy and Service Charter. During the year, the Chairpersons of both Advisory Groups attended ILF Scotland Board meetings and members of the Board also attended the Group’s meetings. Group members co-produced and delivered presentations at ILF Scotland’s 10^th Birthday celebratory events in Scotland and Northern Ireland, mentioned above.

Written Communication

Group members stressed the importance of clear communication by ILF Scotland that is as accessible as possible.

Response: Members were consulted in the review and publication of external communications such as our website, newsletters, and letters to recipients, with a focus on both content and accessibility. Members were jointly involved in external consultations that ILF Scotland responded to in 2025 and 2026. ILF Scotland is focusing on the accessibility of its published documents and its correspondence and delivered accessibility training to all staff in 2025 to 2026. It is about to reinstate a working group to take this forward and will invite representation from the Groups.

Re-Opening of ILF in Scotland

The Scotland Advisory Group was highly instrumental in advocating, along with others, for the re-opening of ILF to new applicants in Scotland. The fund opened in April 2024 and since re-opening, has received applications from an additional 1,400 disabled people. Feedback from recipients so far has been very positive with in relation to the difference the funding has made to their lives and there has been strong praise for the overall process.

The Chairperson of the Scotland Advisory Group is a member of the ongoing Co-Production Working Group. This Group made recommendations to the Minister on the policy framework for the re-opened fund and have been engaging with senior ILF Scotland staff since to further inform the development of the policy framework relating to the re-opened fund.

4. Conclusion

We have made significant progress against the Charter Action Plan during 2025 to 2026. It is important that this improvement work is ongoing and we will continue to work with the Advisory Groups in 2025 to 2026 to make further progress towards achieving the Charter Standards.

The Charter provides a valuable opportunity to bring recipients, via the Advisory Groups, closer together and helps facilitate greater collaboration in the organisation’s strategy, policies and delivery of services. We are grateful to Group members for their valuable ongoing commitment to improving our services to disabled people in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Annual review of progress against our Corporate Parenting Actions.

Commitment 1

We will continue to develop existing relationships with other Corporate Parents to make sure that ILF Scotland remains alert to the needs of care experienced young people to inform our policy and practice.

Actions:

• We will continue to participate in Who Cares? Scotland’s Collaborative Parenting Network and attend quarterly meetings.
• We will continue to work closely with local authority social work departments to ensure staff are aware of the Transition Fund and how they might direct and support young disabled people to apply for funding.
• We will continue to communicate with key fostering agencies and with STAF (Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum).

Progress:

• ILF Scotland continues to participate in the Who Cares? Scotland Collaborative Corporate Parenting Group attending quarterly meetings in May, August and November 2025 and February 2026.
• We continue to communicate with local authorities on the opportunities available to young people aged 16 and above through the re-opened ILF Scotland Fund and the Transition Fund, both through written information and in-person presentations and engagement.
• Engagement with fostering agencies and Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare (STAF) has recommenced as planned during the last year and senior ILF Scotland staff attended the STAF conference on 11 November 2025.

Commitment 2

We will assess the requirements of care experienced young people to ensure we meet their needs.

Actions:

• We will continue to engage with care experienced young people to increase our understanding of their needs to help us better shape our services to take account of these.
• We will consider the impact on care experienced young people as part of our Equality Impact Assessments.

Progress

• As part of our published Engagement and Feedback strategy work, we are focusing on how we can increase our engagement with young people, including those who are care experienced.
• Our engagement programme with young people through events at venues such as schools, colleges and community events continues as much as possible. A key focus for our engagement is in areas across Scotland that face the greatest challenges, where our funding can have the most impact.
• Our Young Ambassador Group will be relaunched during 2026 as part of our UNCRC Implementation Plan and we continue to encourage any care experienced recipients to join the group.
• We have incorporated care experience in our Equality Impact Assessments as standard.

Commitment 3

We will develop staff awareness of corporate parenting across our organisation.

Actions:

• All ILF Scotland staff and Board members receive training and awareness sessions that outline the principles of corporate parenting, our responsibilities, and the ILF Scotland action plan.
• New staff joining ILF Scotland have an understanding of corporate parenting by including it in our induction pack.
• To increase awareness of the difference the Transition Fund makes to care experienced young people, we will share experiences of recipients of the Fund and our work with other corporate parenting partners.

Progress:

• Trauma Skilled training for frontline staff was provided through two independent online modules in August and September 2025 followed by a face to face workshop on 3 September 2025.
• Staff received training on appropriate recording of information and data relating to Care Experienced young people and received awareness training on how this cohort of young people experienced services provided to them by the public sector.
• We have included a briefing on our Corporate Parenting role in our induction process to ensure all new staff are aware of our commitments.
• Our aim from the last report was to identify and publish a case study of a young person who is care experienced who has successfully applied for a Transition Fund grant. We were unable to identify someone suitable this year but will continue our endeavours in the coming year.

Commitment 4

We will ensure access to our services for care experienced young people.

Actions:

• We will ensure our promotion of the Transition Fund and the re-opened Independent Living Fund reaches care experienced young people so they are aware of our funds and what they can potentially offer.
• We will continue to engage with care experienced young people through events such as Care Leavers Transition days.
• We will fully support care experienced young people to successfully complete the application process.

Progress:

• Our engagement programme involves reaching out to young people who are care‑experienced via the organisations that support them including social work transitions teams and Looked After and Corporate Parenting staff as well as through organisations that support disabled young people in for example, educational settings. We do, however, aim to engage further with care services for young people to reach more young disabled people who are eligible for the Transition Fund.
• Our staff training and induction programmes ensure that care experienced young people are well supported by knowledgeable and informed staff.
• Where an applicant to the Transition Fund voluntarily indicates on the online application portal that they are care experienced, we allocate a specific caseworker to provide additional support through the application process.
• Successful applications to the Transition Fund by care experienced young people to date increased from 13% to 15.5% for 2025 to 2026.

Commitment 5

We will consider where we could improve our services and processes for care experienced young people.

Actions:

• We will engage with care experienced recipients for feedback on our services and identify areas for improvement.
• We will implement systems to identify whether applicants to the re-opened ILF Fund are care-experienced and analyse this data to assist us with future planning.
• We will work with other Corporate Parents and care experienced young people to identify how we can improve our plan, services and processes.
• We will review our corporate parenting approach and report on progress against the actions in the report annually.

Progress:

• Our Engagement and Feedback strategy for 2025 to 2027 includes planning for further engagement with care experienced recipients.
• We ask applicants to the re‑opened Independent Living Fund about their care-experienced status at the point of initial assessment. This information is recorded for young people aged 16 up to their 26th birthday, in line with the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. To date, 36 applications have been received from care experienced disabled young people. Providing this information is optional to respect applicants’ privacy.
• We have recruited two additional Grant Support Officers to ensure that young people applying to the Transition Fund have access to consistent and effective support throughout the application process and beyond.
• ILF Scotland is a listed authority for UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 and has a legal duty to uphold children’s rights. We will continue to ensure that we build any improvements that come from our UNCRC activity into our Corporate Parenting Plan actions.
• ILF Scotland has achieved the Gold Standard Kinship Friendly Employer status – the first organisation in Scotland to achieve this. Gold standard support includes offering paid leave to all kinship carers, when they take on the care of a child, that equals the organisation’s adoption leave and pay.

Service Charter

ILF Scotland is a public body that administers social care funding for disabled people in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It has two funds – the Independent Living Fund and the Transition Fund.

The Independent Living Fund

Through its Independent Living Fund, ILF Scotland provides an ongoing weekly financial award, paid monthly, to disabled people in Scotland and Northern Ireland. This funding enables people to purchase additional social care support, normally complimentary to statutory support, so they can live independently in their communities. Visit What is it? to find out more about the fund.

Transition Fund

ILF Scotland provides one-off, discretionary, grants of up to £4,000 for one year, through its Transition Fund to young disabled people aged 16 to 25, living in Scotland. These grants help young disabled people to become more engaged and active in their community. Visit Transition Fund to find out more about the fund.

As part of the ILF Scotland Feedback Strategy, we have developed an ILF Scotland Service Charter that outlines the minimum levels of service that we commit to provide to Recipients, Award Managers, and others.

The Charter sets out the service standards others can expect from us, and it explains how they will receive services from us, the expected timeframe for delivering those services, and the process people can follow if their expectations are not met.

Ongoing feedback about our services, both positive and negative, is central to ongoing review and development of our Service Charter.

Service Charter Statements

As an organisation we will:

• treat everyone with dignity, trust, respect, and compassion based on their individual rights and freedoms
• be open, transparent, and accountable in everything we do
• work with disabled people and those individuals or organisations who support them to develop our services
• act ethically, with empathy towards disabled people and the people who care for and support them
• meet our statutory obligations
• provide the best possible services as our finances allow
• support our Recipients in the most sustainable, carbon neutral manner to protect the climate

In the delivery of our services, we will:

• treat you politely, respectfully, and equally
• be helpful and open with you
• listen to you and your needs
• explain decisions and outcomes clearly
• respect your rights to privacy and confidentiality in line with the Data Protection Act 1998
• ensure our information is in a format that can be easily accessed and understood by you
• answer your telephone calls
• acknowledge your emails by receipt
• respond to social media communications promptly
• process your Transition Fund application within our published timescales
• take a human-rights based approach to decision making as opposed to automated decision-making processes
• acknowledge Decision Review requests within 5 working days and communicate the outcome of the Decision Review within 15 working days Policy 13 - Decision Review Requests
• carryout reviews for Independent Living Fund Recipients every two years
• complete support calls after one year after implementation for all Independent Living awards under the re-opened Fund.
• encourage and help you to complain and handle any complaints with professionalism and learn lessons if we fall short of our standards. For Stage One complaints we will investigate in 5 working days or less, or for Stage Two complaints, we will investigate within 20 working days. Complaints Handling Procedure
• endeavour to support our Recipients in the most carbon neutral manner to protect ourselves and the planet for the future

To develop our services, we will:

1. encourage you to give us feedback using the methods set out in this feedback strategy
2. put you at the centre when we are designing or developing our services and co-produce new policies and services with you whenever possible
3. publish our performance to show you how we are doing

To help us, we would like you to:

• treat us politely and respectfully
• ask us to explain things you are not sure of
• acknowledge we may need to pass on your request (internally or externally) so we can deal with it in line with our Data Sharing Agreement
• acknowledge we may need to pass information to other authorities to ensure the protection of a child or adult and to safeguard the appropriate use of public funds: Policy TF05 - Protection of Children and Adults, Policy 34 - Protection of Children and Adults, Advice for Award Managers
• recognise that we will not be able to meet every need but be aware that we will record and report on unmet needs anonymously to our colleagues and partners to help shape future social care policy
• be aware of our financial constraints
• offer us ideas to help us improve what we do
• take part in feedback opportunities such as surveys or focus groups to develop our services and policies if you would like to
• take part in training opportunities for our staff teams if you would like to
• take part in awareness raising or promotional activities as part of ILF Scotland campaigns if you would like to
• let us know if we fall short of our standards and you wish to complain by using our Complaints Procedure

Review and Update of Our Charter

We will review and update our Service Charter regularly. The review process will include consideration of any changes to service delivery, policy amendments, wider policy issues and relevant emerging research / literature, feedback projects, complaints, equality impact assessments, and recent / pending improvements.

We will ensure that our charter is accessible, visible, flexible, and current. In line with our organisational principle of co-production, we will involve our key stakeholders in future development of the Charter.

Updated 31 March 2026

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Service Charter
3. Existing Feedback Mechanisms
4. Completed Feedback Projects Pre 2025
5. Feedback Gathered During 2025 to 2026
6. Future Feedback Mechanisms

Appendix 1

1. Introduction

Independent Living is, and always will be, at the centre of everything ILF Scotland does. To provide the best service we can, we must engage with Recipients and others who use our services to listen to their feedback, understand their experiences, and use this information to improve what we do and help address some of the challenges and barriers disabled people face.

Using a range of practical, co-designed mechanisms, we will continue to seek and encourage feedback from Recipients and our other stakeholders as appropriate. We will involve Recipients, particularly the members of our Advisory Groups in Scotland and Northern Ireland to help shape what we do and the way we do it.

We will use the data we gather to evidence how successfully we deliver our services. We will continue to evaluate our services, their effectiveness, and the outcomes they generate, so we can best understand the needs of those we deliver services to and continue to grow and evolve these services.

We will analyse the feedback we receive to identify any trends and continue to share our findings with ILF Scotland’s Board, with Scottish Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and with other key stakeholders where appropriate to support the wider policy landscape and influence improvements in social care in both countries to help disabled people achieve the independent living outcomes important to them.

Strategy Framework

The Feedback Strategy sits within ILF Scotland’s Strategic priorities 2025 to 2028 in which we are committed to:

• listen to disabled people and put them at the heart of our decision-making processes
• evidence success and satisfaction with the delivery of our services
• provide an evidence base to inform future policy and the potential to better support disabled people to live independently
• use feedback to develop the evidence base to support the improvement, expansion, and development of the organisation’s service offerings

The Feedback Strategy sets out the framework for feedback opportunities from Recipients and applicants who interact with our services. Initially we will focus on the feedback priorities for the 2025 to 2026 financial year as determined by the co-production events (see below) and then review at the end of the year to determine progress and to review completed projects and their effectiveness in providing us with useful data. This is a live document and will be reviewed on a regular basis to complement our annual Business Plans.

2. Service Charter

This section is also available as a stand-alone document.

ILF Scotland is a public body that administers social care funding for disabled people in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It has two funds – the Independent Living Fund and the Transition Fund.

The Independent Living Fund

Through its Independent Living Fund, ILF Scotland provides an ongoing weekly financial award, paid monthly, to disabled people in Scotland and Northern Ireland. This funding enables people to purchase additional social care support, normally complimentary to statutory support, so they can live independently in their communities. Visit What is it? to find out more about the fund.

Transition Fund

ILF Scotland provides one-off, discretionary, grants of up to £4,000 for one year, through its Transition Fund to young disabled people aged 16 to 25, living in Scotland. These grants help young disabled people to become more engaged and active in their community. Visit Transition Fund to find out more about the fund.

As part of the ILF Scotland Feedback Strategy, we have developed an ILF Scotland Service Charter that outlines the minimum levels of service that we commit to provide to Recipients, Award Managers, and others.

The Charter sets out the service standards others can expect from us, and it explains how they will receive services from us, the expected timeframe for delivering those services, and the process people can follow if their expectations are not met.

Ongoing feedback about our services, both positive and negative, is central to ongoing review and development of our Service Charter.

Service Charter Statements

As an organisation we will:

• treat everyone with dignity, trust, respect, and compassion based on their individual rights and freedoms
• be open, transparent, and accountable in everything we do
• work with disabled people and those individuals or organisations who support them to develop our services
• act ethically, with empathy towards disabled people and the people who care for and support them
• meet our statutory obligations as listed in Appendix 1
• provide the best possible services as our finances allow
• support our Recipients in the most sustainable, carbon neutral manner to protect the climate

In the delivery of our services, we will:

• treat you politely, respectfully, and equally
• be helpful and open with you
• listen to you and your needs
• explain decisions and outcomes clearly
• respect your rights to privacy and confidentiality in line with the Data Protection Act 1998
• ensure our information is in a format that can be easily accessed and understood by you
• answer your telephone calls
• acknowledge your emails by receipt
• respond to social media communications promptly
• process your Transition Fund application within our published timescales
• take a human-rights based approach to decision making as opposed to automated decision-making processes
• acknowledge Decision Review requests within 5 working days and communicate the outcome of the Decision Review within 15 working days Policy 13 - Decision Review Requests
• carryout reviews for Independent Living Fund Recipients every two years
• complete support calls after one year after implementation for all Independent Living awards under the re-opened Fund.
• encourage and help you to complain and handle any complaints with professionalism and learn lessons if we fall short of our standards. For Stage One complaints we will investigate in 5 working days or less, or for Stage Two complaints, we will investigate within 20 working days. Complaints Handling Procedure
• endeavour to support our Recipients in the most carbon neutral manner to protect ourselves and the planet for the future

To develop our services, we will:

1. encourage you to give us feedback using the methods set out in this feedback strategy
2. put you at the centre when we are designing or developing our services and co-produce new policies and services with you whenever possible
3. publish our performance to show you how we are doing

To help us, we would like you to:

• treat us politely and respectfully
• ask us to explain things you are not sure of
• acknowledge we may need to pass on your request (internally or externally) so we can deal with it in line with our Data Sharing Agreement
• acknowledge we may need to pass information to other authorities to ensure the protection of a child or adult and to safeguard the appropriate use of public funds: Policy TF05 - Protection of Children and Adults, Policy 34 - Protection of Children and Adults, Advice for Award Managers
• recognise that we will not be able to meet every need but be aware that we will record and report on unmet needs anonymously to our colleagues and partners to help shape future social care policy
• be aware of our financial constraints
• offer us ideas to help us improve what we do
• take part in feedback opportunities such as surveys or focus groups to develop our services and policies if you would like to
• take part in training opportunities for our staff teams if you would like to
• take part in awareness raising or promotional activities as part of ILF Scotland campaigns if you would like to
• let us know if we fall short of our standards and you wish to complain by using our Complaints Procedure

Review and Update of Our Charter

We will review and update our Service Charter regularly. The review process will include consideration of any changes to service delivery, policy amendments, wider policy issues and relevant emerging research / literature, feedback projects, complaints, equality impact assessments, and recent / pending improvements.

We will ensure that our charter is accessible, visible, flexible, and current. In line with our organisational principle of co-production, we will involve our key stakeholders in future development of the Charter.

3. Existing Feedback Mechanisms

Existing feedback mechanisms in place include:

• Assessors / Casework feedback from direct contact with Recipients / applicants – this can be in person during reviews or by phone, letter, or email to a specific member of staff, or via emails to our enquiries mailbox.

• Social Media. Individuals can comment or send a direct message through our social media channels on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

• Charter for Involvement. The Charter for Involvement establishes how disabled people who use support services want to be involved and have a say about the services they receive, the organisations that provide their services, and their wider communities. The Advisory Groups meet jointly three or four times each year, in addition to the individual Group routine meetings, to discuss the Charter. At these meetings, Group members provide us with direct feedback and work with us to identify and progress key priorities for current issues where relevant to the Charter Statements.

• Scotland and NI Advisory Groups. These Groups meet individually and jointly to support the improvement and development of ILF Scotland, for Recipients living in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Groups provide insight on all matters relating to the operation of the Fund, including experiences of using the Fund and of communicating and interacting with ILF Scotland, insight and advice into potential policy developments, content and accessibility of ILF Scotland publications, and any other relevant matters. The Advisory Groups report to the ILF Scotland Senior Leadership Team, who in turn report learning and outcomes from the Group to ILF Scotland’s Board and the Scottish Government, as required.

• Young Ambassador Group. This Group of young people have previously received funding from us. Members of the Group help spread the word about the Transition Fund and are integral to any changes to or development of the Fund. The Group attend quarterly meetings with other Young Ambassadors and attend events in person and online to raise awareness of the Fund. The Group also works with ILF Scotland on podcasts, vlogs and blogs to share their experiences of the Fund as a means of raising awareness for other young people.

• Complaints. We regard a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction about our action or lack of action, or about the standard of service provided by us or on our behalf. Anyone who receives, requests or is directly affected by our services can make a complaint to us. This includes the representative of someone who is dissatisfied with our service (for example, a relative, friend, advocate, or adviser). People can complain in the easiest way for them - in person at our offices, by phone, in writing by post or by email. We record all complaints on a learning log and take appropriate action such as introducing additional staff training or making changes to written procedures or correspondence, or operational processes.

• Compliments. We record all compliments and expressions of satisfaction with our services and / or staff, received by email, card, telephone, or in person. We share these messages with our staff team, our Board, Scottish and Local Government and Third Sector colleagues where appropriate to demonstrate the difference that ILF makes to the lives of disabled people.

• Meetings. We receive feedback from our meetings with external stakeholders including Disabled People’s Organisations, local authority colleagues, third sector professionals, Scottish Government sponsors and other relevant parties.

• Co-Production Working Groups. Over the past year, the Co-Production Working Group and its sub-groups met sixteen times. There work is ongoing as we continue to learn from the experience of re-opening ILF and we receive feedback relevant to this from members at each meeting.

• Engagement Events. These include the re-opening of the 2015 Fund in 2024, events in Scotland and Northern Ireland on the co-production of our 2025 to 2028 Strategy, and celebration events such as the Joint Stakeholder Parliamentary event and the Transition Fund 5-year anniversary.

4. Completed Feedback Projects Pre 2025

To date, we have completed the following feedback specific projects:

• Social Return on Investment Impact Evaluations for the 2015 Fund in Northern Ireland and Scotland

• Glasgow University Transition Fund Evaluation. December 2019 - internal report

• Transition Fund Review 2023. Internal report

• 2015 and Transition Fund Surveys. These ceased in 2022 due to low response rates, which made meaningful evaluation impossible. We believe this was influenced by survey fatigue, which is common in research, and the impact of COVID-19 on people’s lives. As a consequence, we decided to halt further standard surveys.

• COVID-19 Recipient Feedback Survey. We asked how COVID-19 affected people, how ILF Scotland helped during that period and what else we could have done. Recipient Feedback Survey Results 2021

• Feedback from Transition Fund 5-year celebration event. November 2022. https://ilf.scot/blog-post/celebrating-five-years-of-the-transition-fund/ and https://ilf.scot/news-post/transition-fund-celebration/

• Feedback from ILF Scotland re-opening events 2023 to 2024. https://ilf.scot/publication/re-opening-co-production-events-evaluation-report/

• Feedback from ILF Scotland Strategy events in person and online 2024 to 2025 https://ilf.scot/strategy2025/

5. Feedback Gathered During 2025 to 2026

During the current financial year 2025 to 2026, we sought feedback for the following projects:

• ILF 10 Year Celebration events in Scotland and Northern Ireland. https://ilf.scot/news-post/celebrating-10-years-of-ilf-scotland/ and Scotland-NI-10-year-celebration-evaluation-feedback-Presentation-Website-Version.pdf

• Group 4 ILF Recipient Support and Feedback calls. To collect information and data relating to the success of the re-opened ILF in Scotland, we agreed to contact recipients by telephone once they had been in receipt of funding for a 12-month period. The purpose is to capture their experiences of using the funding and the difference it is making to address unmet need, and also to get feedback on their experience of interacting with ILF Scotland during the process.
  
  Overall, the feedback captured from the Support and Feedback calls carried out to date demonstrate a high level of satisfaction with the funding awarded and with people’s interaction with ILF Scotland.
  
  • 88% indicated their independent living outcomes were achieved
  • 95% indicated the funding had a significant impact on their lives
  • 94% indicated they were very satisfied with both the application process and their visit by one of our Assessors

• Complaints. We record every complaint in our learning log and take appropriate action to learn from this feedback and improve our standards and services. We report all complaints quarterly to our Board and published annually on our website. Number of complaints each year.
  
  We used this feedback to inform valuable service improvements including delivering staff training on front line handling of complaints, to strengthen record‑keeping practices, and to make revisions to Transition Fund end of grant letters to improve clarity and accuracy.

• Compliments. We capture feedback from Recipients and Award Managers and circulate this anonymously to staff to demonstrate the impact of ILF Scotland funding for disabled people. We are currently compiling this feedback and will report on this in the next quarter.
  
  From 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, we received 55 compliments by email and in person. These are individual proactive comments received in addition to the feedback referenced in this report from different sources. 52 of these compliments to the Transition Fund and 3 related to the Independent Living Fund.

We have produced a comprehensive report incorporating all feedback elements from the above to our Board and our other key stakeholders and will publish this on our website shortly.

6. Future Feedback Mechanisms

The next stage of our Feedback Strategy is to consider and co-produce potential feedback mechanisms for the next financial year 2026 to 2027.

• Re-Opened ILF. We will continue to gather feedback from Recipients of the re-opened Fund through support calls after 12 months of the start of the award. We will evaluate this information on a regular basis and provide a report on findings to our Board via our quarterly performance reporting mechanisms no later than from Q4 onwards.

• ILF Reviews. We will gather feedback from Recipients following the two-yearly reviews. We will determine the questions prior to the year end, taking account of those relevant to the re-opened Fund, tailored as required. We will analyse these findings and report to our Board as part of our quarterly performance reporting mechanisms beginning in 2026 to 2027.

• Transition Fund. We will develop the scope and remit for an independent evaluation of the Transition Fund, building on the independent evaluation conducted in December 2019. Since then, there have been significant policy changes, including the increase of the maximum age from 21 to 25, the reduction of the maximum grant from £7.5 k to £4 k, and a change in policy to one grant only with the addition of a Technology Grant where required. This next evaluation will focus on the difference and lasting impact of a one-off Transition Fund grant on young disabled Recipients and the long-term sustainability of the Fund. The timeframe for the project is approximately 6 months beginning in April 2026 with a completion date of the end of September 2026. The final report will provide a streamlined evidence base of the current and future context of the Transition Fund.

• Peer Research. In September 2025, the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (The Alliance) published a report, Commissioning Peer Research to Support Human Rights in Practice: Guidance for Duty Bearers in response to the lack of direct engagement of lived experience within human rights policy and practice and a need to include the voices of diverse communities within this process. The report highlights that for people to fully experience their human rights, they must be embedded in service delivery and practice, and this can be achieved by adopting a human-rights-based approach. The report sets out how peer research could be an important tool to help us meet our duties as a non-departmental public body to observe and implement human rights in practice.
  
  Peer research is research that is conducted by and with people with lived experience of the topic being explored that commits to developing research with people, rather than just about or for people. It brings people and organisations together to explore issues, often investigating the experiences and needs of a particular group using a cycle of research, action, and reflection. This process in turn creates an evidence base, shapes decision-making, and informs actions that impact on people’s human rights. It also supports duty bearers in recognising and responding to the issues people encounter when claiming their rights. This aligns closely with ILF Scotland and our organisational principles of adopting a human-rights-based approach in all that we do. It is also timely given the introduction of the new Human Rights Bill, which may be implemented in 2026 to 2027 depending on the outcome of the Scottish election process. We are therefore keen to further develop our approach to Peer Research during 2026 to 2027.
  
  We have identified an issue in relation to how we engage and obtain meaningful feedback from young people. We believe that traditional feedback mechanisms can be improved upon so we would like to review and revise our current approach. We believe that Peer Research will provide us with more effective ways of communicating, engaging, and obtaining feedback that will help us improve our service offering to young people using our services. As part of this, we will take account of our new responsibilities under the UNCRC (UN Convention on the Rights of a Child).
  
  In the spirit of co-production, we commit to working alongside our Advisory Groups, Young Ambassador Group, staff members, and other key stakeholders to co-produce the detail of the surveys we intend to implement during 2026 to 2027. We will review our feedback mechanisms periodically as required, but at least on an annual basis.

To keep our Recipients and other stakeholders informed, we will implement a feedback loop by publishing feedback received from our surveys, at least annually in the format of ‘We asked, you said, we did.’

This feedback strategy will be reviewed to coincide with ILF Scotland’s next strategic plan 2028 to 2031.

Appendix 1:

Statutory Obligations / Public Body Reporting Requirements

• UNCRC: United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

• Data Protection Reporting: Data Protection Act 1998

• Public Sector Equalities Duty:
  Equalities and Monitoring Statement
• Mainstreaming and Equality Outcomes Reports

• Corporate Parenting Duty
• Corporate Parenting Plan 2024 to 2027
• Corporate Parenting Plan Update April 2025

• Duty of Candour

• Consumer Duty for Public Bodies

• Human Rights Bill

Voluntary Reporting

• Charter for Involvement:
  Charter for Involvement Action Plan
  Charter for Involvement Action Plan Update 2024 to 2025

Equality Outcomes 2024 to 2026

These are the Outcomes for 2024 to 2026. ILF Scotland staff and Advisory and Young Ambassadors Group members have been consulted on these. They were submitted to the ILF Scotland Equality Committee and ILF Scotland’s Senior Management Team for sign off and then to the Remuneration Committee and the Board for information. They have been integrated as SMART objectives into our business plan.

Outcome 1 - Integrated Equality Impact Assessments

Integrated Impact Assessments are consistently applied across the organisation with a commitment to have our staff members appropriately trained and our board members fully aware of this.

Action: Further embed the use of Equality Impact Screening and Assessment practices across all business functions by providing additional awareness and practice training to Managers by the end of 2024 to 2025.

Progress: Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs) have been revised to include “care experienced” as part of the assessment process. As part of the implementation of UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, EQIAs are being reviewed to incorporate Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments (CRWIA).  Training and awareness sessions were provided to staff in 2024 and a further session is planned in quarter one of 2025. We also intend to more formally incorporate poverty considerations as part of our EQIA screening and will develop or thinking and practice around this during 2025 to 2026.

Outcome 2 - Promote Neuro Inclusion

To start the neuro inclusion journey within ILF Scotland, focused on developing a neuro inclusive culture with the aim of creating even greater comfort and belonging for our diverse staff group.

Action: Raise awareness of neurodiversity and provide staff training to cover this area specifically as part of our equality and diversity training. Provide more detailed training to front line staff so that they can provide an informed customer service to young people who are neurodivergent.

Progress: We have been discussing the training needs of our staff to raise awareness and to help deliver a neuro inclusive culture in the longer term and are consulting with them to identify gaps in knowledge. We plan to deliver a full training programme beginning in quarter three of 2025 to 2026.

Outcome 3 - Corporate Parenting

More young disabled people who are care experienced are aware of our funds and how to access them. Our staff and Board members are also aware of how our funding might positively impact care experienced young people.

Action: Through our Corporate Parenting Plan, we will further develop our communications strategy to target care experienced young people and those who support them to ensure they are aware of our funds. We will ensure ILF Scotland staff and Board Members are aware of the principles of Corporate Parenting through training courses and induction programmes.

Progress: All ILF Staff and Board Members have received training and awareness of Corporate Parenting in the last year. We continue to review our communication strategies to ensure that young people are aware of both the Transition Fund and the re-opened Independent Living Fund as this is also accessible to 16 to 18 year olds.

Outcome 4 - ILF Re-Opening

Following an announcement by the First Minister in September 2023, the Independent Living Fund, closed to new applications since 2010, re-opened to new applicants in April 2024 with the aim of enabling up to 1,000 additional disabled people with the most complex needs to access the support they need and deserve to live independent lives.

A Co-Production Working Group was established in October 2023, consisting of disabled people, carers, disabled people's organisations (DPOs) and representatives of ILF Scotland, the Scottish Government and health and social care statutory partners. A range of engagement events were held to seek views on the policy framework for the re-opened fund. A commitment was given to continue to develop policy in 2024 to 2025.

Action: Facilitate meetings of the Co-production Working Group every two months in 2024 to 2025, with the first meeting to be scheduled for June 2024. Report on learning from the first two months of receiving applications to the re-opened fund and work together with the group and others as required to further develop policies around the key issues raised by disabled people and others at the re-opening engagement events. Arrange further co-production opportunities with our recipients and others as part of our strategic planning consultations in the latter part of 2024 to 2025.

Progress: The Co-Production Working Group continues to meet every two months, reviewing the progress of applications to the re-opened Fund. During the past year,  a recommendation to introduce an element of Unpaid Care into the calculation of the Threshold Sum has been implemented, which allows additional applications from disabled people who receive a significant amount of unpaid care from someone living with them.  The group will continue to meet in 2025 to 2026 to further develop ILF Scotland policies. We held a further six engagement events to discuss strategy and policy with our recipients and other stakeholders and fed views into the development of our new strategic plan, 2025 to 2028.

Conclusion

These equality outcomes guide our progress and direction. We have developed action plans to implement our stated outcomes and we monitor and review these annually to ensure we remain on track. We will publish an update of progress annually. Progress is monitored by our Equality Committee, which meets regularly and has oversight of all relevant action plans and reports.

We set equality outcomes with the intention to truly embed equality, diversity and inclusion into our strategic and annual delivery plans and our daily activities. While we have not been able to achieve everything we set out to do, we have progressed well and we remain committed to continue our equality journey.

Our Equality outcomes are co-produced through the work we do to engage with and listen to our recipients. We will continue to instigate and implement innovative ways to understand the needs of our recipients, listening and working hard, to learn and improve what we do.

Board members provide the necessary scrutiny to ensure that we meet our duties and consider potential equality impacts as part of our corporate decision-making. Our senior management team shares responsibility for promoting and embedding equality in our plans, projects and operational processes and our Equality Committee oversees this work.

Each employee also has an individual responsibility for considering equality issues in all areas of the work we do and in working with others to continually enhance our processes. We consult with and listen to our staff members to help mainstream equalities across the organisation.

We will continue to develop best practice to support and inform our recruitment and employment practices, to improve our workforce equality and diversity targets and to promote the organisation as an employer of choice.

As a Non-Departmental Public Body, we ultimately aspire to continue to work in partnership with the Scottish Government and other Public Bodies, to be an inclusive employer and to continue to enhance the access to our services and the support provided to disabled people in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Approved: 22 April 2025
Version: 2025.1
Next Review: April 2028
Signed by: Peter Scott, for ILF Scotland following approval by the Board of ILF Scotland
Steven Hanlon, for Scottish Government following approval by Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport

Contents

Introduction
Purpose
Governance and Accountability
The Board
The Chief Executive
The Accountable Officer
The Scottish Ministers
SG Portfolio Accountable Officer
Relationship between Scottish Government and ILF Scotland
NDPB staff management responsibilities
Broad responsibilities for NDPB staff
Pay and conditions of service
Pensions, redundancy and compensation
Corporate and business plans
Annual report and accounts
External audit
Internal audit
Budget management and delegated authority
Governance and Risk
Risk management
Internal control
Budget and finance
Remuneration
Banking and cash management
Annex A: Specific Delegated Financial Authorities

Introduction

1. This framework document is agreed between Independent Living Fund Scotland (ILF Scotland)and the Scottish Ministers. It summarises how ILF Scotland and Scottish Government (SG) will work together, and the key roles and responsibilities of:

• the Board
• the Chief Executive and Accountable Officer of ILF Scotland;
• the Scottish Ministers; and
• the Portfolio Accountable Officer within the SG whose remit includes ILF Scotland. 

While this document does not confer any legal powers or responsibilities, it forms a key part of the accountability and governance framework and as a live document it should be reviewed by SG and ILF Scotland regularly, and at least every 2-3 years. Any significant changes will be agreed between the Board and the Scottish Ministers.

2. Any question regarding the interpretation of the document will be determined by the SG after consultation with ILF Scotland. Legislative provisions take precedence over any part of the document.

3. ILF Scotland is not permitted to establish any subsidiaries or enter into joint ventures without express approval from Scottish Ministers.

Copies of the document will be published on the ILF Scotland website.

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Purpose

5. ILF Scotland is a Scottish registered company limited by guarantee and having company number SC500075. The constitution of ILF Scotland is set out in the Articles of Association. The basis upon which ILF Scotland carries out the administration and distribution of the ILF is agreed within the Service Level Agreement between the Scottish Ministers and ILF Scotland signed and dated on 24 June 2019. ILF Scotland does not carry out its functions on behalf of the Crown.

6. ILF Scotland’s purpose is to:

• Provide for the administration of the Independent Living Fund (ILF), which includes distribution of financial support to eligible disabled recipients. This is carried out to bring effect to Scottish Ministers’ duties to promote health improvement, specifically the duty to “promote the improvement of the physical and mental health of the people of Scotland”. Scottish Ministers are empowered to do “anything which they consider is likely to assist in discharging that duty” as set out in Section 1A of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (as inserted by Section 9 of the National Health Service Reform (Scotland) Act 2004). This includes an ability to make payments to individuals - in this instance, to deliver the ILF nationally. These powers (including decision-making powers) are retained by Scottish Ministers who directly engage ILF Scotland to provide services on their behalf within the operational framework set out in a Service Level Agreement (Schedule 5). As a company wholly owned by Scottish Ministers, ILF Scotland are formally accountable to Scottish Ministers.

7. ILF Scotland’s duties, as agreed by the Scottish Ministers, are to:

• Promote and advance physical and mental health principally through the delivery of independent living outcomes for Scotland’s disabled population. Independent living means, “Disabled people have the same freedom, choice, dignity and control as other people at home, at work, and in the community. It does not mean living by yourself or looking after yourself on your own. It means the person has rights to practical assistance and support to participate in society and live an ordinary life.” (Independent Living in Scotland project, 2008) This is effected primarily by delivering ILF financial support packages to eligible disabled people in Scotland through the “2015 Fund”, the re-opened Fund, and “Transition Fund” in line with the ILF Scotland Awards Policies agreed with Scottish Ministers. ILF Scotland should aim to maximise the effectiveness of the “2015 Fund”, the re-opened Fund, and “Transition Fund”, (together forming the ILF) achieving the best possible value for and allocation of money and maximum independent living outcomes for recipients of the funds. In carrying out this duty, ILF Scotland will support Scottish Ministers’ commitments to equality and human rights for disabled people, with particular focus on realising the right to live independently and be included in the community set out in Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• Distribute in line with the ILF Scotland policies specific to Northern Ireland, financial support packages to eligible disabled people in Northern Ireland under the relevant Memorandum of Understanding between The Department of Health in Northern Ireland, the Scottish Ministers and ILF Scotland.

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Governance and Accountability

This section summarises the specific responsibilities and accountabilities of the key people involved in governance of ILF Scotland.

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The Board

9. Members of the Board of ILF Scotland, including the Chair, are non-executives appointed by the Scottish Ministers in line with the Code of Practice for Ministerial Public Appointments in Scotland. The Chair and Board Members are accountable to the Scottish Ministers and also to the Scottish Parliament and may be required to give evidence to Parliamentary Committees.

10. The Board has overall responsibility for the delivery of the functions of ILF Scotland, as set out at paragraphs 5 to 7 above, in accordance with the aims, policies and priorities of the Scottish Ministers. It [the Board] has corporate responsibility, under the leadership of the Chair, to:

• set strategic plans to deliver the functions of ILF Scotland, focusing on how the work of ILF Scotland can most effectively contribute to achievement of the outcomes in the National Performance Framework, the Programme for Government and Scotland’s Economic Strategy in collaboration with the SG and other public bodies;
• regularly scrutinise current and projected performance against the aims, objectives and targets set out in plans and take decisions on remedial action where required;
• ensure that effective governance is established and maintained, including ensuring that decision-taking is open and transparent and, with support from the ILF Scotland Accountable Officer and the ILF Scotland Audit and Risk Committee, ensure that key risks and issues are identified and managed;
• together with the Accountable Officer of ILF Scotland, approve the annual report and accounts and ensure these are provided to the Scottish Ministers to be laid before the Scottish Parliament;
• promote the efficient, economic and effective use of resources consistent with the principles of Best Value, and regularly scrutinise financial performance and compliance with financial guidance issued by the SG;
• promote the wellbeing, learning and development of staff, provide support and challenge to the Chief Executive on staffing matters and ensure that ILF Scotland meets the NDPB staff management responsibilities described in the section below.

11. The Chair will:

• lead the Board, ensuring that all Board members have suitable induction to understand the role and their responsibilities, that the skills and experience of all Board Members are used effectively and that the Board undertakes regular self-assessment of its performance;
• ensure that the performance of each Board member is reviewed at least once per year and that the Board and / or individual Board members undertake development activity when required to ensure the effectiveness of the Board;
• ensure that the Board reviews its effectiveness annually;
• ensure that a Code of Conduct (aligned to the Model Code of Conduct for Board Members) is in place, that corporate actions are taken to implement it as required and that Members understand their responsibilities, using the guidance provided by the Standards Commission;
• work with the Portfolio Accountable Officer or their delegate(s) and the Public Appointments Team in SG on succession planning for the Board, action necessary to fill vacancies as they arise, skills requirements and promoting diversity by encouraging applications from less represented groups, including younger people, people from minority ethnic backgrounds and disabled people.

12. Specific guidance on how the Chair and Board Members should discharge their duties will be provided in their appointment letters and in On Board – A Guide for Members of Statutory Boards. Guidance on governance good practice is available in the Scottish Public Finance Manual and from the sponsor team, who may consult the SG Governance and Risk Team. A list of key aspects of governance to consider is included in the section on Governance and Risk below.

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The Chief Executive

13. The Chief Executive is employed and appointed by the Board with the approval of the Scottish Ministers and is the principal adviser to the Board on the discharge of its functions and is accountable to the Board. The Chief Executive role is to provide operational leadership to staff working for ILF Scotland and to ensure that its aims and objectives are met, its functions are delivered, and its targets are met through effective and properly controlled executive action.

14. The specific duties of the Chief Executive will be set out in a job description, and annual objectives will be agreed with the Chair and used in appraisal of the Chief Executive’s performance.

15. In addition to any other specific duties, the Chief Executive will:

• advise the Board on the discharge of its responsibilities – as set out in this Framework Document, in the founding legislation and in any other relevant instructions and guidance issued by or on behalf of the Scottish Ministers;
• implement or oversee implementation of the decisions of the Board;
• work with the Board on preparation of the Corporate Plan, including liaising with the Scottish Government’s ILF Scotland Senior Sponsor and/or Sponsor Team on key points which need to be addressed and the timetable for preparation and review, and work with the Board to ensure that business plans are put in place to meet the Corporate Plan aims, objectives and performance measures;
• lead and manage the staff of ILF Scotland, ensuring their wellbeing, learning and development are prioritised, and ensuring that the NDPB staff management responsibilities set out in the section below are addressed;
• manage the budget for ILF Scotland in line with Scottish Government Finance guidance, policies and procedures, including the Scottish Public Finance Manual, and advise the Board on financial implications of all Board decisions, ensuring that appropriate financial appraisal and evaluation techniques are followed (see the Appraisal and Evaluation section of the SPFM);
• agree with the Board and the Portfolio AO or Senior Sponsor what information is required to enable the Board and SG to scrutinise the performance of ILF Scotland and progress against overall strategic and business plan aims and objectives, and ensure that the agreed information is provided and that is both accurate and timely;
• the Chief Executive’s Executive Team will manage the day-to-day relationship with the Senior Sponsor and / or Sponsor Team, with other SG officials who have an interest in the work of ILF Scotland and other key stakeholders, including staff of other public bodies.

16. In advising the Board, the Chief Executive will ensure that the key governance issues highlighted in the section on Governance and Risk below are addressed.

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The Accountable Officer

17. The Principal Accountable Officer for the Scottish Administration will designate a senior official in ILF Scotland, usually this will be the Chief Executive unless there are specific reasons not to, as the Accountable Officer of ILF Scotland. The Accountable Officer is personally responsible for the propriety and regularity of the public finances of ILF Scotland and ensuring that its resources are used economically, efficiently and effectively, as required by section 15 of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 and may be called to give evidence to the Public Audit Committee of the Scottish Parliament. The responsibilities of the Accountable Officer of ILF Scotland are set out in full in the Memorandum to Accountable Officers for Other Public Bodies in the Scottish Public Finance Manual. The Accountable Officer for ILF Scotland and the Board must both sign the annual report and accounts.

18. It is important for the Chair and Board members to recognise that one aspect of these duties is the requirement under section 15(8) of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000, where the Accountable Officer of ILF Scotland considers that any action they are required to take is not consistent with their Accountable Officer responsibilities, they must obtain written authority from the Board and send a copy of the written authority to the Auditor General for Scotland as soon as possible and send to the Clerk of the Public Audit Committee. The Accountable Officer of ILF Scotland should consult the Portfolio Accountable Officer before seeking written authority from the Board in these circumstances and should always notify the Portfolio Accountable Officer when such a written authority has been issued.

19. Where the duties of the Accountable Officer of ILF Scotland and the Chief Executive are not combined in one person, the Accountable Officer will work closely with the Chief Executive on governance, and in particular to ensure that the key governance issues highlighted in the section on Governance and Risk below are addressed.

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The Scottish Ministers

The Scottish Ministers appoint the Chair and Board Members and hold the Board to account for the performance of ILF Scotland and its use of resources. Ministers are ultimately accountable to the Scottish Parliament for ensuring that the Board is discharging its duties effectively, although the Parliament will scrutinise the performance of ILF Scotland directly as it does with all public sector bodies. The Scottish Ministers are not directly responsible for the operation of ILF Scotland.

21. The Scottish Ministers will:

• agree the strategic aims, objectives and key targets of ILF Scotland as part of the corporate planning process;
• agree the budget for ILF Scotland, and secure the necessary Parliamentary approval;
• approve the Code of Conduct of the ILF Scotland Board;
• approve pay remits or proposals and superannuation arrangements for the staff, Chief Executive, Chair and Board members;
• Lay the accounts of the ILF Scotland before the Scottish Parliament;
• carry out responsibilities specified in the Articles of Association, such as appointments to ILF Scotland’s board and approving the terms and conditions of board members; and
• agree how ILF Scotland’s Funds are to be applied (through operational policies).

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SG Portfolio Accountable Officer

22. The Principal Accountable Officer for the Scottish Administration (the Permanent Secretary of the SG) has designated the Director General for Health and Social Care as the Portfolio Accountable Officer (AO) for the SG portfolio budget which will provide funding for the ILF Scotland.

23. The Portfolio AO’s duties are to establish a framework for the relationship between SG and a public body, oversee the operation of that framework, ensure the public appointments to the body are made appropriately and ensure that appropriate assurance is provided on the performance and governance of the body. These activities are known collectively as ‘sponsorship’. In practice, the Portfolio AO is likely to delegate some or all sponsorship duties to a Director or Deputy Director as Senior Sponsor and/or to other SG officials in a ‘Sponsor Team’. The responsibilities of a Portfolio Accountable Officer are set out in detail in the Memorandum to Accountable Officers for Parts of the Scottish Administration.

24. The Portfolio AO will:

a. make sure the framework document is agreed between the Scottish Ministers and the Board of ILF Scotland, reviewed regularly and oversee the operation of the roles and responsibilities set out;

b. ensure that financial and other management controls being applied by ILF Scotland are appropriate and sufficient to safeguard public funds and conform to the requirements both of propriety and of good financial management;

c. in line with Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments, ensure that public appointments are made in good time and secure appropriate skills, experience and diversity amongst Board members, working with the Chair on succession planning; that there is effective induction for new appointees; and ensure that there is regular review and a formal annual appraisal of the performance of the Chair;

d. support regular (normally at least once per year) and effective engagement between ILF Scotland and the relevant Scottish Minister(s); and

e. make sure there is clear, documented delegation of responsibilities to a Senior Sponsor and/or Sponsor Team and that the Board and senior officials of ILF Scotland are aware of these delegated responsibilities.

25. The Portfolio AO remains personally answerable to the Scottish Parliament for the effectiveness of sponsorship activity.

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Relationship between Scottish Government and ILF Scotland

26. Strategic engagement between the SG and ILF Scotland is essential in order that they work together as effectively as possible to maintain and improve public services and deliver improved outcomes. Specific governance and accountability roles are described in the section above, but more generally, both the SG and ILF Scotland will take all necessary steps to ensure that their relationship is developed and supported in line with the jointly agreed principles set out in the statement on ‘Strategic Engagement between the Scottish Government and Scotland’s NDPBs’. This emphasises the need for cooperation and good communication, and particularly early warning from either side about any emerging risk or issue with significant implications for the operation or governance of ILF Scotland.

27. The Sponsor Team’s primary function is to carry out the responsibilities delegated to it by the Portfolio AO, directly or via the Senior Sponsor, as described above. In addition to ensuring that the arrangements in this framework document operate effectively, managing public appointments and providing assurance to the Portfolio AO, the Sponsor Team will usually be the first point of contact for the body on any issue with SG. As part of the assurance they provide to the Portfolio AO, they must ensure that key actions and decisions agreed are documented and implemented. This includes ensuring that SG teams implement any agreed actions.

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NDPB staff management responsibilities

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Broad responsibilities for NDPB staff

28. The Chief Executive, challenged and supported by the Board, has responsibility for the recruitment, retention and motivation of its staff. The broad responsibilities toward staff are to ensure that:

• HR policies, practices and systems comply with employment and equalities legislation, and standards expected of public sector employers;
• the level and structure of staffing, including grading and staff numbers, are appropriate to its functions and the requirements of economy, efficiency and effectiveness (subject to the SG Pay Policy for Staff Pay Remits);
• the performance of staff at all levels is regularly appraised and performance management systems are reviewed from time to time;
• staff are encouraged to acquire the appropriate professional, management and other expertise necessary to achieve the body’s objectives;
• proper consultation with staff takes place on key issues affecting them, as appropriate, including working in partnership with trade unions;
• effective grievance and disciplinary procedures are in place and ensures that staff know where to access and how to use;
• effective whistle-blowing policy and procedures consistent with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 are in place and ensures that staff know where to access and how to use; and
• a code of conduct for staff is in place.

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Pay and conditions of service

29. ILF Scotland will comply with SG Pay Policy in relation to staff and the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive will ensure that a pay remit, in line with the guidance for analogue bodies in the SG Pay Policy for Staff Pay Remits, is submitted to the SG for approval in line with the timetable notified and ensure that the pay settlement implemented is within the terms of the approved remit. This should normally be done annually, unless a multi-year deal has been agreed. Payment of salaries should also comply with the Tax Planning and Tax Avoidance section of the SPFM. Proposals on non-salary rewards will comply with the guidance in the Non-Salary Rewards section of the SPFM.

30. ILF Scotland will also seek appropriate approval under the SG Pay Policy for Senior Appointments for the chief executive’s remuneration package prior to appointment, annually or when a new appointment or change to the remuneration package is being proposed.

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Pensions, redundancy and compensation

31. Superannuation arrangements for staff are subject to the approval of the Scottish Ministers. ILF Scotland staff will normally be eligible for a pension provided by PCSPS. Staff may opt out of the occupational pension scheme provided, but the employers’ contribution to any personal pension arrangement, including stakeholder pension, will normally be limited to the national insurance rebate level.

32. Any proposal by ILF Scotland to move from existing pension arrangements, or to pay any redundancy or compensation for loss of office, requires the prior approval of the Scottish Ministers. Proposals on compensation payments will comply with the Settlement Agreements, Severance, Early Retirement and Redundancy Terms section of the SPFM. This includes referral to the Scottish Ministers of any proposed severance scheme (for example, a scheme for voluntary exit), business case for a settlement agreement being considered for an individual, or proposal to make any other compensation payment. In all instances, a body should engage with the Sponsor Team prior to proceeding with proposed severance options, and prior to making any offer either orally or in writing.

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Corporate and business plans

33. ILF Scotland will co-produce, with disabled people and other key stakeholders, a corporate plan, normally every 3 years, setting out its aims, objectives and targets over that period for consideration by the Scottish Ministers. When a new plan is to be prepared, the Chief Executive or their delegate will liaise with the Sponsor Team to agree the key points to be addressed and the timetable for preparation and review. The final, agreed version of the strategic or corporate plan will be published by ILF Scotland on its website.

34. The corporate plan will include ILF Scotland’s:

• purpose and principal aims;
• contribution to the national outcomes set out in the National Performance Framework, the Programme for Government and Scotland’s Economic Strategy in collaboration with the SG and other public bodies;
• analysis of the environment in which it operates;
• key objectives and associated key performance targets for the period of the plan, and the strategy for achieving those objectives;
• indicators against which its performance can be judged;
• details of planned efficiencies, describing how better value for money will be achieved, including through collaboration and use of shared services; and
• other key points agreed with the Sponsor Team as described above.

35. The corporate plan will inform the development of a separate annual business plan which ILF Scotland will prepare for each financial year, and which will include key targets and milestones for the year immediately ahead, aligned to the NPF, and be linked to budgeting information so that, where possible, resources allocated to achieve specific objectives can be identified. A copy of the business plan will be provided to the sponsor unit prior to the start of the relevant financial year.

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Annual report and accounts

36. ILF Scotland will publish an annual report of its activities together with its audited accounts after the end of each financial year. The annual report and accounts will cover the activities of any corporate, subsidiary or joint ventures under the control of ILF Scotland. It will comply with the Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) and outline the NDPB’s main activities and performance against agreed objectives and targets for the previous financial year. The accounts must be signed by a director on behalf of the board, and by the Chief Executive, as Accountable Officer.

37. The accounts will be prepared in accordance with relevant statutes and the specific accounts direction and other relevant guidance issued by the Scottish Ministers. Any financial objectives or targets set by the Scottish Ministers should be reported on in the accounts and will therefore be within the scope of the audit.

38. The SG Sponsor Team should receive a copy of the annual report for comment, and a copy of the draft accounts for information, by the end of September each year. ILF Scotland is responsible for the publication of the annual report and accounts after they have been laid by the Scottish Ministers. Whilst the statutory deadline for laying and publishing accounts audited by the AGS is 31 December after the end of the relevant financial year, the Scottish Ministers expect that accounts will be laid before the Scottish Parliament and published as early as possible.

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External audit

39. The Auditor General for Scotland (AGS) audits, or appoints auditors to audit, ILF Scotland’s annual accounts and passes them to the Scottish Ministers who then lay them before the Scottish Parliament, together with the auditor’s report and any report prepared by the AGS. The AGS, or examiners appointed by the AGS, may also carry out examinations into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the body has used its resources in discharging its functions and/or carry out examinations into the arrangements made by ILF Scotland to secure Best Value.

40. The AGS, or the AGS’s appointed auditors or examiners, have a statutory right of access to documents and information held by relevant persons, including any contractors to or recipients of grants from ILF Scotland. ILF Scotland will ensure that this right of access to documents and information is made clear in the terms of any contracts issued or conditions of any grants awarded and will also use its best endeavours to secure access to any other information or documents required which are held by other bodies.

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Internal audit

41. ILF Scotland will:

• establish and maintain arrangements for internal audit in accordance with the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards and the Internal Audit section of the SPFM;
• set up an Audit Committee of its Board, in accordance with the Audit Committees section of the SPFM, to advise both the board and the Accountable Officer;
• ensure that the Sponsor Team and the Portfolio AO/Senior Sponsor receive promptly after they are produced or updated: the audit charter, strategy, periodic audit plans and annual audit assurance report, including the Head of Internal Audit opinion on risk management, control and governance – and provide any other relevant audit reports as requested by sponsors;
• keep records of, and prepare and forward promptly to the SG an annual report on fraud and theft suffered by ILF Scotland and notify the Portfolio AO or Senior Sponsor immediately of any unusual or major incidents.

42. The SG’s Internal Audit and Assurance Directorate has an expectation of cooperation and access to relevant material when required, the parameters for which would be set out in an engagement document before information was shared. ILF Scotland should make it clear on their own Privacy Notice that material may be shared with SG’s Internal Audit and Assurance Directorate in certain circumstances.

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Budget management and delegated authority

43. Each year the Sponsor Team will send the Board a Budget Allocation and Monitoring letter, notifying ILF Scotland of the budget provision, any related matters and details of the budget monitoring information required. ILF Scotland will comply with the format and timing of the monitoring information requested and with any requests for further information.

44. The statement of budgetary provision will set out the budget within the classifications of resource Departmental Expenditure Limits (RDEL), capital DEL (CDEL) and Ring-fenced (non-cash) (RfDEL) – and, where applicable, Annually Managed Expenditure (AME). These categories are explained in Annual Budget Processing in the SPFM, and ILF Scotland will not transfer budgetary provision between the categories without the prior approval of the SG Health and Social Care Finance, Digital and Governance Directorate (‘Health Finance’), which should be sought via the Sponsor Team. Transfers within the categories are at the discretion of the Board or, subject to delegated authority, the Chief Executive or relevant senior manager, if these do not breach any other constraints, for instance the approved pay remit.

Where budgetary provision includes projected income, including any income from disposal of non-current assets, the Chief Executive will ensure that Health Finance and the Sponsor Team are made aware promptly of any forecast changes in income – usually via the monthly budget monitoring statement. The Scottish Ministers expectation is that any shortfall in income will be offset by a matching reduction in gross expenditure, and prior approval Health Finance and the Sponsor Team must be sought for any alternative arrangement. Similarly, if income is higher than originally projected, this may only be used for additional spending or to meet pressures with the prior approval of the SG Finance Directorate and Sponsor Team. Failure to obtain prior approval for the use of excess income to fund additional expenditure may result in corresponding reductions in budgets for the following financial year. The only exception is where the income is from gifts, bequests and donations but this must be spent within the same financial year as the receipt.

45. ILF Scotland’s specific delegated financial authorities - as agreed in consultation between the Board and the Scottish Ministers - are set out in Annex A. The Board will obtain the prior written approval from sponsors and Health Finance before entering into any undertaking to incur any expenditure that falls outside these delegations, and before incurring expenditure for any purpose that is or might be considered novel, contentious or repercussive or which has or could have significant future cost implications.

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Governance and Risk

46. Guidance on governance requirements is available in several documents referred to earlier in this framework document:

• the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM)
• the Audit and Assurance Committee Handbook
• On Board - A Guide for Members of Statutory Boards

47. If in any doubt about a governance issue, the Chair or Chief Executive should consult the Senior Sponsor or Sponsor Team in the first instance, and sponsors may in turn consult the SG Public Bodies Unit, the SG Governance and Risk Branch and / or other teams with relevant expertise.

48. The Board and Chief Executive are advised to pay particular attention to guidance on the following issues.

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Risk management

49. ILF Scotland must develop an approach to risk management consistent with the Risk Management section of the Scottish Public Finance Manual and establish reporting and escalation arrangements with the Portfolio AO or Senior Sponsor.

50. The Board should have a clear understanding of the key risks, threats and hazards it may face in the personnel, accommodation and cyber domains, and take action to ensure appropriate organisational resilience, in line with the guidance in: Having and Promoting Business Resilience (part of the Preparing Scotland suite of guidance) and the Public Sector Cyber Resilience Framework.

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Internal control

51. The Board should establish clear internal delegated authorities with the Chief Executive, who may in turn delegate responsibilities to other members of staff and establish an assurance framework consistent with the internal control framework in the SPFM.

52. Counter-fraud policies and practices should be adopted to safeguard against fraud and theft - see the Fraud section of the SPFM.

53. Any major investment programmes or projects undertaken should be subject to the guidance in the Major Investment Projects section of the SPFM and in line with delegated authorities. The Sponsor Team must be kept informed of progress on such programmes and projects and Ministers must be alerted to any developments that could undermine their viability. ICT investment plans must be reported to the SG’s Office of the Chief Information Officer.

54. ILF Scotland must comply with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and ensure that information is provided to members of the public in a spirit of openness and transparency. ILF Scotland must also register with Information Commissioners Office and ensure that it complies with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulations, commonly known as GDPR.

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Budget and finance

55. Unless covered by a specific delegated authority, financial investments are not permitted without the prior approval of sponsors and SG Finance. This includes equity shares in ventures which further a body’s objectives. Public bodies should not invest in any venture of a speculative nature.

56. Non-standard tax management arrangements should always be regarded as novel and/or contentious and must therefore be approved in advance by the Portfolio AO and SG Finance. Relevant guidance is provided in the Tax Planning and Tax Avoidance section of the SPFM. ILF Scotland must comply with all relevant rules on taxation, including VAT, recover input tax where it is entitled to do so.

57. Optimising income (not including grant-in-aid) from all sources should be a priority, and sponsors should be kept informed about any significant projected changes in income. Novel or contentious proposals for new sources of income or methods of fundraising must be approved by sponsors and SG Finance. Fees or charges for any services supplied must be determined in accordance with the Fees & Charges section of the SPFM.

58. Gifts, bequests or donations received score as income and should be provided for in the agreed resource DEL and capital DEL budgets, but should not fund activities or assets normally covered by SG grant-in-aid, trading or fee income, and conflicts of interest must be considered – see the principles in the Gifts section of the SPFM. Note that this relates to gifts to the body - gifts to individuals are covered in the Model Code of Conduct.

59. Borrowing cannot be used to increase ILF Scotland’s spending power. All borrowing - excluding agreed overdrafts - must be from the Scottish Ministers in accordance with guidance in the Borrowing, Lending & Investment section of the SPFM.

60. Any lending must be in line with the guidance in the Borrowing, Lending & Investment section of the SPFM on undertaking due diligence and seeking to establish a security. Unless covered by a specific delegated limit ILF Scotland must not lend money, charge any asset, give any guarantee or indemnity or letter of comfort, or incur any other contingent liability (as defined in the Contingent Liabilities section of the SPFM), whether or not in a legally binding form, without the prior approval of sponsors and SG Finance. Guarantees, indemnities and letters of comfort of a standard type given in the normal course of business are excluded from this requirement.

61. An accurate and up-to-date record of current and non-current assets should be maintained, consistent with the Property: Acquisition, Disposal & Management section of the SPFM. ILF Scotland is also subject to the SG Asset Management Policy, including the requirement for acquisition of a new lease, continuation of an existing lease, decision not to exercise a break option in a lease or purchase of property for accommodation / operational purposes, to be approved in advance by Scottish Ministers. The Property Controls Team should be consulted as early as possible in this process.

62. Assets should be recorded on the balance sheet at the appropriate valuation basis in accordance with the FReM. When an asset (including any investment) suffers impairment, when there is significant movement in existing provisions and/or where a new provision needs to be created, this should be communicated to sponsors and SG Finance as soon as possible to determine the implications for the NDPB’s budget.

63. Any funding for expenditure on assets by a third party should be subject to appropriate arrangements to ensure that they are not disposed of without prior consent and that a due share of the proceeds can be secured on disposal or when they cease to be used by the third party for the intended purpose, in line with the Clawback guidance in the SPFM.

64. Unless covered by a specific delegated authority, prior approval from sponsors and SG Finance is required before making gifts or special payments or writing off losses. Special payments and losses are subject the guidance in the Losses and Special Payments section of the SPFM. Gifts by management to staff are subject to the guidance in the Non-Salary Rewards section of the SPFM.

65. Unless covered by a specific delegated authority ILF Scotland must not enter into any finance, property or accommodation related lease arrangement – including the extension of an existing lease or the non-exercise of a tenant’s lease break - without prior approval from sponsors. Before entering/ continuing such arrangements the NDPB must be able to demonstrate that the lease offers better value for money than purchase and that all options of sharing existing public sector space have been explored.

Non-property / accommodation related operating leases are subject to a specific delegated authority. There must be capital DEL provision in the budget allocation for finance leases and other transactions which are in substance borrowing.

66. Procurement policies should reflect relevant guidance in the Procurement section of the SPFM and any other relevant guidance issued by the SG’s Procurement and Property Directorate. The SG’s directory of SG Framework Agreements, is available to support organisations but they should check the Framework Agreement’s ‘buyer’s guide’ before proceeding to ensure they are eligible to use the Framework.

67. All matured and properly authorised invoices relating to transactions with suppliers should be paid in accordance with the Expenditure and Payments section of the SPFM wherever possible and appropriate within Scottish Ministers’ target of payment within 10 working days of their receipt.

68. ILF Scotland is subject to the SG policy of self-insurance. Commercial insurance must however be taken out where there is a legal requirement to do so and may also be taken out in the circumstances described in the Insurance section of the SPFM - where required with the prior approval of sponsors and their finance business partner subject to the level of inherent financial risk. In the event of uninsured losses being incurred the SG shall consider, on a case by case basis, whether or not it should make any additional resources available to the NDPB. The relevant sponsor team will provide a Certificate of Exemption for Employer's Liability Insurance.

69. Unless covered by a specific delegated authority ILF Scotland must not provide grant funding to a third party without prior agreement from sponsors and SG Finance. Guidance on a framework for the control of third party grants is provided as an annex to the Grant & Grant in Aid section of the SPFM. Subsidy control requirements for any such funding are discussed below.

70. The EU State aid regime was effectively revoked from UK law from 1 January 2021. Following this, subsidy control provisions were covered by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and the UK’s international obligations, including various Free Trade Agreements and those arising as a consequence of World Trade Organisation membership. However, a new UK subsidy control regime came into force on 4 January 2023 as a result of UK Government’s Subsidy Control Act 2022. Currently, any activity that a public body undertakes itself, or funds other bodies to undertake, that can be offered on a commercial market for goods and services, is subject to the regulations set out in the Subsidy Control Act 2022. A full assessment is required prior to disbursing any funding, subject to the guidance in the subsidy control section of the SPFM.

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Remuneration

71. Remuneration, allowances and any expenses paid to the Chair and Board Members must comply with the latest SG Pay Policy for Senior Appointments and any specific guidance on such matters issued by the Scottish Ministers.

72. Staff pay, pensions and any severance payments must be in line with the requirements of Public Sector Pay Policy and the responsibilities described in the section on NDPB Staff Management Responsibilities.

73. All individuals who would qualify as employees for tax purposes should be paid through the payroll system with tax deducted at source.

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Banking and cash management

74. Banking arrangements must comply with the Banking section of the SPFM.

75. Cash management arrangements need to be addressed as well as overall budget management. Any grant in aid (i.e. the cash provided to ILF Scotland by the SG to support the allocated budget) for the year in question will be authorised by the Scottish Parliament in the annual Budget Act. ILF Scotland will normally receive monthly instalments based on updated profiles and information on unrestricted cash reserves and will not seek any payment in advance of need. ILF Scotland will keep its unrestricted cash reserves held during the year to the minimum level needed for efficient operation and any relevant liabilities which have to be met at the year-end. Grant in aid not drawn down by the end of the financial year will lapse. ILF Scotland will not pay Grant-in-Aid into any restricted reserve it holds.

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Helpful information

76. The Public Bodies Support Unit has produced a register of reporting requirements for devolved public bodies which will help in regard to compliance with certain legislative asks. Copies of the register can be obtained from the PBSU mailbox.

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Annex A: Specific Delegated Financial Authorities

Commit expenditure and authorise payments in the ordinary course of business
Delegated Limit: Up to the budgets provided for in ILF Scotland’s annual Budget Allocation and Monitoring Letter.

Operating leases – other than property / accommodation related leases
Delegated Limit: £25,000 per year

Gifts
Delegated Limit: £5,000 per year, individual transactions up to £200

Special payments
Delegated Limit: £30,000 per year

Claimed waived or abandoned
Delegated Limit: £10,000 per year

Write-off of bad debt and / or losses
Delegated Limit: £10,000 per year

Grants
Delegated Limit: As provided for in the policies agreed by Scottish Ministers

Major investment programmes / projects
Delegated Limit: Total projected value up to £100,000

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