Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09064 on 21 June 2022 which includes a link to the Affordable Housing Supply Housing Programme annual out-turn reports.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Rent Service Scotland does not request official data from the Private Rented sector on Landlords leaving the sector.

The Stroke Improvement Programme report 2022 containing the performance of Health Boards against the Stroke Improvement Plan priorities, including access to stroke therapy, is available at: https://www.strokeaudit.scot.nhs.uk/index.html .

The benchmark criteria for access to stroke therapy are not solely a measure of the initiation of therapy assessment within three days, but also consider the degree of multidisciplinary team (MDT) involvement and the documenting of discussions. A rating below ‘complete and embedded in practice’ does not mean that a board is not performing stroke therapy assessment within three days.

Our Stroke Improvement Plan recognises that rehabilitation is key to improving people’s health and wellbeing. A refreshed Stroke Improvement Plan is in development and will reflect the key elements of a holistic model of stroke rehabilitation including assessment, interventions, evaluation and the rehabilitation infrastructure that supports the provision of coordinated care.

COVID-19 vaccines are recommended in pregnancy. Vaccination is the best way to protect against the known risks of COVID-19 in pregnancy for both women and babies.

NHS inform have a dedicated page for pregnancy and the COVID-19 vaccine. Details on how pregnant people book their COVID-19 vaccines/booster can be found here www.nhsinform.scot/covid19vaccinepregnancy

The Scottish Government Marketing Team are continuing to promote vaccine uptake in pregnancy and if planning a pregnancy through a targeted marketing campaign. The COVID-19 vaccine explainer video also covers pregnancy and is available in a range of different community languages. More information can also be found in the above link.

The Housing for Varying Needs design guide offers good practice in the design of homes in order to help them achieve a degree of flexibility, suit people of varying needs, be convenient to use, and be fit for purpose. Where possible, all new affordable homes delivered through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme are built to Housing for Varying Needs standards.

As set out within the Housing to 2040 route map, we are reviewing the Housing for Varying Needs design guide. We want the guide to help better meet the needs of an ageing population, help people to live in their home for longer, consider a wider range of needs, and learn lessons from the pandemic by recognising the importance of outdoor space, and space for home working or study.

We plan to consult on proposed changes to the guide over the coming months and will wish to engage with disability groups and those with experience of living in homes delivered to Housing for Varying Needs standards, as well as those involved in the delivery of new homes.

Once complete, the review of Housing for Varying Needs will inform the introduction of building standards in 2025-26 to underpin a new Scottish Accessible Homes Standard, which all new homes will need to achieve, regardless of tenure.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to helping the Scottish hydrogen sector develop.

Following publication of the draft Hydrogen Action Plan in November 2021, a 10 week consultation was conducted to allow stakeholders adequate time to provide their views and feedback on the draft plan and its associated impact assessments. Officials are currently revising the draft Hydrogen Action Plan to take account of this feedback and we will be publishing our final Hydrogen Action Plan later this year. The Hydrogen Action Plan will outline our work to promote hydrogen activity and to develop the hydrogen economy in Scotland.

The draft Hydrogen Action Plan committed £100 million hydrogen funding for 2022-2026 through the Emerging Energy Technologies Fund (EETF). In June 2022, we launched the first tranche of the EETF via the £10 million Hydrogen Innovation Scheme. The remaining £90 million hydrogen investment programme is expected to launch in Autumn 2022 and will focus on supporting rapid renewable hydrogen production from Scotland’s abundant renewable energy resources.

The following table shows incidents by year that have alcohol mentioned as a possible factor by ambulance crews when completing an electronic patient record. The Scottish Ambulance Service does not specifically record alcohol-related incidents.

Since launching the Farm Advisory Service in 2016, which has seen over £20 million worth of support, we have ensured the service has worked in partnership with local agricultural agents and businesses through: regular stakeholder meetings, quarterly stakeholder updates, numerous sessions with agricultural agents and building in a robust feedback loop.

We have and will continue to offer a platform for the sector to feed into the service and have made a number of changes to the service from sector feedback in the past.

I refer the member to questions S6W-08085 and S6W-08129 answered on 18 May 2022 and 3 May 2022, respectively. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Scottish Government requires local authorities to assess, set out and monitor delivery against affordable housing priorities through Local Housing Strategy and Strategic Housing Investment Plans, which should be available on the relevant local authority websites. Planning authorities are responsible for the determination of planning permission in accordance with the development plan and relevant material considerations. Development plans set out where new development should and shouldn’t happen in the places they cover, enabling delivery of the right development in the right place.