The following table shows the number of homes and projects that have been approved in August, September, October and November 2022, broken down by baseline benchmark type and whether above, at, or below benchmark:

City and Urban

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all school aged children have access to a device by the end of this parliament. Given the scale and complexity of this programme of work, the 100 days commitment was to commence planning rather than deliver the devices.

In 2020-21, we provided £25 million of funding to local authorities across Scotland to tackle digital exclusion, resulting in over 72,000 pupils receiving a device to support their learning.

The answer to question S6W-04787, shows the number of devices distributed via that funding, as reported by individual local authorities.

Local authorities have also invested in devices from their own budgets. Information from them indicates that up to 280,000 devices have already been distributed to learners across Scotland (including the 72,000 funded by the Scottish Government).

We continue to work closely with local authorities to deliver on the commitment moving forward.

The detail requested around loan repayments made by Liberty Steel Dalzell Ltd is commercially sensitive and therefore confidential.

The length of the time that long debt forbearance will be tolerated varies significantly from lender to lender and from case to case. In this instance, it is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise as the lender and therefore a matter for discussion between them and the company.

The Scottish Government remains committed to reforming crofting law. A decision on the timing of a Bill will be taken by Cabinet in the context of setting the content of future legislative programmes in the normal way.

The Crofting Bill Group was reinstated in May 2022, to consider crofting legislation, including those issues raised by the Crofting Bill Group in 2016-2018. Five meetings have taken place between June and November 2022. The Crofting Bill Group discussions will resume in early 2023.

Paragraph 48 of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill Policy Memorandum refers to this. This can be accessed at: https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/national-care-service-scotland-bill/introduced

Once the structure and governance of care boards and their localities have been decided, decisions about the employment of local government staff can be made. Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) / Cabinet Office Statement of Practice (COSOP) principles will apply if the delivery of services is transferred from local authorities to care boards. If that is the case, the TUPE process would be followed.

Everyone has the right to a safe workplace and to live their lives without fear or intimidation. The Scottish Government is determined to tackle the scourge of sexual harassment wherever it happens: in public spaces, places of education and workplaces.

That is why we published our Fair Work Action Plan on 9 December 2022. It will take forward the next phase of actions to drive forward Fair Work and will make it easier for employers and partners to access information on the critical role Fair Work has to play in the workplace. We will be writing out to interest groups, MSPs and Ministers about the Action Plan in the week of 12 December, with further engagement activity planned in early 2023.

Additionally, as part of our Equally Safe strategy, we are providing over £330,000 in funding to Close the Gap to develop “Equally Safe at Work”, the first accredited programme to focus on equality at work. The programme focuses on themes such as workplace culture, and supports organisations to improve employment practice, advance gender equality and prevent violence against women.

All workplaces must have robust processes for reporting and dealing with harassment or bullying. But we recognise that sexual harassment takes place in a range of public places as well as workplaces, which is why we are consulting on women and girls’ safety on public transport. Additionally, we are continuing to take forward and fund a range of actions in schools to address gender based violence and sexual harassment. This includes but is not limited to Rape Crisis Scotland’s national sexual violence prevention programme, our Equally Safe at School programme, our Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning, and Mentors in Violence Prevention Scotland programme.

The Scottish Government will continue to drive forward this work to build a safer Scotland free of sexual harassment.

An announcement on the appointment of the Women’s Health Champion will be made shortly.

The role holder will commence their duties as Champion to drive change and share best practice and innovation, following the announcement.

The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 requires the regional marine plans state policies for and in connection with the sustainable development of the area to which the plan relates. Regional marine plans must also set economic, social and marine ecosystem objectives and relating to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change. All regional marine plans must be developed in accordance with any adopted National Marine Plan ("NMP"), and are subject to the agreement of Scottish Ministers.

Responsibility for regional marine planning is devolved to marine planning partnerships (“MPPs”). The current NMP provides guidance to support the development of regional marine plans, but specifies that the precise approach and coverage of the regional plan, including the level to which certain activities are spatially represented, will be for MPPs to determine based on local priorities and taking account of existing partnerships, methodologies and alignment with other local plans.

We will work with MPPs during the development of our second NMP (NMP2), to ensure policies and objectives within NMP2 provide necessary support and guidance for regional marine planning

The following table shows number of homes and projects that have been submitted for approval in August, September, October and November 2022, broken down by baseline benchmark type and whether above, at, or below benchmark. To note that the table includes some projects still under active appraisal:

City and Urban

There are no backlogs or delays at Disclosure Scotland in processing PVG disclosure checks. During this calendar year, and on a week-by-week basis, Disclosure Scotland has completed over 95% of all types of disclosure applications in under 7.5 working days. Most adult social care PVG checks are prioritised by Disclosure Scotland as part of a Scottish Government initiative. Disclosure Scotland publish their performance weekly.