A review of the Home Owners Support Fund (HOSF), of which Mortgage to Shared Equity is part, was commissioned in February 2022.

The review is wide ranging and will consider all aspects of the Mortgage to Rent (MTR) and Mortgage to Shared Equity (MTSE) eligibility criteria including local authority property valuation thresholds and capital and equity limits.The work is being led by two full-time equivalent Scottish Government officials with support from other officials, including analysts, as required.

The main stages of the review include: identification of issues; information gathering and modelling; developing recommendations and implementation. Independent user research has been conducted with a number of key stakeholders, to identify areas of concern and gather information in relation to aspects of the process that are working well. This involved recent applicants to HOSF, registered social landlords and accredited Money Advisers from organisations such as Citizens Advice Bureaux, local authority Debt Advice services and law centres. Further consultation with stakeholders is ongoing and user testing is planned for later stages of the work.

The review will conclude in the spring of next year with implementation of any policy changes to take place thereafter.

Ministerial engagements and expenses, including those for overseas travel, are proactively published by the Scottish Government. This can be accessed via the Scottish Government website .

I made no international trips as a Minister between my appointment in May 2021 and 31 December 2021.

Ministerial engagements and expenses, including those for overseas travel, are proactively published by the Scottish Government three months in arrears in line with the Ministerial Code. This can be accessed via the Scottish Government website .

Travelling to other countries allows Ministers to promote Scotland, build relationships and boost investment - including emphasising the Scottish Government's role in working with partners to support Scottish companies.

The cost of flights for those accompanying me, up to and including trips proactively published on the SG website, are listed below.

There have been a number of significant changes to Public Health policies in relation to Covid over the summer, resulting in the profile of Covid spend reducing significantly compared to when funding was provided to IJBs.

In response to this, surplus Covid reserves will be redistributed across the sector to meet current Covid priorities, including Test and Protect and PPE provisions.

Current COVID-19 priorities include Test and Protect, vaccinations and PPE provisions.

In line with the Test and Protect transition plan, testing remains in place to support patient treatment and care, protect those in highest risk settings, monitor prevalence and the risk of new variants, and respond to outbreaks.

Covid-19 and extended flu vaccination programmes also continue to provide protection for at-risk cohorts and to help control the spread of the virus. Vaccination programmes may also require acceleration depending on Covid-19 prevalence.

Similarly, PPE provision continues to be informed by infection prevention and control guidance. NHS NSS currently hold sufficient pandemic PPE stock to supply NHS Scotland well into 2023-24 based on current usage rates. Social Care PPE provision continues to be available in case of emergency PPE being required and for unpaid carers and personal assistants.

The Scottish Government is committed to tackling gender based violence and ensuring that all victims and survivors can access the help and support they need at a time they need it.

During the United Nations 16 days of activism to end gender-based violence, the Scottish Government held a spotlight event with key partners, focussed on gender based violence and mental health. These important discussions will help further our understanding of issues faced by women and girls affected by GBV and will help inform on-going policy development, including the refreshed Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, accompanying delivery plan, our Workforce Action Plan and the new national Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions.

We know that some psychological interventions, including counselling, are delivered by partner organisations, including small, local community grassroots groups and organisations . Therefore, in 2021-22 we have invested £21m in our Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults. We have provided a further £15m in 2022-23.

Since 2018, the Scottish Government has invested over £5 million in a National Trauma Training Programme (NTTP), including a total of £3.2 million of funding distributed to all local authorities in 2021-22 and 2022-23 to work with community planning partners to further progress trauma-informed services, systems and workforces.

The Scottish Forestry Strategy is based on the international principles of Sustainable Forest Management which require all forests and woodlands to contribute to biodiversity. Of the six Priorities for Action in the Scottish Forestry Strategy the following three promote the safeguarding biodiversity as well as priority species and habitats:

• Increasing the adaptability and resilience of forests and woodlands,
• Enhancing the environmental benefits provided by forests and woodlands.
• Expanding the area of forests and woodlands, recognising wider land-use objectives;

The Scottish Forestry Strategy emphasises the importance of taking wider land use objectives into account when expanding our woodlands and forests, and one of the key objectives considered is when doing so is food security, which is further recognised in wider Scottish Government Strategies and Plans.

The Strategy also states that ‘we will focus on achieving greater integration between forestry and other land-based businesses, such as crofting, farming, and estate management’. The latest Forestry Strategy Implementation Plan (2022-2025), includes actions to promote greater integration of land use including the farmer-led

Integrating Trees Network which promotes the benefit of woodland creation on farms, such as providing shelter for livestock, enhancing biodiversity and a source of income.

Scottish Forestry is leading a review of the UK Forestry Standard in partnership with the other UK administrations. Stakeholders are currently being consulted on a revised draft of the Standard which includes a proposed reduction in the maximum threshold for use of a single species from 75% to 65%. This change will help enhance the resilience of Scotland’s forests to a changing climate and increasing threats of pest and diseases. It will not alter the balance of objectives and does not change the proportion of fast growing conifers that can be used.

The Scottish Government does not have specific targets or restrictions for tree planting on different classes of agricultural land.

In considering applications for tree planting on agricultural land Scottish Forestry takes into account the guidance produced by the Woodland Expansion Advisory Group.

This stated that the focus of woodland creation should not be on prime agricultural land within classes 2.1 to 3.1, where only small scale planting should be considered. The guidance states that there was more scope for planting on non-prime agricultural land within classes 3.2.4.2, but that the main focus of tree planting should be on grazing land within classes 5.1-6.3.

Flood Risk Management Plans for the period 2022-2028 were approved by Scottish Ministers in December 2021 and published by SEPA in January 2022. They coordinate the efforts of all organisations that tackle flooding to where the risk of flooding and benefits of investment are greatest. They state the objectives, as agreed by responsible authorities, for tackling floods in areas at risk of flooding. Actions that will then deliver these objectives are described and prioritised in six-year planning cycles.

The plans contain proposals for a number of new flood protection schemes. Local authorities are now in the process of preparing Local Flood Risk Management Plans (LFRMPs) which are due to be published by the end of December 2022. The LFRMPs will provide more detail on how, and when, the actions set out in the Flood Risk Management Plans for 2022-2028 will be delivered.