Tables 1 and 2 present the number of patients covered by the Treatment Time Guarantee (TTG) waiting within an inpatient or day-case setting by NHS Board at 31 December 2021, and the number waiting over 1, 2 and 3 years for a hip or knee replacement procedure, respectively.

Table 1: Number of patients waiting for a hip replacement procedure 1,2 as an inpatient or day case at 31 st December 2021, broken down by NHS Board of treatment and length of wait.

A procurement process is underway for a web-based PROMS system to track the condition of long-waiting patients. Information and resources are being updated on NHS inform, and some joint work is ongoing with Versus Arthritis.

Earlier this year, the Scottish Government announced an extra £240,000 through the Chronic Pain Winter Support Fund to help 13 Scottish Government-funded projects across Health Boards, third-sector and other partners to enhance the support available for people with chronic pain. The money will go towards a range of services for people experiencing painful conditions, including those with knee pain, and also provide support to help people remain physically active.

Financing for retrofitting will be largely dependent on the ownership of the buildings.

There are a number of potential sources of financing including those referenced in our Infrastructure Investment Plan published in February 2021 and the latest Infrastructure Investment Plan Programme Pipeline Update from September 2021.

The Scottish Government is establishing a group to help identify potential place demonstrator projects, including in towns and town centres, as part of our 5 year £325 million Place-Based Investment Programme.

There are currently no plans to add fluoride to the public water supply nationally. However, the Water (Fluoridation) Act 1985 continues to enable Health Boards, with the support of local communities, to ask Scottish Water to introduce water fluoridation. Where a Health Board with the support of its local communities wishes to ask Scottish Water to fluoridate the water supply, Scottish Government would be supportive of such a move.

The Scottish Government does not hold separate data on the percentage rise in the cost of living for older people who are in relative or absolute poverty. The information below provides an indication.

Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index rose by 5.5% in the 12 months to January 2022. This has been the highest yearly increase since the 1990s.

Figures from the ONS suggest that retired and non-retired households have experienced similar levels of inflation rates since April 2021, and so have high- and low-income households. However, rises in costs are being driven by different things - including different exposure to transport costs (affecting non-retired people more heavily) and housing and household services (affecting retired people more). Separate figure are not available for Scotland

With regard to water charges, the water and sewerage charges for households will rise by 4.2% on 1 April 2022 – this means the average household charge in Scotland will be £391 in 2022-23. Water charges are linked to council tax bands and discounts which apply to council tax also apply to water charges (such as student exemption or the single occupant discount). From 1 April 2021 the water charges reduction scheme discount – available to customers in receipt of full Council Tax Reduction – has increased to 35%, up from 25%. Over the next year (2022-23), households in receipt of the full council tax reduction discount will actually pay less than they did in 2020-21.

A key driver of price increases is energy prices, which have increased significantly over the year and continue to increase due to the crisis in Ukraine. Low-income households are particularly exposed to increases in the price of energy as they spend a larger proportion of the household income on fuel and housing costs. The Institute for Fiscal Studies suggest that by April lowest-income households will be facing inflation rates of almost 7%, higher than the average rate of 6%. The Resolution Foundation estimate that later this year the poorest third of households will be spending at least 10% of their household income on energy bills alone, compared to around 7% now.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many older people who are in relative or absolute poverty have raised concerns about not being able to afford both heating and food this winter. The sources of information below provides indicators of levels of poverty; and engagement with stakeholder organisations.

Poverty and food insecurity

One indicator of levels of poverty and food insecurity is the latest Family Resources Survey (FRS). The most recent information available for 2019/20 showed that food insecurity rates for Scotland reflected those of the UK as a whole, and that the rate of food insecurity was lower for people over 65. Both the FRS and the 2020 Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) indicated rates of between 1% and 3% for over 65s, compared to 8% overall.

According to the FRS, around a quarter of people in both relative and absolute poverty were experiencing low, or very low food security. The relative poverty rate after housing costs for pensioners was 14% in 2017-20, or 150,000 pensioners each year - consistently below that for working-age adults (19%).

Fuel poverty

Data from the Scottish Government’s national Warmer Homes Scotland (WHS) scheme provides an indicator for those at risk of fuel poverty. The scheme is designed to help those living in or at risk of fuel poverty through installing insulation and heating measures into individual properties. Eligibility for the scheme is based on “proxies”, including certain benefits such as Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which are an indication of the likelihood of the household living in or being at risk of fuel poverty.

Referrals to WHS during the period 1 November 2021 and 28 February 2022 are as follows.

The Scottish Government does not collect information on the number of foster carers registered with each local authority or voluntary provider.

People who are experiencing financial hardship may be receiving, or be eligible for, a range of financial support services (both direct and in-kind), and the nature and amount of support will depend on individual circumstances. Therefore it is not possible to make a meaningful estimate of what would be required in terms of additional support to bring all those below the poverty threshold above that threshold.

Scottish Government recognise the positive contribution older people make to their communities and are committed to ensuring that people are financially secure and supported as they age. Fairness and human rights remain at the heart of the Scottish Government’s approach as we work to keep older people safe, cared for and connected, with access to the essentials they need, with funding of over £1.3 million to organisations who are directly supporting the needs of older people during the Covid pandemic, including funding for helplines, food distribution and keeping people connected.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the social work workforce. We greatly value their contribution to supporting the most vulnerable in society, particularly throughout the pandemic.

Over the last five years, £25 million funding has been invested to support the training of social workers, including via postgraduate bursaries and support for practice-based learning. The postgraduate social work bursary scheme provides a contribution to the fees level set by universities.

There are other sources of funding that can be applied for. Full details of these can be found at www.saas.gov.uk and www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Funding-Support-Grants

There are a range of social work degrees available from full-time undergraduate to in-work postgraduate courses. Social work courses are offered at nine universities across Scotland. More information can be found here: Studying social work at university - Scottish Social Services Council (sssc.uk.com)

As part of our ambition to increase access to the social work profession the Scottish Government is working with Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Social Services Council to explore the creation of a Graduate Apprenticeship in Social Work.