Chamber and committees

The HIV Transmission Elimination Proposal, commissioned by the Scottish Government and published on World AIDS Day in 2022, sets out 22 recommendations to ensure progress is made to meet our goal of zero HIV infection transmissions in Scotland by 2030.

An HIV Transmission Elimination Proposal Scoping Group met between March and June 2023 to review the proposal, and to identify key actions to be taken forward in 2023-24. The recommendations from this group are currently being considered and prioritised.

In addition, the Scottish Government has provided funding to support the development of an e-PrEP pilot and a national publicity campaign to address HIV stigma, to be developed by a multi-agency partnership.

The Scottish Government’s Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus plan for 2023 to 2026 is scheduled for publication towards the end of summer 2023. As part of this approach, there will be a focus on improving access to testing for STIs and blood borne viruses.

Recommendations made within the HIV Transmission Elimination Proposal are currently being considered, and prioritisation of those to be taken forward in 2023-24 is likely to be announced before the end of summer 2023.

As indicated in response to S6W-19566 on 26 July 2023, a national project to develop an online sexually transmitted infections (STI) testing pilot has been underway since 2021 and is hosted by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with development work being undertaken across a number of Board areas.

Scottish Government officials are currently working closely with Public Health Scotland and NHS Boards to understand the scope of what is needed in terms of timescales, necessary governance and infrastructure to support a national service.

The upcoming Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus plan, due be published towards the end of summer 2023, will also have a focus on improving access to STI and blood borne virus testing across Scotland.

The Scottish Government recently invited funding bids from across Scotland for projects aimed at contributing to the priorities set out in the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Strategy, including improving the accessibility of testing services.

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 .

A national project to develop an online STI testing pilot has been underway since 2021 and is hosted by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with development work being undertaken across a number of Board areas.

The Scottish Government provided £0.5 million for an initial pilot in NHS Lothian which has seen over 1500 testing kits ordered online, with demand outstripping availability. Scottish Government officials are currently working closely with Public Health Scotland and NHS Boards to understand the scope of what is needed in terms of timescales, necessary governance and infrastructure to support a national service.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19557 on 26 July 2023. 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 .

In August 2021, the Scottish Government published Reset and Rebuild, a recovery plan for sexual health and blood borne virus (SHBBV) services. This plan was co-produced with NHS and third sector partners, to take stock of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on SHBBV services and people that use them.

The Scottish Government’s SHBBV plan for 2023-2026, which is due to be published towards the end of summer 2023, will include a focus on improving access to SHBBV services across Scotland.

In addition, as noted in response to S6W-19566 on 26 July 2023, work is on-going to understand and put in place the necessary governance and infrastructure to support a national online testing service for sexually transmitted infections and bloodborne viruses.

The Scottish Government has also provided funding to support the development of an ePrEP pilot and a national publicity campaign to address HIV stigma to be developed by a multi-agency partnership.

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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-19568 on 26 July 2023. 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/questions-and-answers .

The Scottish Government commissioned an expert group to make recommendations on action to reduce the number of people in temporary accommodation and the length of time spent there, with a strong focus on households with children. The Scottish Government is thankful to Alison Watson, Director of Shelter Scotland, and John Mills, Head of Housing for Fife Council, for co-chairing the discussions which informed the group’s recommendations.

The Scottish Government published its response to the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group report on 19 July 2023. In our response, we have set out how we will prioritise action with partners in local government and across the housing sector on the recommendations that will have the most immediate impact on reducing the number of households in temporary accommodation.

Our national acquisition plan is backed by £60 million and will offer all local authorities, including Dundee, various routes to increase the supply of affordable housing, including through the purchase of privately owned properties. Increasing their supply of larger properties will support local authorities’ efforts to ensure households with children who have lived in temporary accommodation for a number of years are supported into suitable permanent housing.

Recognising that challenges vary from authority to authority, the Scottish Government will work with local authorities to take targeted action to bring about a more rapid reduction in the use of temporary accommodation in the areas where this is concentrated. This could include increased allocations of social homes to homeless households, reducing the number of long-term empty homes and more effective void property management. Large-scale flipping of temporary accommodation to a permanent home could also help to reduce the length of time households spend in temporary accommodation.

We will continue to work with all local authorities, including Dundee, on routes to increase their affordable housing supply, which is key to relieving the pressures on temporary accommodation.

The Scottish Government remain committed to investing in the professional development of our valued social services workforce. A Graduate Apprenticeship for the profession is part of a range of options in consideration to widen access into social work. Officials are working with sector partners over the summer to provide Skills Development Scotland and Scottish Funding Council with updated evidence of employer interest and demonstration of the added value of an additional work-based qualification route for the social work profession in Scotland by Autumn 2023.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that every school aged child has access to a device by the end of this Parliamentary term. We recognise that access to technology is a fundamental aspect of a modern education system and the commitment in the recently published Policy Prospectus to “improve digital access for learners” reaffirms this.

In 2020-21, we provided £25 million to local authorities across Scotland to tackle digital exclusion, directly providing devices and internet connections to children and young people to support their learning. We have also supported local authorities to directly invest in devices.

Information from local authorities indicates that a total of up to 280,000 devices have already been distributed to learners across Scotland. We do not hold detailed information on how those devices have been distributed across primary and secondary settings within individual local authorities.

In 2023-24, we are continuing to work with COSLA and other partners on delivering this commitment.