Chamber and committees

The data is due to be published shortly.

The Scottish Government is committed to investing in Changing Places Toilets during this parliamentary term, in order to increase the number of these facilities across the country and to support mobile Changing Places Toilets to allow people easier access to events and outdoor venues.

We have already published a Changing Places Toilets: Planning Guide to support communities to develop their initial plans and funding will be provided during this parliamentary term.

The Scottish Government has and continues to undertake, and commission, a significant amount of research in our efforts to deliver the key objectives within Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls. We also learn from research undertaken elsewhere.

At this point we have not commissioned anything specific on the potential normalisation of violence in sexual activity, however, in 2020 the Scottish Government published findings from the 2018 Scottish Social Attitudes survey on the attitudes of adults to sexual violence, domestic abuse, sexual harassment and commercial sexual exploitation: Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2019: attitudes to violence against women - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

In addition, we included the same set of questions in the Young People in Scotland 2021 survey to examine attitudes among school pupils. We are currently working on the report and expect to publish later this spring. The report will compare against 2014 attitudes (when the module was last run): Young People's Attitudes To Violence Against Women Report On Findings From The Young People In Scotland Survey 2014 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish Government also asked young people about relationships and sexual wellbeing in the Health and Wellbeing Census Scotland 2021- 2022 Health and Wellbeing Census Scotland 2021- 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

I also refer the member to the answer to S6W-15943 on 21 March 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 .

There were five full-time equivalent lead teachers that met the required inclusion criteria for the 2022 School Staff Census, these were all from Scottish Borders. The role of lead teacher was established in June 2021, therefore figures are not available for earlier years.

The School Staff Census predominantly reports on posts with a classroom teaching remit, some lead teachers may be employed in posts without a classroom teaching remit and therefore will not be included in the counts collected and reported as part of the annual census.

There is no information held centrally on the budget or funding for lead teacher appointments. The recruitment and employment of teachers in local authority schools are matters for individual councils, as they have the statutory duty for education expenditure and to deliver education. Councils have the statutory responsibility for providing a complement of teachers, including lead teachers, and all other necessary support staff which best meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils within the resources available.

The Financial Year 2023-24 budget increases the resource allocation for the college sector by £26 million. This funding is intended to support strategic change that will enable the sector to better respond to future demands.

A final response to S6W-15379 was issued on Monday 13 March 2023.

Scotland's first Data Strategy for Health & Social Care brings together a range of existing activity, along with its associated funding. The Strategy provides a framework for how improvements to data will be driven forward to the benefit of the people of Scotland.

A newly formed Data Board for Health and Social Care will oversee the delivery of the Strategy and any investment cases required to progress specific actions. The Board will also consider what further work is required for the next iterations of the Data Strategy.

Delivering the principles and priorities set out in the Strategy should be seen as a long term commitment of the Scottish Government and COSLA. Implementation of each iteration of the Strategy will be accompanied by a delivery plan.

We have proposed to bring forward amendments to the Deposit Return Scheme regulations so that only the largest grocery retailers will initially be obliged to provide an online takeback service and all other businesses will be exempt.- Further work will be undertaken to identify how older and disabled people will be protected during this phasing-in of online takeback to ensure the scheme is accessible to everyone.

I met with Councillor Maureen Chalmers, the COSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing on 22 March. We had a productive meeting and discussed how good practice in providing rapid help for people living with MND can be shared across local authorities. I will also follow up directly with MND Scotland with a meeting currently being arranged. Additionally, I can confirm that MND Scotland is a member of our recently formed Accessible Housing and Independent Living Stakeholder group. The group had their first meeting at the end of 2022, giving constructive feedback to our Housing for Varying Needs review. My officials are arranging further meetings of this group to seek views and opinions on housing and independent living issues including the adaptations review and the new Scottish Accessible Homes Standard.

The Warm Home Discount is a rebate upon energy bills that large energy suppliers are obliged to provide, not a social security payment administered by the Scottish Government. Whilst some powers are provided to Scottish Ministers to design a separate Warm Home Discount scheme in Scotland, these require the consent of the UK Government.

All households in receipt of Pension Credit Guarantee Credit are automatically eligible for a WHD rebate in Scotland, England and Wales (Core Group 1). Households in England and Wales in receipt of low income benefits or tax credits (Core Group 2) are not automatically eligible for a WHD rebate. The UK Government further restricts eligibility for this group in England and Wales based upon data matching.

These low income households only receive a rebate if they also live in a property that is assumed to have low energy efficiency. The UK Government uses Council Tax data held by the Valuation Office Agency to estimate energy costs and uses this as a proxy for low energy efficiency. This approach reflects the definition of fuel poverty adopted by the UK Government in England (low income, low energy efficiency).

Scottish Ministers do not agree that energy efficiency is the main driver of fuel poverty. The Scottish Parliament has unanimously agreed a definition of fuel poverty that is not dependent upon the energy efficiency of people’s homes. The valuation roll data held by the Scottish Assessors Association is not relevant in establishing fuel poverty on this basis.

In 2021, Scottish Ministers formally proposed a more flexible, fairer and simpler fuel poverty scheme to replace the WHD scheme in Scotland. This would have provided an automatic rebate to vulnerable households across Scotland. We have also repeatedly pressed UK Ministers to increase funding for the WHD rebate to reflect the higher level of need in Scotland. UK Ministers did not agree to do so and continue to decide the total value and number of rebates provided. Nevertheless we remain willing to work with the UK Government to improve the help available to vulnerable families across Scotland.