Phasing out fossil fuel heating is essential to meet our legal climate targets and makes us less dependent on volatile and increasingly expensive fossil fuel prices. As set out in the Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, the Scottish Government considers “low and zero emissions heating systems” to be systems that have zero direct greenhouse gas emissions. This includes individual electric heat pumps and connection to heat networks, or electric systems such as storage heaters, and systems that have very low emissions, such as those that use hydrogen.

In line with the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change, we agree that bioenergy – such as biomass, bio-heating oil and bio-propane - should only be used in those applications where its carbon reduction impact is maximised, where alternative options are not available, and where it comes from sustainable sources. We recognise that, for a small number of homes, bioenergy might offer the only feasible way to reduce emissions from heating to displacing fossil fuels, especially where electric heating or heat pumps are unsuitable. We will therefore consider how such homes may be dealt with under any future regulatory system.

The new Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy sets out our vision to improve mental health and wellbeing – including the role of other key areas such as poverty, housing, employment and our communities. The Strategy recognises that in order to address the wide-ranging factors that impact people’s mental health and wellbeing, a cross-government, cross-sector approach is required.

A range of work is already taking place throughout the Scottish Government to promote positive mental wellbeing, prevent poor mental health, and provide support, care and treatment where needed. In addition we are working closely with our stakeholders, including Public Health Scotland, to develop and embed a collaborative health-in-all-policies (or HiAP) approach, which takes consideration of key health issues into decision-making at national and local level. As part of this approach, we will promote a more robust, efficient and effective use of impacts assessments across government.

In Dumfries and Galloway, a range of eating disorder care and treatment is provided in line with good clinical practice across primary care, community services and specialist services for children, adolescents and adults.

This includes the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Specialist Eating Disorder Service which provides out-patient treatment to children and young people impacted by an eating disorder. In addition, there is a Specialist Eating Disorder Service for adults, SEDS, which is based within Mountainhall Treatment Centre. This service provides those over the age of 18 a safe, supportive and collaborative environment to support them to live a more fulfilled and independent life.

Furthermore, Dumfries and Galloway has pathways into paediatric, general adult and CAMHS inpatient facilities when admission for an eating disorder is required.

Through Scottish Government funding of over £600,000 per annum, Dumfries and Galloway also has access to a wide range of support services offered by Beat, the UK’s largest Eating Disorder charity, which include:

• Nexus – A Carer telephone support programme which provides a weekly scheduled coaching call to support recovery.
• Synergy - A new service that provides direct support to under 18s and their families through weekly sessions over Zoom.
• Solace - Structured weekly peer-to-peer support groups for carers via Zoom.
• Motivate - Weekly support for those aged 18+ to ensure service users remain motivated while waiting for treatment for anorexia or bulimia to begin.
• Bolster - Weekly support through telephone sessions for Adults (aged +18) who are unable to access treatment.
• Momentum - Self-help programme based on cognitive behavioural therapy for adults (aged 18+) who present with Binge Eating Disorder or regular binge eating episodes.

The Scottish Government thanks Audit Scotland for a thorough, clear and wide-ranging report on Adult Mental Health Services in Scotland. Ministers recognise how closely some of the content of the report mirrors our vision, outcomes and priorities that we set out in our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The Scottish Government recognises that as frontline practitioners, GPs and their wider practice teams are often the first port of call for those seeking mental health and wellbeing support. In recent years we have prioritised significant investment to build mental health capacity in primary care through Action 15 and the Primary Care Improvement Fund.

We will now take the time to carefully consider both the specific recommendations, and the wider substance of the report. We will publish the Delivery Plan for our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, together with our Workforce Plan, this Autumn, which will set out the actions we will take to address many of the issues set out by Audit Scotland, including those around mental health support in primary care.

Cabinet discusses the Scottish Government’s legislative programme on a regular basis.

Part of the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group’s remit was to consider ways to reduce the high number of children in temporary accommodation, some of whom are in temporary accommodation for long periods. In our response to the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group recommendations, we said that we will support local authorities’ efforts to ensure households with children who have been living in temporary accommodation for a number of years are supported into suitable permanent housing.

Our national acquisition plan is one way to help boost the supply of available affordable housing, including settled family homes. We will invest at least £60m from the Affordable Housing Supply Programme in 2023-24 to enable local authorities and registered social landlords to acquire properties of the right types and in the right places for use as high quality, affordable, permanent homes.

The Scottish Government is making £3.5 billion available in this parliamentary term towards the delivery of more affordable and social homes. Scotland has led the UK in providing affordable housing, delivering 122,201 affordable homes between April 2007 to the end of March 2023. Since 2007, Scotland has seen over 40% more affordable homes delivered per head of population than in England, and over 70% more than in Wales.

In addition to increasing housing supply, we will maximise the use of existing homes. This includes providing funding for councils and social landlords to bring empty homes back into use, asking social landlords to increase allocations to homeless households, and supporting councils to develop targeted plans to reduce temporary accommodation pressures. Meetings with the local authorities with the greatest temporary accommodation pressures are taking place to better understand the specific issues they are facing and what work could be undertaken in partnership to reduce the number of households, including those with children, in temporary accommodation.

The number of family members who overrode their relative’s express authorisation for organ donation after that relative’s death, in each of the last 10 years, is set out in the following table. Express authorisation is where someone, in life, has documented their donation decision either on the NHS Organ Donor Register or in some other form of writing.

In the current system care home providers should clearly set out their terms and conditions to residents and their families in the contractual arrangements; these are covered by consumer protection laws.

The Scottish Government acknowledges, however, that the social care sector requires reform. We remain committed to delivering a National Care Service to improve quality, fairness and consistency of provision that meets individuals’ needs. The design and delivery of the National Care Service will have human rights embedded throughout.

We remain committed to having restorative justice (RJ) services available across Scotland. We are clear that the needs and voices of persons harmed must to be central to RJ processes and that services must be safe, consistent, evidence-led, trauma informed and of a high standard.

Restorative justice is already possible, with RJ services available in some areas and national guidance in place. We are continuing our work to develop a national service, based on a hub and spoke model.

The pandemic slowed progress and initial development work also identified complexities which need further exploration. We are committed to taking the time to resolve these issues and develop a safe and robust system. Work is underway with partners across the justice system to do this.

A national Hub has been established within Community Justice Scotland (CJS) (focused on RJ for adults) and the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ) are developing similar services for children and young people. Work is currently focussed on developing a policy and practice framework and on testing the model within the Lothian and Borders area.

Following testing and evaluation of the model in Lothian and Borders, we will work with CJS, CYCJ, partners across the justice system and adults, children and young people who may wish to access RJ to plan the expansion of RJ.

The Scottish Government recognises that the imprisonment rate in Scotland is high and we are taking action to address that. I wrote to the Criminal Justice Committee on 13 September, to highlight the issue and outline the actions being taken to tackle the rise in the prison population, this letter can be found at: Scotland's Prison Population | Scottish Parliament Website

Furthermore, regarding operational matters, I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The prisoner population on 15 September 2023 of those establishments operating above their design capacity is detailed within the following table: