The statutory responsibility for the planning and delivery of social care, including that care home capacity meets the needs of the population, sits with the NHS and local Councils, and not the Scottish Government. Where there are care home closures in any local area including Glasgow, the Scottish Government expects professional leads from the local Health and Social Care Partnership to work together to implement the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and Care Inspectorate national good practice guidance on managing the closure care homes (Good Practice Guidance on the Closure of a Care Home): https://www.careinspectorate.com/images/documents/1477/cosla_-_good_practice_guidance_on_closure_of_a_care_home.pdf .

This is to ensure any closures are managed smoothly and suitable alternative placements are found for care home residents based on their needs and preferences.

The Scottish Government is providing nearly £13.5 billion in the 2023-24 Local Government Settlement. Following the flat-cash position set out in the 2022 Resource Spending Review, the Scottish Government listened to councils and increased the resources available to Local Government this year by over £793 million.

I have discussed the national picture on teacher recruitment with COSLA and the Strategic Board for Teacher Education. I will continue to work with Councils on this important issue, recognising that it is they who employ our teachers.

Over the past 10 years the number of teachers in permanent posts has remained stable at over 80%. It is important to note that temporary teachers play a role in providing flexibility in the teaching workforce for absence cover, including sickness and maternity leave, ensuring continuity of provision of learning for our young people. For some teachers, supply work is a personal choice to suit their own individual circumstances.

I have tasked the Strategic Board for Teacher Education, which is made up of a range of education bodies, to look at issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail. This includes, for example, geographical and subject-specific issues, as well as how we can increase diversity within the profession and improve support for early career teachers.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme offers funding for a range of zero direct emissions heating systems, energy efficiency measures and additional measures, including solar PV and energy storage systems in some circumstances.

From 27 June 2023 funding offered for solar PV/energy storage systems through the HES Grant and Loan Scheme has been limited to where a household is installing these measures alongside a certified renewable heating system, or where one is already in place. Previously, applicants could claim interest free loan funding for solar PV as a standalone measure.

From the launch of the HES Grant and Loan Scheme in December 2022 to the end of July 2023, 2107 legally committed offers have been made for standalone solar PV/energy storage systems. Legally committed offers are where an application has been submitted, approved and a funding agreement has been put in place.

Note these figures include some instances where an application was submitted under the previous HES Loan and Cashback Scheme, but were processed and became legally committed under the HES Grant and Loan Scheme.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme offers funding for a range of zero direct emissions heating systems (ZDEH), energy efficiency measures and additional measures, including solar PV and energy storage systems in some circumstances.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of energy generated from solar PV in contributing to the decarbonisation of Scotland’s electricity supply, offsetting energy bills, and contributing to emissions reductions in cases where it supports ZEDH.

From 27 June 2023 funding offered for solar PV/energy storage systems through the HES Grant and Loan Scheme has been limited to where a household is installing these measures alongside a certified renewable heating system, or where one is already in place. In these cases, solar PV and energy storage can be used to generate and store some of the electricity required to run the ZDEH measure, supporting their uptake by reducing grid electricity demand and the running costs for the householder. Previously, applicants could claim interest free loan funding for solar PV as a standalone measure.

This decision was taken to prioritise finite funding to those uses of solar which best support our Heat in Buildings Strategy, reduce carbon emissions and for which there might be more limited delivery without government support, as solar PV is an increasingly established technology which is often viable without government subsidy.

Due to the range of measures supported through the scheme, the Scottish Government does not hold specific analysis for solar PV/energy storage system measures. Benefits are assessed on a scheme wide basis.

Energy Saving Trust estimate that across the 6,447 ZDEH and renewable measures that had been paid or committed through grants and loans in 2022-23, the lifetime CO2 savings were estimated to be 199,488 tonnes. In addition, it is estimated that the savings on lifetime fuel bills across the supported households to be £23.3 million.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme offers funding for a range of zero direct emissions heating (ZDEH) systems, energy efficiency measures and additional measures, including solar PV and energy storage systems in some circumstances. While solar PV installations often have other benefits such as reducing electricity bills, they do not directly reduce carbon emissions in the absence of a ZDEH system.

From 27 June 2023 funding offered for solar PV/energy storage systems through the HES Grant and Loan Scheme has been limited to where a household is installing these measures alongside a certified renewable heating system, or where one is already in place. In these cases, solar PV and energy storage can be used to generate and store some of the electricity required to run the ZDEH measure, supporting their uptake by reducing grid electricity demand and the running costs for the householder. Previously, applicants could claim interest free loan funding for solar PV as a standalone measure.

Due to the range of measures supported through the scheme, the Scottish Government does not hold specific analysis for solar PV/energy storage system measures. Benefits are assessed on a scheme wide basis.

Energy Saving Trust estimate that across the 6,447 ZDEH and renewable measures that had been paid or committed through grants and loans in 2022-23, the lifetime CO2 savings were estimated to be 199,488 tonnes.

The Edinburgh festivals are an essential part of Scotland’s yearly calendar and we are confident that the powers granted to the City of Edinburgh Council, and all of the local authorities, to deliver short term let schemes are appropriate to reflect local circumstances, whilst guaranteeing a level of good quality standards that will bring assurance to guests and visitors staying in Scotland. As the policy is set and delivered by the council, no central assessment has been made on impact to the festivals. To date, no short term let licence applications have been refused in Edinburgh. Those hosts that have been operating since before October 2022 are eligible for transitional arrangements and, as long as they make a licence application before the deadline of 1 October 2023, can continue to accept bookings and receive guests after October 2023 until their application is determined.

Local authorities have powers to set their own licensing fees on a cost recovery basis. The Scottish Government does not hold information on how much has been raised from short-term let application fees in each local authority area.

The following table provides a breakdown of the licence application fee structures set by each local authority area.

Each year the Scottish Government provides the previous year’s teacher salary data to the OECD, as collected via the Staff FTE Pay Data Collection . This salary data covers main grade and head teachers, and consists of the minimum, maximum and average salary for each alongside some aspects of pay progression.

Supplementary information is also provided, such as the qualifications required to be a teacher, how salaries are negotiated and requirements for pay progression. Data is also provided on areas like statutory working time and teaching time per year, based on agreements made in teacher contracts.

The Scottish Government does not recognise these reported claims.

The Scottish Government worked closely with the teaching unions, including the EIS, and local government partners to reach a historic 28-month pay deal that has a cumulative value of 14.6%, which is the largest pay package for teachers in over twenty years.