Chamber and committees

Key to a successful programme of flipping activity is ensuring that the accommodation is of good quality and meets the needs of the household. In my statement on the housing emergency, I referenced the guidance produced by ALACHO on flipping temporary accommodation to a household’s settled home. This flipping practice note sets out options and considerations for converting a temporary let into a permanent tenancy.

Outcomes from a decision to flip temporary accommodation should be consistent with the council’s overall approach to offering permanent and temporary accommodation. ALACHO has set out various factors to be taken into account in a local authority’s approach to flipping and recommends that any proposal to flip accommodation should:

• meet the council’s statutory obligations to the applicant involved;
• represent a reasonable offer of accommodation;
• be consistent with the needs and wishes of the applicant;
• ensure no reduction in the level of choice or control afforded relative to other applicants;
• provide a sustainable housing outcome;
• not disadvantage either those accepting a flip, those who refuse such an offer and those not in a position to receive such an offer;
• support the council’s ability to meet its duty to offer temporary accommodation;
• ensure that the transition from temporary to settled accommodation is actively managed, including any change to the availability of support services or eligibility for benefits;
• be linked to a clear process for replacing the temporary let if necessary; and
• offer value for money to the council in relation to any replacement of furniture and fittings that are included in the offer of a permanent let.

ALACHO’s flipping practice note should be read alongside the Scottish Government’s Code of Guidance on Homelessness and the Scottish Government’s Temporary Accommodation Standards Framework as well as taking local policies into account.

Social Security Scotland has delivered a range of communications activity warning older people about phishing scams, including fraudulent text messages that claim to be from government departments. The activity includes regular content across multiple social media platforms, the organisation’s website and coverage in newspapers to help keep people informed.

The Scottish Government has funded the creation of hundreds of additional specialty training places for doctors in training in Scotland across multiple different specialties (including cancer-related specialties), since 2014. These training places have been created in response to recommendations made by the Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group (SSoTTG), which meets annually to review the number of specialty training places needed in order to meet anticipated future service demand, and consultant need.

The training programmes for relevant specialties (including Histopathology, Clinical Oncology, Surgical specialties and Clinical Radiology) follow curricula overseen by the respective Royal Colleges and include training on and/or exposure to sarcoma which varies depending on factors including the specific curriculum, specialty and placement. Furthermore, NHS Education for Scotland follow a multipronged approach to mitigate training gaps and there are also other opportunities and resources in relation to sarcoma knowledge available for doctors in Scotland.

Whilst Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters, including staffing, are ultimately the responsibility of NHS Boards.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the expansion of Housing First and has pledged £3 million to incentivise registered social landlords to pledge additional tenancies through the acquisition of suitable properties. We anticipate that this investment will support the acquisition of between 40 and 50 properties. The Scottish Government supports the delivery of Housing First through the provision of Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan funding. In addition to the £72.5m provided to local authorities since 2018, the Scottish Government will provide a £1m Housing First uplift in 2025-26 and has confirmed the extension of funding to 2026-27, bringing the total funding provided to £83.5m. The Scottish Government also funds Homeless Network Scotland to provide advice to local authorities on scaling up Housing First in their areas.

From 2 September, first-time buyers can apply to the Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (OMSE) alongside the priority access groups. OMSE aims to help those on low to moderate incomes secure a home that they may not otherwise have been able to do.

Up to £4.9 billion will be delivered through a mixture of public and privately leveraged investment. More detail will be set out in the upcoming Scottish Budget and Scottish Spending Review.

Our flagship Childsmile programme has supported a reduction in child oral health inequality over the long term, with the latest National Dental Inspection Programme results showing that the gap between P1 children with no obvious tooth decay living in the most and least deprived areas, is at its lowest on record – decreasing from 32.2 percentage points in 2010 to 23.5 percentage points in 2024.

However we know there is more to do. We continue to invest in our flagship Childsmile programme, which offers universal oral health interventions including supervised toothbrushing, fluoride varnish application and dietary advice to children and young people in nurseries, early years schooling and in dental practices - with targeted interventions for children living in the most deprived areas.

Since 2022-23 we have provided additional annual funding of £1.85m to NHS Boards to scale up delivery of the Programme, including through the recruitment of additional Dental Health Support Workers who work directly with more vulnerable communities.

Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are independent, operationally and constitutionally, from the Scottish Government.

The rising and increasingly complex prison population remains a major challenge as it does across the UK, and we are taking sustained action to reduce it. This includes the Prisoners (Early Release) Scotland Act 2025 which changes the point of release for some short-term prisoners and regulations to widen the use of home detention curfew. Additional funding of £25m over two years has been provided to increase the capacity of community justice services to support a sustained increase, where appropriate, in the use of alternatives to custody. This brings the total funding for community justice to £159m in 2025-26.

We have also established the independent Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission to review how custody and community-based interventions are used, with a focus on reducing crime, supporting rehabilitation, and ensuring a sustainable prison population. Final recommendations will be delivered by the end of 2025 and will inform further action in this area.

The Scottish Government continues to progress a range of actions in collaboration with justice partners to support a sustainable reduction in the prison population, whilst maintaining a focus on protecting the public.

At present, Community Payback Orders (CPOs) are the most commonly used alternative to a custodial sentence, with over 15,100 commenced in 2023-24. CPOs are a flexible and robust disposal which make people pay back to their community and can include one or more of a range of requirements which can be tailored to fit the circumstances of individual cases (including unpaid work, supervision by justice social work, and addressing addiction issues). The evidence shows that community-based interventions and sentences can be more effective in addressing offending behaviour and assisting with rehabilitation than short-term custodial sentences, leading to fewer victims and safer communities.

We have increased community justice funding by £25 million over two years, bringing the total to £159 million in 2025-26. This has increased the use of alternatives to custody and supports a range of community justice services, including diversion from prosecution, alternatives to remand and community sentencing.

Looking ahead, we have also established an independent Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission, with final recommendations to be presented to the Scottish Government by the end of this year to help ensure that Scotland has a sustainable prison population over the longer term. This important work will consider how imprisonment and community-based interventions are currently used and what improvements can be made in dealing with offending behaviour in an effective and proportionate manner.

The health, safety, and wellbeing of everyone who lives and works in Scotland’s prisons is a priority for this government and the Scottish Prison Service.

We have taken a range of actions in relation to the rising and increasingly complex prison population. This includes the Prisoners (Early Release) Scotland Act 2025 which changed the automatic early release point for most short term prisoners from 50% point of their sentence to 40% (with exclusions for those serving sentences for domestic abuse/sexual offences) and regulations to widen the use of home detention curfew.

The Scottish Prison Service is maximising the use of space available within its estate supported by a 10% increase their resource budget, bringing this to £481.5 million in 2025-26. We have also increased community justice funding by £25m over two years, bringing the total funding to £159m in 2025-26.

We will continue to progress a range of actions with justice partners to support a sustainable reduction in the prison population.