Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government, through Home Energy Scotland, provides loans with cashback grants to enable households in all parts of Scotland to install zero emissions heating systems, including heat pumps.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Loan and Cashback scheme provides interest-free loans with up to 75% (or £7,500) cashback grant funding for homeowners to replace fossil-fuel heating systems such as oil with low or zero emissions heating systems such as heat pumps, plus up to 40% (or £6,000) cashback grant for energy efficiency measures, including solid wall insulation.

Additionally, through Warmer Homes Scotland, our national fuel poverty scheme, eligible households are offered a funded, bespoke package of measures. The scheme aims to make the homes of those living in fuel poverty or at the risk of fuel poverty warmer and cheaper to heat.

Zero emissions heating and new insulation measures are available, some of which may be particularly beneficial to rural and remote communities not served by the gas grid.

And to further support all households to make their homes greener, we also provide:

• free, impartial, bespoke advice through Home Energy Scotland, including specialist home renewables advice;
• the Green Homes Network which allows households to find out about the experience of others who have already installed measures; and
• the Renewable Installer Finder Tool which helps households find installers and suppliers in their area.

These advice and support schemes, including advice on eligibility for Warmer Homes Scotland, can be accessed through Home Energy Scotland, managed on behalf of Scottish Government by the Energy Saving Trust.

There are currently 146 social enterprises on the list of current members of the Culture and Creative Social Enterprise Network (SEN) on the SEN website .

The number of social enterprises that have made use of the Culture and Creative SEN services over the years is far greater than the current membership for a number of reasons:

• Social enterprises that have delivered cultural/ creative activity (but this is not their primary activity) are linked into the activities of the SEN through other thematic SENs, Local SENs, Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs) and other partners.
• Organisations that do not fall within the Voluntary Code of Practice for Social Enterprise in Scotland and therefore cannot be a member have still tapped into services including events and signposting.
• Partner organisations (e.g. Local SENs, TSI’s, Creative Scotland, Museum Galleries Scotland, Just Enterprise, Culture Counts) that are providing one to one support have tapped into knowledge to ensure that the organisation they are working with is best supported.
• SENs may have also been a member for a period of time and are no longer a current member.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) has been allocated additional funding of £2,586,000 this year through transfers made at the Autumn Budget Revision, of this £1,728,000 was funding for STEM bursaries. Changes to budgets made at the Autumn Budget Revision are published on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/2021-22-autumn-budget-revision-budget-scotland-act/ 

The infection, prevention, and control (IPC) guidance for dentistry is currently being reviewed by Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland are responsible for the Scottish Guidance. This Guidance has a provisional publication date of 29 November.

The Cabinet Secretary recently wrote to NHS dental teams describing the proposals from the Scottish Government on how we recover NHS dental services to normal practice. This letter is attached for reference: Letter from the Cabinet Secretary to NHS dental teams | Scottish Dental.

The next round of allocations will be confirmed and dispersed to local authority areas shortly. We will provide further information once the allocations have been confirmed.

Vaccination is the best way to keep you, your friends, family, and community safe and we encourage everyone to consider getting the vaccine. In the vast majority of cases a successful route to safe vaccination can be found.

If vaccination is not straightforward, support is available to help people achieve the benefits of protection from the Covid-19 vaccines. Local vaccination centre can help answer questions about the vaccine and can advise what arrangements may be put in place to enable safe vaccination. In the rare cases where that support does not lead to vaccination, the offer of an exemption will be a part of the process.

A person who is identified as clinically unable to safely receive the vaccine will receive a secure paper exemption certificate in the post.

Working alongside Disabled Peoples Organisations, the STUC, and representatives from the third, public and private sectors, the Scottish Government is currently developing a refresh of ‘A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan’.

The refreshed action plan will set out how we will build on the progress we have made in tackling inequalities as we recover from the pandemic. We expect the plan to be published in Spring 2022.

The Scottish Government routinely publishes official labour market statistics for disabled people in Scotland and uses these to analyse how labour market barriers and outcomes for disabled people are changing over time and how they have been impacted by COVID-19.

Latest data are published at:

Labour market monthly briefing: October 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

We know, for example, the disability employment gap in Scotland - the difference between the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people - narrowed over the latest year to July 2020 – June 2021, to 32.0 percentage points.

Analysis is also published as part of the annual progress report of a Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: employment action plan - our plan to at least halve the disability employment gap in Scotland by 2038.

Latest report available here: Fairer Scotland for disabled people - employment action plan: progress report - year 2 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02957 on 12 October 2021. 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

We are committed to working with Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) to ensure that the refresh of ‘ A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment action plan’ is informed by the lived experience of disabled people.

The short life working group overseeing the development of the refreshed action plan is co-chaired by the Glasgow Disability Alliance (GDA). GDA and other DPOs will engage directly with their members and disabled people for input and views with regards to the refreshed action plan to ensure their views are heard and seen.

More broadly, we are committed to working together with DPOs to ensure disabled people’s input is represented in Scottish Government’s strategic and policy development in relation to achieving a fairer Scotland for disabled people. For example, the direct involvement of disabled people’s organisations and their members has played a key role in shaping the next phase of No One Left Behind, our strategy for placing people at the centre of the design and delivery of employability services.