Chamber and committees

The challenges experienced by construction apprentices completing their apprenticeships continue to be closely monitored. The backlog of those who started in 2017 and 2018 has largely been cleared due to considerable support from all stakeholders. Scottish Government continues to work with agencies and industry to improve the rate of completion for the 2019 cohort, while maintaining the quality and integrity of the apprenticeships.

As Minister for Higher and Further Education I have chaired multiple roundtables with key stakeholders and industry partners and have stressed the need for practical solutions to resolve this backlog as quickly as possible, while ensuring no detriment to the apprentices.

I welcome practical and feasible solutions to help address this situation but we have to ensure that those solutions do not have any unintended consequences for the learners.

The Scottish Government is aware that there are global supply issues with glucagon-like peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) products, which are licensed for treating patients with type 2 diabetes, including Victoza (liraglutide). It is anticipated that supplies of all GLP-1 RAs products will be limited and intermittent until at least mid-2024.

The global shortage of GLP-1 RAs has been largely driven by increased demand, including for off-label and private online prescribing of these medicines for weight-loss; this has led to shortages for patients with Type 2 diabetes.

The supply of medicines is currently a reserved matter for the UK Government. We continue to engage with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and we will continue to press for a lasting solution to the current shortages.

The Scottish Government recognises the impact of these global shortages on people living with type 2 diabetes and their families. NHS Scotland has robust systems in place to manage medicine shortages when they arise and anyone affected by this issue should speak to their usual clinical team.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22410 on 7 November 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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6T-01624 on 7 November 2023.

All answers to parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at Meeting of the Parliament: 07/11/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23112 on 4 December 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 is a shortage of egg and sperm donors across the UK. The Scottish Government in partnership with NHS Scotland launched the national donor gamete campaign to help alleviate this shortage.

The Scottish Government does not provide funding for residential homeowners to replace existing double glazing. Funding through our domestic Heat in Buildings schemes is prioritised for energy efficiency measures which provide comparatively better energy use and emissions savings, taking into account the cost of the measure; and for which demand would be lower without government support.

Details on loan funding provided through our Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme for double glazing and insulated doors can be found at: https://www.homeenergyscotland.org/funding/grants-loans/overview/

Housing Associations can apply for grant funding from the Social Housing Net Zero Heat fund for the installation of energy efficiency measures that deliver both carbon savings and reduction in fuel bills for social housing tenants. These measures include double and triple glazing and insulated doors. The fund is making at least £200 million available to registered social landlords (RSLs) to help install zero emission heating systems and improve energy efficiency in social housing during this parliament.

Should a business or commercial landlord be recommended improvements for their windows and doors through the Business Energy Scotland advice service and meet the eligibility criteria for the SME Loan and Cashback scheme, they could be eligible for between £1,000 - £100,000 interest free loan and up to £20,000 in an energy efficiency cashback grant. Making the total amount of Scottish Government funding available for these measures to be £120,000.

The Scottish Government continues to progress work towards the elimination of cervical cancer in Scotland, in line with the targets set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This work has included the introduction of a one-dose schedule of the HPV vaccine, increasing screening uptake and continued investment in treatment.

In March 2023, we provided funding to the University of Strathclyde to undertake a project modelling when Scotland might expect to eliminate cervical cancer. That work will help us set a target date for elimination of cervical cancer, and will require further work to improve uptake levels of both the vaccination and screening programmes. To support this we continue to provide £1 million annually to tackle unequal uptake across cancer screening programmes, and this summer, launched the Equity in Screening Strategy, which seeks systemic solutions to inequalities across all programmes. In addition we have provided £456,000 to Jo’s Trust for a project identifying barriers that prevent specific groups attending cervical screening. This learning will be embedded across the screening programme.

Our inclusive vaccination programme is designed to help reduce inequalities in uptake of vaccinations. On 27 th November 2023, Public Health Scotland (PHS) launched a campaign to raise awareness of the vaccines offered in secondary school, including HPV to help boost uptake.

Direct funding is not provided to private developers to finance their engagement in the planning application process. The Minister for Housing and I jointly hosted a roundtable on planning for housing on 16 November 2023. Support for small and medium-sized developers and housebuilders to progress through the planning processes in all areas was highlighted, as were matters relating to rural and affordable housing. We are now collating and prioritising suggested actions that can be taken collaboratively to accelerate delivery of more quality homes to create quality places.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission publish estimates and forecasts of the number of people receiving payments for Child Winter Heating Assistance. The Scottish Fiscal Commission do not publish estimates and forecasts for the number of people receiving payments by area within Scotland. In their May 2023 publication it was forecast that a total of 29,000 people will receive payments in the financial year 2023-24.

Social Security Scotland publish statistics for the number of historic payments for Child Winter Heating Assistance by Local Authority but not at constituency level. Statistics for 2023-24 are not yet available. In the South Lanarkshire Local Authority, 1,955 payments for Child Winter Heating Assistance were made in the Winter of 2022-23.

Internal Scottish Government analysis using the Social Security Scotland statistics, in combination with published population data, suggests an estimate of 500 payments were made in East Kilbride in the Winter of 2022-23.