The NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy 2022-2026 contains a number of actions linked to resource use, including management and reduction of waste, in line with Scottish Targets. Walking aids are included within this, and a number of Boards have trialled and put systems in place to take-back, test and re-use items subject to warranty and liability.

Scottish Government’s guidance on the provision of equipment and adaptations states “partnerships and their equipment and adaptation service providers should ensure they maximise the potential benefits from recycling of all equipment”. In line with this guidance, we are currently engaging with Health Boards to gather a national picture of what action is being taken on this matter, and to ensure the timely provision of equipment to support people to live safely within their own home and community.

The Scottish Government is aware of the temporary reduction in beds at Kilbryde Hospice.

South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) has been clear that the temporary reduction of beds is due to clinical and operational reasons associated with current staffing challenges and are undertaking work to address this.

It is the responsibility of Integration Joint Boards to plan and commission adult palliative and end of life care services for their areas using the integrated budgets under their control, including workforce planning and allocating resources for staffing.

The Scottish Government welcomes the report from the Chartered Institute of Buildings (CIOB) into social housing retrofit. Its findings and recommendations will help inform our thinking on how we continue to support the sector to help achieve our climate targets. Both the report and our current consultation on proposals for a new Social Housing Net Zero Standard will provide valuable feedback and insight on how the social housing sector can continue to build upon its progress on energy efficiency.

The Green Heat Finance Taskforce is also exploring ways to encourage a greater flow of private finance to help support the transition to clean heat, and its part 2 report this year will include consideration of financing options to enable social housing retrofit. All these sources of information will inform future decisions around funding support for energy efficiency and clean heat upgrades in social housing.

The Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund (the Fund) has already undergone a review to ensure it is providing the best support to social landlords in the transition to net zero. As part of this, the Fund’s support for “Fabric First” only projects has been extended until March 2026 in response to calls from the sector. The Fund welcomes consortium bids from multiple housing associations and local authorities to help deliver retrofit on a larger scale.

The Fund can be used alongside Area Based Schemes to carry out whole retrofit of a multi-tenure block if the properties fit the criteria of both Schemes. There is also financial support for owner occupiers through Warmer Homes Scotland and the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme which can reduce the costs of taking part in whole building works.

The 25-year contract for HMP Kilmarnock under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) for a privately constructed and operationally managed prison expires on 16 March 2024. The decision to bring HMP Kilmarnock into public management and ownership and not to tender for a new private contract was taken in 2021. This decision was based on the Scottish Government policy, which has been in place since 2007, that prisons should be owned and managed by the public sector and public safety, rehabilitation and wellbeing should not be driven by private profit.

Procurement regulations mean that it was not possible to extend the existing contract. Scottish Government would have had to tender for the management of the prison, and for any expansion in capacity, if that had been the preferred option.

At no stage was there an offer of building a new houseblock at no cost to the public purse.

The tankers will travel by road from the Isle of Grain LNG terminal in Kent to Troon.

As of 9 February 2024, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Services have confirmed to Scottish Government that no charges have been reported to them under Section 56 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 and there are subsequently no convictions.

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

The complex characteristics of our prison population requires SPS to adopt an individualised approach to establishment regimes. Due to these variances, SPS does not record this information.

Scottish domiciled medical students are eligible for the standard student support package which is comprised of tuition fees and living cost support throughout the full duration of their medical degree. Additionally the most disadvantaged students can access up to £9,000 per year through a bursary and loans with the Scottish student support package currently the highest it has ever been. All Scottish domiciled students, irrespective of circumstances are eligible for a loan of up to £6,000 a year for the full duration of their medical degree.

It should be noted that students studying on the ScotGEM programme are eligible to claim a return of service bursary of £4,000 per year. This is only available to ScotGEM students, and for each year of the bursary accepted the students is required to work in NHS Scotland for the corresponding number of years.

There are currently no plans to introduce grants for medical students similar to the Paramedic, Nursing, and Midwifery Student Bursary.

The Scottish Government Programme for Government made the commitment to consult on phasing out the use cages for gamebirds and laying hens. This work is now progressing and the consultation on phasing out cages for laying hens and the call for evidence on gamebirds and quail are expected to go live in the early spring.

The proposed consultation on phasing out farrowing crates for pigs was originally intended to have been delivered jointly across all UK administrations. However, progress on a number of important pieces of animal welfare legislation have been significantly delayed or has ceased due to delays in UK Government timetabling, such as the Kept Animals Bill. DEFRA have confirmed that it now has no immediate plans to take forward the work on farrowing crates.

Regardless, the Scottish Government is pressing ahead on improving the welfare of all animals in Scotland, including pigs, and on 20 November 2023 published the Scottish Government Guidance for the Welfare of Pigs . We are also in the process of updating the Welfare of Farmed Animals (Scotland) Regulations 2010 to include this updated pigs’ welfare guidance.

We continue to listen and work with the industry and stakeholders on how best to achieve improvements in animal welfare as well as monitoring industry information to allow us to determine how to ensure best practice is delivered.