Chamber and committees

The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme was launched in December 2022 as an update to the Home Energy Scotland Loan and Cashback scheme.

Across these schemes, since May 2017 to August 2023, a total of 15822 applications for renewables funding have been received and 12389 have been successful.

The Scottish Government meets regularly with other UK Governments to discuss health security matters, including COVID-19 variants.

The Government will continue to work closely with partners across the UK to monitor, assess and be ready to respond to any new outbreaks of COVID-19.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) provides estimates of the number of homes which have an EPC rating below band C. For figures at the local authority level the Scottish Government uses a three year pooled data set to ensure sufficient sample sizes.

These figures were recently provided in the answer to PQ S6W-20664 which gave the number and percentage of all homes below EPC C by local authority area for the latest available 3 year period 2017-2019.

The Scottish House Condition Survey provides a snapshot of the Scottish housing stock in each survey year including the construction age and built form of Scottish domestic buildings.

The most recent estimates of houses (specifically covering all Detached, Semi-detached and terraced houses) with an EPC below C at local authority level are for 2017-2019, and are presented in the following table.

The Neonatal Expenses Fund (NEF) and the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) are demand-led funds and the Scottish Government has ensured full funding against demand in each year since 2018-19. Actual spend may differ from profiled spend as demand requirements change over time.

The number of Cattle Identification Inspections undertaken by the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division on cattle keepers in the last five years, detailed per year and regional office and further detailed into originally planned to review and actually reviewed records and into four time categories is provided in the following tables.

I have portfolio responsibility for hospital arranged post mortem examinations. These are undertaken for deaths in hospitals to establish the medical cause of death and require consent from the individual or the family.

Separately, post mortems can be carried out under the direction of the Lord Advocate as part of an investigation into a death. These are a matter for the Lord Advocate and the Scottish Government does not comment on or get involved in these.

Delivering person-centred care is a priority for both NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government. As far as possible services should be organised around people’s needs, enabling them to be involved in their care in a way that is meaningful and tailored to their personal preference.

In December 2021 we published practical guidance for NHS clinicians on undertaking virtual consultations with people affected by neurological conditions: Digital Consulting in Neurology | TEC Scotland

The guidance considers when virtual consultations may be an appropriate option to offer. It states clearly that patients should be given the opportunity to decide how they wish to be seen. It is for NHS boards to decide how specialist epilepsy appointments are arranged in their area.

The list of NHS Scotland buildings which have two or more characteristics consistent with the presence of RAAC was provided in the response to question S6W-19366 on 21 July 2023. This list has also been made available on the NHS Scotland Assure website: RAAC -List of Properties v1 Jul 23 (nhs.scot). This list forms the NHS Scotland Assure RAAC survey programme, which commenced in July 2023. The eight NHS Forth Valley buildings on this list have not yet been surveyed and there are no indications any NHS Forth Valley buildings may have to temporarily close due to the presence of RAAC.

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

These were pre-RET products that had always been intended to be removed at the point RET was introduced across the Calmac network from 2015.

Following representations from the community, Transport Scotland are engaging with Calmac on this matter to consider whether any interim replacement product can be put in place. This will need to consider any practical challenges and any costs associated with the reintroduction of a similar product that will function with the new system.

A wider review of fares policy will be undertaken as part of the consultation on the Islands Connectivity Plan in due course.

Latest Official Statistics covering the 2021-22 academic year show that there were 170 full-time first degree entrants aged 18 and under from the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland entering university from the Mid Scotland and Fife region. This number rises to 415 if you look at all aged entrants.