Chamber and committees

The last Disability Summit was held in December 2020 to evaluate the impact of A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Delivery Plan 2016-2021. Over 100 people attended online and the voices of disabled people with lived and living experience were heard.

The Scottish Government’s current priority is co-designing the Disability Equality strategy with Disabled People’s Organisations. This work has involved analysing research and reports which incorporate the lived and living experience of disabled people in Scotland and agreeing on the priorities for the strategy.

We will engage with disabled people, third sector organisations and delivery partners when the strategy is drafted to gather views and feedback. We expect this to take the form of a fully accessible consultation and engagement activities.

The Permanent Representative of Ireland to the EU and I held a positive meeting in June last year, in which we spoke about energy policy and the latest developments regarding the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The subject of Scottish independence was not an agenda item in discussions, however Scottish ministers will always be polite enough during meetings to answer any questions put to them about the Scottish Government's stated policies, including a legal, constitutionally sound referendum, as set out in our Programme for Government.

The Head of the UK Mission to the EU and I held a positive meeting in May last year, in which we spoke about issues such as the Scottish Government's Retained EU Law and Horizon Europe.

The subject of Scottish independence was not an agenda item in discussions, however Scottish ministers will always be polite enough during meetings to answer any questions put to them about the Scottish Government's stated policies, including a legal, constitutionally sound referendum, as set out in our Programme for Government.

Temporary accommodation offers an important safety net for anyone who finds themselves homeless, however, this should only ever be short term and we want to see people in settled homes that meet their needs as soon as possible. We want disabled people in Scotland to have choice, dignity and freedom to access suitable, settled homes so they can participate as full and equal citizens.

Our Housing to 2040 strategy sets out our vision for housing in Scotland to 2040. Key actions include reviewing Housing for Varying Needs, increasing the supply of accessible and adapted homes and improving choice for disabled people to allow them to live independently within their community.

The Scottish Government has committed to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 70% will be for social rent. Funding is available through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme to deliver more wheelchair accessible homes where local authorities have included these in their Strategic Housing Investment Plans.

The review of Housing for Varying Needs, our design guide for accessibility standards for new social rented homes, is underway and will directly inform the development of a Scottish Accessible Homes Standard, set to be implemented from 2025-26. This will enhance the accessibility and adaptability of new homes, ensuring that disabled people have an increased range of housing options and reducing the requirement to make changes to homes as needs change. We plan to launch the formal consultation on both the Housing for Varying Needs review and the introduction of the Scottish Accessible Homes Standard in the spring of 2023.

The Scottish Government recognises the benefits magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) could provide to eligible patients with essential tremor.

The Scottish Government has not carried out an assessment of MRgFUS for the treatment of essential tremor.

We understand the University of Dundee and Ninewells hospital continue to run a MRgFUS service for essential tremor on a trial basis. It is imperative that before any new procedure is adopted into the NHS, it is first subject to rigorous clinical assessment to establish patient safety and efficacy. The trial in Dundee will help contribute to the building evidence base for the treatment.

The level of funding invested each year by the Bank since it was established is as follows:

2020-21 (November to March): £23,097,000

2021-22: £130,414,000

2022-23: The Bank’s final outturn is still being finalised and it is too early to provide a provisional figure to Parliament. The Bank will lay its audited Annual Accounts in Parliament before the end of September.

The Bank’s most recent Annual Accounts are published on its website: https://www.thebank.scot/sites/default/files/2022-10/the-bank-annual-report-2022.pdf .

The portfolio page on the Bank’s website also provides details of the deals they have completed: https://www.thebank.scot/portfolio .

The Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the EU and I held a positive meeting in June last year in which we spoke about the Czech Republic's priorities for the Presidency of the European Council, including energy policy.

The subject of Scottish independence was not an agenda item in discussions, however Scottish ministers will always be polite enough during meetings to answer any questions put to them about the Scottish Government's stated policies, including a legal, constitutionally sound referendum, as set out in our Programme for Government.

The Scottish Government is developing a Strategic Framework for Scotland’s Early Learning and School Age Childcare Profession which will set out the priorities for the sector and actions we will take to ensure a sustainable, thriving childcare workforce. We will consider the payment of SSSC fees as we develop the Framework.

Ministers are regularly listening to business stakeholders to maintain an understanding of business perspectives, carrying out on average 100 engagements per month. I have already met with a number of businesses and their representative organisations in the 3 weeks since taking up post.

Resetting the relationship with business is a core priority for this Government. On Tuesday 18 April, the First Minister announced a mechanism for a new and improved relationship with the business community that will also be a vehicle to improve the business and regulatory environment in Scotland.

As of March 2022, through Primary Care Improvement Plans and corresponding funding, we have recruited more than 3,220 whole time equivalent (WTE) multi-disciplinary team (MDT) members, working in GP practices and the community.

Supporting documents - Primary care improvement plans: summary of implementation progress - March 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

We are also committed to providing at least £170 million per year to deliver MDTs and will make additional funding available to support Agenda for Change pay increases for MDT staff.

We have amended regulations to include permanent vaccinations, pharmacotherapy and community treatment and care support for GP practices from 2022-23 onwards.

We continue to work with all partners to ensure we have a robust evidence base on the impact of the programme to support implementation of Primary Care Improvement Plans and future investment decisions in 2023-24.