Chamber and committees

The Energy Saving Trust maintains the Renewable Heat Database for the Scottish Government. The following table presents figures for the number of renewable heat installations in homes in the Highlands and Islands over the past five years using Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) data.

Table 1: Number of annual domestic renewable heat installations by technology class and local authority for the Highlands and Islands (2017-2021).

‎ Source: Energy Saving Trust (10 January 2023) based on MCS data.

The figures in the table above come with the following caveats:

• MCS certification is not a mandatory requirement, so MCS data does not capture all small-scale renewable energy installations in Scotland. However, as MCS is often a route to government incentives, it is likely to represent a significant proportion of deployment.
• Most installations registered with MCS are in the retrofit market. However, MCS may capture some new-build installations if contractors have chosen to register their installations with MCS.
• The number of installations above may include a small number of non-domestic installations which could not be cross-referenced against non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) data. This is unlikely to significantly impact the numbers as MCS data is skewed towards domestic installations.

We know that meeting our interim climate change targets will need over 1 million homes across Scotland to convert to zero emissions heat by 2030. This is not split by region in order to allow a flexible approach that can meet our targets as efficiently as possible. In the meantime, we are providing additional support to rural and island communities to reflect the higher costs of installation.

This information is not available in the form requested.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) explores the physical condition of Scotland’s homes as well as the experiences of householders. Data from the (SHCS) provides estimates of the number and percentage of households using LPG (bulk or bottled) as a primary heating fuel, based on a single year of data, and at a local authority level by averaging three years’ of data. The survey has not been designed to provide results by Parliamentary Region. The most recent data for 2017-19 by local authority is presented in the following table.

It should be noted that at a Scotland level over the period 2017 to 2019, 1% or 25,000 of households were estimated to use LPG as a primary heating fuel in their homes. Given this low prevalence, precise actual estimates from survey results are not available for Fife and other Local Authority areas.

It should also be noted that some households may use LPG as a secondary heating fuel, alongside other fuels. This is not included in the table below.

Table 1: Number and percentage of households using LPG (bulk or bottled) as a primary heating fuel, by local authority, SHCS 2017 to 2019

Work is currently underway in the Scottish Public Health Workforce Development Group to assess needs and agree priority actions in relation to the public health workforce. Three additional Public Health training places for trainee doctors have been created in recent years following recommendations made by the Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group. While this may seem like a modest increase, it is relative to the specialty’s training establishment i.e. there were 35 established training places prior to the creation of those three extra posts. This will continue to be reviewed as part of public health workforce planning.

Work is currently underway in the Scottish Public Health Workforce Development Group to assess needs and agree priority actions in relation to the public health workforce. The group has gathered information from all local public health teams about their current workforce plans and issues. It will initially complete a baseline audit along with projections about future workforce needs. Considering opportunities to increase capacity in local public health teams will be a priority for the Group, Scottish Directors of Public Health, Public Health Scotland and Scottish Government. A leadership programme is already underway and some shared posts have been established across Scotland to increase capacity locally and nationally.

a) The Bioenergy Policy Working Group comprises Scottish Government officials from a number of policy areas.

• Agriculture Transformation for Environment and Climate Change
• Bioenergy
• Biodiversity
• Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS)
• Critical Energy Infrastructure & Commercial Projects
• Domestic Climate Change
• Environmental Protection - Air Quality
• Environmental Quality and Circular Economy
• Heat Strategy
• Hydrogen
• Industrial Decarbonisation
• Industrial Strategy and Technologies
• Just Transition
• Land Use Strategy
• Land Use Transformation
• Natural Capital and Land Management
• Office of the Chief Economic Adviser (OCEA)
• Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS)
• Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA)
• Scottish Forestry
• Sustainable Aviation
• Transport - Supply Chains and Alternative Fuels
• Whole Energy System

Minutes from the meetings will be published as soon as practical. However the group are still in the process of developing policy and considering options.

b) The Bioenergy Expert Panel has still to be assembled, and we are currently reviewing when and how it will be established.

The Scottish Government has supported the development of many urinary tract infection (UTI) resources to support people with these conditions and reduce the risk of infection. This includes evidence-based information and support available on the symptoms, treatment and prevention of UTIs on NHS Inform . We have also supported local access to support through the development of Pharmacy First in community pharmacies across Scotland which allows women with less complex UTIs to access free advice or treatment where appropriate.

We expect all healthcare workers in Scotland to follow best practice when providing care for people with UTIs. In support of this, guidelines on management of suspected UTIs were developed by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) in 2020. These support clinicians to provide advice to patients and carers on appropriate treatment, risks and lifestyle and behaviour issues which can support management and prevention of UTIs. The guideline was accompanied by supporting materials for clinicians and patients to improve dissemination and engagement with the new guidelines including a quick reference guide and patient booklet.

This publication’s Supporting Documents include a spreadsheet file titled ‘General Practice recorded diagnoses’. Table 4 in this spreadsheet shows GP recorded diagnoses of neurological conditions, by sex and age. For each neurological condition shown, it gives the number of GP recorded diagnoses by sex in the following age bands: 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19. This data is shown in the following table. In some cases small numbers have been suppressed to help maintain patient confidentiality. We do not have data apportioned to the exact age bands in the question.

Number of people diagnosed with ME/CFS by sex and age group

The following table details the number of full-time equivalent staff, broken down by grade, who have worked on tobacco policy within Health Improvement Division since 2017-18.

Please note the following:

• numbers do not equate to head count within Health Improvement Division.
• vacancies have not been included.
• numbers have been compiled using historic Scottish Government HR records
• during 2020/21 some staff would have focused on COVID pandemic response work

This is a matter for Public Health Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.

Having welcomed five very competitive bids in June, and following a rigorous assessment process, the Scottish Government can today confirm that the two Green Freeport locations selected jointly by Scottish and UK Ministers are Inverness and Cromarty Firth and the Firth of Forth.

Scotland’s Green Freeports will support businesses to create high-quality, well-paid new jobs; promote growth and regeneration; and make a significant contribution to achieving our net zero ambitions.

The Scottish Government looks forward to working closely with the successful consortia, supporting them through the next phase of the process as they develop their business cases, in order to ensure that they deliver maximum positive impact.

We will also work with the unsuccessful bidders to consider how they can build on the plans set out in their bids to deliver jobs and growth in their regions outside the Green Freeports programme.