Chamber and committees

We recognise the importance of upgrading the energy efficiency of homes in order to make them more affordable to heat. Regulation of energy efficiency in the social housing sector has already ensured that it has the most energy efficient housing stock of any tenure, and this will continue to improve as the sector works to comply with EESSH2. This requires that all social housing meets, or can be treated as meeting, EPC Band B (Energy Efficiency rating), or is as energy efficient as practically possible, by the end of December 2032, within the limits of cost, technology and necessary consent.

In addition our Social Housing Net Zero Head Fund is making at least £200 million available to registered social landlords to help install zero emission heating systems and improve energy efficiency in social housing during this parliamentary session.

We also recognise that social housing tenants are more likely to experience fuel poverty than the general population. That is why we have been working in partnership with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations to ensure a proportion of our Fuel Insecurity Fund can be distributed through social landlords directly to their tenants who are struggling with their energy bills. £4.4 million has been delivered in this way since 2020-21 and we have recently allocated a further £10 million to the Fuel Insecurity Fund to allow it to continue during the current financial year.

During the Cabinet meeting of 24 August 2015, the First Minister was informed that a preferred bidder had been selected for vessels 801 and 802.

As part of the 100 Days Programme we have already made significant progress towards this commitment by introducing free NHS dental care for young people between 18 and 25 years of age.

We have committed to the removal of all dental charges during the lifetime of this parliament.

We are creating a broad, co-ordinated package of policies and support programmes to deliver the change required. We have widened the scope of our capital and advice programmes and have several live funding calls for large scale projects. Further work over the coming year includes:

• consulting on regulations for zero emissions heat
• establishing a virtual National Public Energy Agency to coordinate delivery and build public understanding
• co-producing, with industry, a Heat in Buildings supply chain delivery plan
• collaborating with a range of partner organisations, through the Green Heat Finance Taskforce, on innovative heat decarbonisation finance mechanisms.

A public consultation on improving victims’ experiences of the justice system will open from today, 10 May 2022, until 3 August 2022. It will be available at https://consult.gov.scot/justice/victimsconsultation .

The consultation focuses on proposed legislative reforms with particular reference to victims of sexual offences. It takes forward our Programme for Government commitments to introduce a statutory right to anonymity for complainers in sexual offence cases, establish a Victims’ Commissioner and carefully consider the recommendations from Lady Dorrian’s Review into the management of sexual offence cases that require a legislative basis to deliver.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving victims’ experiences of the justice system by putting them at its centre. This consultation explores how to do this by making the justice system more trauma informed and person centred. It is an important part of a wide-ranging programme of work to bring about transformational change necessary to ensure our justice system is trusted, modern, smart and effective.

We will continue to take an open and collaborative approach to achieve this aim, and this consultation will seek to capture the views of a broad range of stakeholders including legal professionals, the third sector and those with lived experience of the system.

I look forward to considering the full range of views received.

This information is not held centrally.

SEEMiS may be able to provide this information if you contact them directly.

The latest forecasts produced by the Scottish Fiscal Commission forecast that £15 million will be spent on Self-Isolation Support Grants in 2022-23. The Commission will be publishing new forecasts on 31 May 2022 following engagement with Scottish Government. We will continue to collect and publish monthly Management Information on applications, awards, and expenditure.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) accredit all Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes leading to the award of the Standard for Provisional Registration in Scotland. The GTCS will agree content with the relevant ITE provider to ensure that the content will support student teachers to develop their knowledge, understanding and practice. As set out in the Standard for Professional Registration, teachers are expected to employ teaching strategies and resources to meet the needs and abilities of every learner.

Education Scotland offers support to practitioners in a number of areas, including literacy and synthetic phonics, through online platforms such as the Glow based National Literacy Professional Learning Community.

Zero Waste Scotland advises us that they aim to publish the next update of the Material Flow Accounts by the end of September 2022.

In 2022, under the Climate Justice Fund, the Scottish Government will launch programmes to support the three pillars of distributive, procedural and transformative climate justice. These were identified as priorities by the independent evaluation of the Climate Justice Fund, as well as via stakeholder engagement, as central to achieving effective and sustainable climate justice.

We are in the process of finalising the procurement process, with the programmes due to be launched in Summer 2022. Additional details, including eligibility criteria, will be published on ScotGov’s website shortly.