We have already committed in Housing to 2040 to review and consider potential reforms to the current eviction grounds under the Private Residential Tenancy (PRT) after 5 years of operation, which will be at the end of this year.

We have already started to seek views on the effectiveness and operation of the existing eviction grounds for the Private Rented Sector as part of the New Deal For Tenants consultation to help inform the review when it begins and we will continue to work with stakeholders during it.

As highlighted in Generation Rent’s research, measures are in place under the PRT where a tenancy has been ended due to misleading information, the First-tier Tribunal have the power to make a wrongful termination order against the landlord and award compensation to the tenant. The use and effectiveness of wrongful termination orders will form part of the review.

Asylum and immigration are matters reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office. This includes decisions relating to refugee resettlement programmes, UK visa routes and the operation of the UK asylum system. The Scottish Government has no control over these processes.

There is no provision in UK Immigration Rules for someone abroad to be given permission to travel to the UK to seek asylum. There is therefore no resettlement route for people seeking asylum from Hong Kong. The UK Government has established refugee resettlement routes and visa routes, including the Hong Kong BN(O) visa route. Decisions about eligibility criteria for refugee resettlement and visa routes are made by the UK Government.

Scotland’s approach to supporting refugees and people seeking asylum is set out in the New Scots refugee integration strategy. Developed and led in partnership by the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, New Scots provides a clear framework for all those working to support integration and assists the work of partners across local authorities, public services, the private sector, third sector and community organisations. The key principle of New Scots is that refugees and asylum seekers should be supported to integrate into communities from day one of arrival.

We are seeking further clarification from the Home Office to fully understand the operational impact of the Nationality and Borders Act.

We have no current plans to make regulations under section 9(8) and (9) of the 2015 Act.

We are aware of the global issues affecting construction which are impacting the pace of affordable housing delivery and we are working closely with the construction industry and housing partners to mitigate this where possible. Given these are global issues, largely outwith our control, it is impossible to quantify the extent of any current delays and when we may return to a more normal pace of delivery.

Despite these challenges and those caused by the global pandemic including necessary lockdowns, we are continuing to deliver affordable homes across Scotland, including accessible homes for social rent. Official statistics recently published show that we have now reached the previous 50,000 affordable homes target and have started on our ambitious plans to deliver a further 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, having already delivered 1,119 affordable homes towards this.

Scottish Government officials have spoken with people seeking asylum as part of ongoing engagement and our work to deliver the New Scots refugee integration strategy. However, this is not done on the basis of people’s nationality but their experience living in Scotland while seeking asylum, wherever they are from. We also regularly engage with partners who provide direct support to people seeking asylum. Officials have ongoing engagement with people relocating to Scotland from Hong Kong, as part of wider stakeholder engagement.

Mountain hares are now a protected species following the passage of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) Act in June 2020. The protection came into force on 1 March 2021, meaning that the species can no longer be taken for sporting or recreational purposes.

NatureScot is currently reviewing the guidance on the licensing process for mountain hare control and has been consulting stakeholders including Scottish Environment LINK and Rural Environment Land Management (RELM) in order to inform this review. NatureScot intend to publish revised guidance later this summer.

The Local Rail Development Fund projects are currently undergoing various stages of the appraisal process and will be considered on a case-by-case basis as per STAG guidelines. Projects will be considered subject to the Scottish Government’s investment priorities for the strategic transport network, a robust business case, affordability and other competing proposals.

The Scottish Government has no part to play in the recruitment of officers for British Transport Police.

The Scottish Government is seeking to commission independent research in relation to protests and vigils that take place outside of abortion clinics to collect evidence of both the scale and impact of protest and vigils. The research will provide meaningful insight into the effects of protests and vigils on those who choose to protest, and those who are affected. Whilst the research will not be completed in time for the launch of Gillian Mackay MSP’s Member’s Bill, it will help provide a robust evidence base going forward.

The Scottish Government acknowledges Alzheimer Scotland’s 2019 Fair Dementia Care report – referenced in the Chief Executive of Scottish Care’s article in the Herald - which claimed that people with dementia are paying care costs amounting to approximately £50m per annum, with approximately £49m of those care costs related to residential care charges.

Adults who have been assessed as requiring personal care do not pay for this service, regardless of their condition or means. Nursing care is also of course free at the point of delivery. The Local Authority normally pays the free personal and nursing care for self-funding care home residents assessed as needing them directly to the care home provider.

The Scottish Government has increased Free Personal and Nursing Care payments above inflation for the last two consecutive years to recognise the increasing cost of care. For 2022-23 these rates are set at £212.85 per week for personal care and £95.80 per week for nursing care.

The Scottish Government appreciates that the costs of residential care can be high. Everybody in a care home, whether publically funded or self-funded, will pay a contribution to the cost of their care. The amount that they pay will be based on their individual financial circumstances. If a person has capital over the upper capital limit they will be classed as self-funding their own care. When a person is self-funding their care the amount that they pay to the care home is a contractual matter between them and the care home provider. This agreement is protected by consumer protection laws.

We recognise that the Fair Dementia Care report also focusses on the quality of and access to appropriate healthcare. We are committed to improving outcomes for residents in care home including those with dementia and cognitive impairment. We are going to publish a Healthcare framework in June which will provide a series of recommendations that aim to transform healthcare by full integrating the health and social care system that wraps around care homes. Critical to this will be a multi-disciplinary work approach that is pro-active and coordinated. The framework is not confined to ‘clinical’ provision or ‘clinical’ models of care, as it is recognised the health and wellbeing of someone living in a care home is influenced by a wide range of factors including, friends, family and the local environment.

The framework is an important step to change as we transition towards the National Care Service.