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Breathing Space is operated by NHS24 to provide free and confidential support for people experiencing low mood, depression and anxiety. The phone line operates between 6pm-2am on weekday evenings and from 6pm Friday to 6am Monday. The web chat is available Monday to Friday from 6pm to 2am and on Saturday and Sunday from 4pm to 12 midnight. Around 9,500 people are supported by Breathing Space each month, which is typically split between around 95% accessing the helpline and 5% using the web chat function.

The technical issues affecting the Breathing Space web chat function over the last few weeks have now been fully resolved, and NHS24 has assured Scottish Government that if has robust monitoring plans in place to ensure any future issues are identified, and resolved, quickly.

During the period of disruption to the web chat service, the Breathing Space phone lines were unaffected; users were advised via the Breathing Space website that the telephone service remained available. Those with pressing mental health issues also continued to have 24/7 access to the Mental Health Hub through NHS24’s 111 service.

Boats that are moored in one location for weeks or months, primarily as a safe haven, will not be liable for a visitor levy, if a local authority introduces one. We continue to discuss and explore with all relevant stakeholders the full implications of a visitor levy applying to boat moorings and berthings.

The City of Edinburgh Council formed a part of the Firework Control Zones Working Group, which co-developed the Guidance for Local Authorities.

Representatives from City of Edinburgh Council attended information sharing sessions for local authorities held by the Scottish Government, in partnership with the Scottish Community Safety Network.

Formal representations have been made by the City of Edinburgh Council to the Scottish Government to express interest in availing themselves of the funding for firework control zones.

In November 2023 the Scottish Government launched the British Sign Language National Plan which contains 45 actions focused on addressing the barriers faced by BSL users in their daily lives.

The Scottish Government has since 2020 provided around £1,000,000 funding to Apt-PSP to enable employers to better attract, recruit, and retain disabled people. Since the outset, Apt-PSP has included representation from organisations that focus on British Sign Language users, and this has included support for employers, including micro, small and medium sized employers assist them in supporting them in BSL related issues.

Officials at Transport Scotland are currently engaging with British Transport Police, ScotRail, Scottish Rail Holdings, Transport Focus and Trade Unions, amongst other organisations, to ensure that all views on continuing alcohol ban on ScotRail trains are given due consideration and all impacts, including antisocial behaviour, assessed.

The only precision medicine accepted by the Scottish Medicines Consortium where the companion diagnostic test is not yet offered by NHS Scotland laboratories is Pemigatinib (SMC Number 2399).

We are continuing to work closely with key partners, such as the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomics Medicine (SSNGM), to ensure there is capacity within laboratories for companion diagnostics tests to be offered as soon as practically possible.

The full implementation cost for Digital Evidence Sharing Capability is £33 Million over a 10-year period which is detailed in the full business case. This figure includes supplier costs, storage, and resources from justice partners. DESC will deliver considerable savings of time and cost in the way that evidence is managed and used.

Nobody in our society should ever be subjected to Islamophobia, and we recognise we need to do more to tackle it in Scotland.

We previously consulted with communities affected by Islamophobia on whether adoption of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) or some other definition of Islamophobia would be helpful. Although communities were broadly supportive of a definition, there was no consensus on the APPG definition.

Our Hate Crime Strategy sets out our strategic priorities for tackling hate crime in Scotland, including Islamophobia. It was informed by communities with lived experience of hate crime, including Muslim communities.

Our Hate Crime Strategy Delivery Plan, published this week, commits to a range of meaningful, ongoing and participatory engagement. We will continue to engage with Muslim communities in Scotland to understand the issues of importance to them as we move into strategy delivery.

The implementation cost of DESC is funded by Scottish Government. There is no cost expected to be paid from Police Scotland or other justice partners existing budget.

When DESC is fully implemented the lifetime management costs of DESC are expected to be met from justice partners, including Police Scotland. The efficiency benefits delivered by DESC are projected to offset these costs.

There has been one case of disciplinary action taken against a Scottish Government employee as a result of a failure to ensure that records are maintained and disposed of in accordance with its record management principles. The disciplinary action was taken in 2018 and the case was dealt with under the minor misconduct procedures.