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I can confirm that 28 of 32 local authorities charge citizens for technology-enabled care equipment as part of their telecare services.

The Data collated in 2022 also identified that charges range from £1.48 to £8.40 per week for telecare. An annual survey to ascertain current charging levels will be issued to local authorities, via COSLA, during the summer of 2023.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data. Guidance was issued to Health Boards in April 2022 setting out our expectation that Health Boards will ensure Ukrainian refugees have access to GP practices.

As Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees, I have portfolio responsibility for older people and this Scottish Government remains committed to delivering access to opportunities and services people need to ensure they are healthy, happy and secure in older age.

We will continue to work closely with the Older People’s Strategic Action Forum to review progress on the 2019 “A Fairer Scotland for Older People: framework for action” to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

The Scottish Government's "A Fairer Scotland for Older People: Framework for Action" outlines the steps we are taking to ensure Older People are healthy, happy and secure. As part of the Framework Scottish Government is working to ensure access to measures to improve community safety and reduce vulnerability to scam callers and other kinds of elder abuse.

The following table includes data on the number of Gastroenterology trainees who have completed training and attained a CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training) in each year since 2019. Trainees must obtain a CCT in order to practice as a consultant.

There is no requirement for patients to pay a deposit on registration, you can find details of this on the following link Dental treatment - NHS Scotland | NHS inform .

While the powers to take meaningful action in regard to energy pricing sit with the UK Government, we are doing everything we can to support households with high energy bills.

We recently tripled our Fuel Insecurity Fund to £30m for 2023-24, to support anyone at risk of self-disconnection, or self-rationing their energy use. That fund continues to provide a lifeline to households at risk of self-rationing or self-disconnecting their energy. We also made an additional £1.2 million available to help our advice services meet increasing demand last year.

Our new Winter Heating Payment replaces DWP’s Cold Weather Payment and provides a stable, reliable annual £55 which will help around 400,000 low-income individuals with their heating expenses each winter.

We have allocated £350m to heat, energy efficiency and fuel poverty measures in 2023/24, including £119m targeted at fuel poor households, while our £1.4m Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund is supporting those in our island communities who traditionally see higher costs for food and fuel.

We have called repeatedly on the UK Government to provide additional, targeted support for consumers in vulnerable circumstances. I am due to meet with the UK Government Minister for Energy Consumers later this month and will raise again the need for further action to support those who have been most affected by the ending of the Energy Bills Support Scheme ending as well as the need for a social tariff for energy consumers.

The Talent Attraction and Migration Service will be delivered through an online digital platform. Users will be able to access the service from anywhere in Scotland. The service will help employers navigate the UK’s immigration rules and provide reception support to people moving to Scotland. The service is still in the design stage, but we expect the service to help a wide range of employers across the Scottish economy and individuals moving to Scotland.

The Scottish Government believes that the development and deployment of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles has the potential to bring transformative change to peoples’ lives, not just in how we travel, but in how we work, where we live, the environment, and road safety. Our National Transport Strategy 2 highlights that we will use beneficial innovation to improve our transport system and seek to make Scotland a market leader in the development and early adoption of beneficial transport innovations. This Government wants Scotland to be at the forefront of developments in CAVs and we are excited to see how this technology can help to support our vision for a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system.

71 GP practices in Scotland are currently staffed by a single GP.