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The Parole Board for Scotland is required to make a report on the performance of its functions to the Scottish Ministers as soon as practicable after the end of each year, after which this report is laid before Parliament. No specific date has been set as yet for the receipt of the annual report, including accounts, for 2021-22, but this will be laid before Parliament and published in due course.

Alcohol duty is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government would strongly recommend that the UK Government considers public health as part of any review to alcohol duty.

The Scottish Government believes that the stronger the beverage, the higher the duty should be, as it is the alcohol that causes the harms and stronger alcoholic drinks allow for faster consumption of alcohol. This is in line with the rationale behind our world leading minimum unit pricing policy which targets high strength, low-cost alcohol.

Our Alcohol Framework sets out our priorities for preventing alcohol-related harm. We take a whole population approach to tackling alcohol-related harms, in line with the World Health Organization’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol.

Alcohol duty is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government would strongly recommend that the UK Government considers public health as part of any review to alcohol duty.

We have made no assessment of the impact of the six-month freeze on alcohol duty on alcohol harm in Scotland. We remain committed to reducing alcohol related harms, in line with the World Health Organization’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol.

We intend to open a Scottish Government Office in Warsaw within the lifetime of this Parliament. The office will contribute to a fairer, greener Scotland by promoting Scottish culture and expertise, attracting inward investment and fostering people-to people contacts between Scotland and Poland.

Alcohol duty is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government would strongly recommend that the UK Government considers public health as part of any review to alcohol duty.

We have made no assessment of the impact of the six-month freeze on alcohol duty on alcohol harm in Scotland. We remain committed to reducing alcohol related harms, in line with the World Health Organization’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol.

During 2020, national treatment targets were suspended in recognition of the necessary response to the covid-19 pandemic, before being reinstated in 2021.

We know that the covid-19 pandemic had a major impact across our health services, including the detection and treatment of Hepatitis C. In considering the re-instatement of Hepatitis C treatment targets, both the impact of COVID and associated steps to manage it were considered by the SHPN Hepatitis C Elimination Group, which comprises clinical expertise from Scottish Health Boards.

A recent PHS report shows that the number of new diagnoses made in 2020 and 2021 were the lowest recorded in the last decade. Encouragingly, however, it also shows that major progress has been made despite the pandemic. For example, there is evidence to indicate that Scotland has already achieved one of the WHO targets set for 2030; 80% of those ever diagnosed having received treatment.

The full PHS report can be found here: Surveillance of hepatitis C in Scotland (publichealthscotland.scot).

The Scottish Government remains committed to eliminating Hepatitis C as a major public health concern by 2024.

We must recognise the impact the covid-19 pandemic has had on services, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of HCV data.

However, despite that impact, PHS recently published a report (“Surveillance of hepatitis C in Scotland”) which shows that major progress has been made on a number of key targets including a large drop in cases in people who inject drugs, with some parts of Scotland seeing as much as a 70% reduction. This is hugely encouraging. As we continue to recover from the pandemic, we must build on that progress and continue to work with key stakeholders to remove this public health threat.

The First Minister wrote an open letter to the Care Experienced community on the 22 October 2022 to thank all involved in preparing the Who Cares? Scotland publication and to acknowledge the points raised. The letter is available on the Scottish Government website . The Scottish Government continues to work closely with Who Cares? Scotland and the points identified in the publication are informing the ongoing work to Keep The Promise.

Keeping the Promise requires a collective approach across all of our services, including care, health, education and justice. The Scottish Government requires to lead from the front, working with partners across local government and third sector, to bring the transformational change required. The actions and commitments we will take are set out in our Promise Implementation Plan published in March 2022.

The Promise Oversight Board includes members with lived and professional experience and is responsible for holding Scotland to account on whether the Promise is being kept.

The Promise Scotland has been established to support organisations across Scotland to Keep The Promise. The Promise Scotland published its set up year report in July 2022. This includes a helpful timeline of work undertaken from the point The Promise Scotland was established.

The Scottish Government has published a child friendly version of the Promise Implementation Plan, developed with the support of Who Cares? Scotland and other stakeholders which is available on the Scottish Government website .

The Implementation Plan sets out our commitment to ensure the voice of people with care experience is at the heart of the work we do to Keep The Promise and we welcome all opportunities to engage. We will continue to work with local government, local Champions Boards, Who Cares? Scotland, The Promise Scotland and other partners to ensure that our approach to engagement is positive and impactful.