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We are jointly funding a £250,000 endometriosis research project with the charity Wellbeing of Women. The research project, which will primarily be run by researchers at The University of Edinburgh, will look at the drug dichloroacetate in the management of endometriosis-associated pain.

Additionally, in January 2023 our Chief Scientist Office announced funding for the ENDOCAN project, led by researchers at The University of Edinburgh. Through a large scale UK-wide trial, the research will investigate whether a cannabinoid can reduce endometriosis-associated pain. Funding of £299,509 has been committed to this 30 month project.

The Chief Scientist Office is also currently inviting applications for Applied Health Research Programmes . An applied health research programme is envisaged to comprise a coherent group of inter-related projects that together can have a high level of direct impact to address an important Scottish population health or NHS challenge within the lifetime of the programme or soon thereafter.

The Scottish Government is committed to a fair, inclusive and fiscally sustainable form of local taxation. Scottish Ministers have convened the ‘Joint Working Group on Sources of Local Government Funding and Council Tax Reform’, which is chaired by the Scottish Government and COSLA. The group is initially discussing and reviewing targeted changes to Council Tax to reflect the current circumstances created by the cost crisis. The group will also consider approaches to longer term reform, utilising the development of effective deliberative engagement, on sources of Local Government funding and Council Tax.

The 2023 non-domestic rates revaluation took effect on 1 April 2023. The next revaluation will take effect from 1 April 2026, implementing the independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates recommendation for three yearly revaluations which was legislated for in the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020.

The tax rates which are used to calculate non-domestic rates bills are reviewed and set annually in the context of the Scottish Budget.

Housing to 2040, sets out our plans to continue delivering quality homes for private rent. Over the next decade, we will continue to support the provision of homes for private rent with a focus on maximising delivery of these homes at the affordable end of market rents, working with private sector investors and partners whose business models match our ambition to improve quality and affordability for tenants.

For the social rented sector, we are committed to delivering on our target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be available for social rent and 10% will be in our remote, rural and island communities. We have delivered 118,124 affordable homes since 2007, over 83,000 (83,291) of which were for social rent, including 21,313 council homes. And we are pleased that housebuilding completions are at their highest annual rate since 2008, up 10% on last year, and that the number of affordable homes delivered is above the pre-pandemic year 2019.

Our ‘New Deal for Tenants’ draft strategy consultation set out that both private and social rented homes have a role to play in delivering affordable, quality housing which gives people choice and flexibility about where they live.

The New Deal for Tenants consultation set out the importance of attracting new investment to the private rented sector, acknowledging the important role of Mid-Market Rental properties and the Build to Rent sector. It was also acknowledged in the draft strategy consultation, that there is a clear need to improve the evidence base on the private rented sector in Scotland, in order to provide key evidence to support future policies. In the meantime, we continue to closely monitor available evidence and data in the private rented sector.

Finally, it is important to acknowledge the interconnections of second homes and Short Term Lets on the rental market. On 17 April, we launched a consultation on Second and Empty Homes – seeking views on giving powers to local authorities to increase the rate of council tax on second homes and empty homes. Nationally, we want to encourage more residential accommodation to be used as homes for living in and for these to be occupied for more of the time. Locally, councils should decide how to achieve the right balance in the use of housing to meet local needs and to support thriving communities.

Our Short Term Lets licensing scheme will allow local authorities and communities to take action to manage issues more effectively, without unduly curtailing the many benefits of short-term lets to hosts, visitors and the Scottish economy whilst ensuring short-term lets are safe and the people providing them are suitable. Powers to designate control areas will allow local authorities to manage high concentrations of short-term lets and help them ensure that homes are used to best effect in their areas. We consider the legislation is appropriate for the whole of Scotland, including island and rural communities, and offers considerable flexibility to local authorities on how it is implemented.

The Scottish Government welcomes the work undertaken by the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group, which will inform the Scottish Government's next steps. We are currently considering the report and will work with COSLA and Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group members to respond to the recommendations, prioritising actions that will have the greatest impact on reducing the numbers in temporary accommodation.

An estimation of the costs to implement the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group's recommendations has not been carried out. As the task and finish groups are sub-groups of the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group (HPSG), the implementation of the recommendations will be discussed with HPSG members and other bodies given the need for partnership working on action to reduce the use of temporary accommodation.

All reports of food crime received by Food Standards Scotland are investigated and appropriate action is taken. For matters out with Food Standards Scotland's remit they will be disseminated to partner agencies for their consideration.

Our recent consultation on restricting alcohol advertising and promotion set out a range of potential options to restrict alcohol advertising and promotion. This included a question on whether low or no alcohol products should fall within the scope of any restrictions, where these products feature similar branding as stronger alcoholic drinks.

The consultation closed on 9 March. An independent contractor will comprehensively analyse the responses and a report will be published later this year. We will then further consider possible restrictions.

To support delivery of the National Islands Plan, through the Islands Heritage and Culture Project the Scottish Government has supported the delivery of the following six projects:

• The Orkney Digitisation Project, delivered by Orkney Islands Council;
• The Angus Og Project, delivered by the Highland Archive Service and High Life Highland;
• The Shetland Culture and Heritage Hub, delivered by Shetland Amenity Trust;
• Outer Hebrides Heritage Trails, delivered by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar;
• The Aspiring UNESCO Global Geopark, delivered by Arran Geopark; and
• Opportunities for the Argyll Islands and Increased Visitor Footfall, Culture, Heritage and Arts Assembly

Each project received a grant allocation of £40,000 with the exception of the Orkney based project, which had a slight overspend, taking their allocation to £42,000.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of SafeDeposits Scotland customers who were impacted by the implementation of the new system.

All 32 local authorities in Scotland are currently working on producing their first Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) and Delivery Plan, in line with their statutory duty to publish their first iteration by the end of 2023 and then update them every five years. LHEES will set out the long-term plan for decarbonising heat in buildings and improving energy efficiency across an entire local authority area. LHEES will be the principal mechanism for locally led heat planning and will support local planning, coordination and delivery of the heat transition across Scotland.

To support the development of LHEES the Scottish Government published guidance in October 2022 setting out what is required when developing a Strategy and Delivery Plan. In addition, a methodology, made up of practitioner guidance, models, tools and templates, provides a practical approach that local authorities can use to develop their LHEES. However, this methodology is not mandatory allowing local authorities flexibility to respond to local variations.

Multi-year funding for local authorities to resource the development of their LHEES has been agreed in partnership with COSLA and began in 2022/23. This funding could cover, for example, recruitment of an LHEES coordinator or the procurement of technical services from consultants.

The Scottish Government is continuing to support local authorities to improve their knowledge and skills to develop their LHEES and are working with Zero Waste Scotland to provide on-going capacity building support including workshops, online video tutorials and one to one support. To help identify where local authorities would benefit from further support and understand progress the Scottish Government is in regular contact with local authorities including through quarterly monitoring and in-person visits. The Scottish Government also facilitates regular forums focused on key issues local authorities face in developing their LHEES, for example engagement with utilities and data.

The Scottish Government is working to embed LHEES and area-based approaches across its heat decarbonisation programme. We are working with wider stakeholders to align current and future delivery and funding programmes with LHEES to support a strategic approach to the decarbonisation of heat reflecting local contexts and tailoring support to specific needs of communities.