Seòmar agus comataidhean

As set out in the answer to S6W-15782 on 20 March 2023, stakeholders will be consulted on a draft report in April. Following this the Steering Group will produce a final report which will be submitted to Ministers and published in due course thereafter.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

In 2022-23 Larkhall and District Volunteer Group have received:

• £108,467 from our Plugged-in Communities fund to support the purchase of a zero emission community transport vehicle, we also provided a grant of £1,999 from our EV infrastructure fund which supported the purchase and installation of electric vehicles infrastructure to support the new vehicle.
• They have successfully applied for £5,704 in continued support from the Open Fund for their Shopping Buses project, delivery of which will extend in to 2023/24.
• They have also claimed £3,259.30 through the Network Support Grant.

Housing to 2040 is Scotland’s first long-term housing strategy. It sets out a vision for what housing in Scotland will look like in 2040 and includes a set of principles to guide policy-making. It is supported by a route map for achieving the vision.

We are working with the sector to confirm a new governance process and a monitoring framework, so we and others across the sector can assess progress towards the vision set out in the strategy. A new Strategic Board has been established which will provide accountability on progress as well as advice on a suitable monitoring framework and reporting arrangements will be agreed as part of this process.

Further information about the Board and its membership will be made available when it meets later this month. Alongside this, we will continue to publish an annual update on the 30 indicators included in the broader Housing and Regeneration Outcomes Framework and review the alignment of this framework with Housing to 2040. The latest update was published on 18 November 2022.

The Scottish Government places great importance on swimming pools, and recognise the physical, social and economic benefits these facilities provide to communities across Scotland.

Whilst we have not undertaken an assessment of the social and economic impacts of swimming pool closures, the Scottish Government is working with sport scotland to accurately understand the current facilities provision and predict the landscape in the short, medium and long term by supporting Scottish Swimming to deliver the Scottish Swimming Facilities Project.

We have asked sport scotland to write to Ms Monica Lennon MSP with more details of the Scottish Swimming Facilities Project and to keep her updated as it progresses.

The Scottish Government holds some of the information asked for and this has been provided in the following table.

Table - The number of Significant Adverse Event Reviews commissioned for a Category I event – data held by Scottish Government .

The information has been provided with the following caveats:

• This table shows Category I adverse events receiving a Level 1 review, or Significant Adverse Event Review (SAER), as reported to Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) through the national notification system. This does not include ‘never events’ (defined as: “serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur if relevant preventive measures have been put in place”).
• It covers the period January 2020 to February 2022. Prior to this date, this information was not collected centrally.
• The Scottish Government does not routinely request the information from HIS. Further information will be held by HIS.

Data on SAERs commissioned before January 2020 will be held by individual NHS Health Boards.

Over half (55.8%) of the people in Scotland who have never worked aged 16 to 64 were in full-time education. Just because someone does not have a job does not mean they are not making a valuable contribution to our economy and society.

In October 2021-September 2022, the latest data, it was estimated that 257,500 people aged 16 to 64 years in Scotland had never worked, 7.5 per cent of the population. The lowest level and rate since October 2010-September 2011.

The proportion of the population aged 16 to 64 who had never worked had been increasing over time, reaching a peak of 8.8 per cent in October 2015-September 2016. Since then, the proportion has typically been decreasing.

The estimated number and proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in Scotland who have never worked is provided in Table 1. Estimates of the number of people who have never worked are available from 2004 onwards.

Table 1: Estimated number and proportion of the people aged 16-64 who have never worked, Oct 2004-Sep 2005 to Oct 2021-Sep 2022, Scotland

The Scottish Government has regular communication with the UK Government on a range of issues relating to human trafficking and exploitation, including the vacant role of Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.

Section 40 of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 sets out that the Secretary of State must appoint an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.

While we understand that a second appointment round is now underway, the delay in replacing the former Commissioner is unacceptable at a time of UK Government legislation which seeks to prohibit access to vital support and assistance for victims of human trafficking and exploitation in Scotland.

Details of the number of candidates awarded SCQF Level 5 National Progression Award in Beekeeping between 2018 and 2022, broken down by Education Authority are set out in the following table:

As set out in Section 8 of The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020 , SEPA will publish a register of all producers who are registered ahead of the scheme launching.

While data on the number of people in Scotland who have consented to participate in the range of clinical research studies that are supported by Health Boards in Scotland are routinely collected, data on the number of people referred to and screened for enrolment into the range of clinical research studies supported by Health Boards in Scotland are not. Therefore, the percentage of patients put forward for all clinical trials in Scotland that subsequently consent to be enrolled into those trials is not known.