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The Scottish Government began stage one of the review of Adult Disability Payment in 2022, by engaging with academics and people with lived experience.

We have engaged with disabled people through our experience panels and with stakeholders to inform the parameters of the review. Stage one of the review will soon seek a broad range of views on the eligibility criteria for the mobility component of Adult Disability Payment as part of a public consultation.

The consultation will open shortly and will run for 3 months. People will have the opportunity to engage with the consultation through a series of consultation events in the coming months.

The results of the consultation will be independently analysed and we will publish the analysis of the consultation and the responses received, where the respondent has given us permission to do so.

The findings will be used to inform Stage Two, the independent review of Adult Disability Payment beginning later in 2023.

We have also encouraged veterans to self-declare through a number of data collection activities. Scotland's Census 2022 included for the first time a question on previous service in the UK Armed Forces. Census data will help to support a better understanding of the veterans community in Scotland including numbers, location, employment status, housing and other needs such as healthcare and education. Analysis of the Census outputs, expected in 2024, will help to inform policy development and targeted support.

We also identified opportunities for more regular data collection on veterans by adding the same Census question to our three major household surveys: Scottish Household Survey, Scottish Health Survey and Scottish Crime and Justice Survey. This will improve considerably our understanding of the profile, circumstances and needs of veterans in Scotland, which in turn will help inform policy and services. Each of the surveys also collate re-contact samples, consisting of those who consent to being included in future research. This will give us the option to utilise this sample to carry out more in-depth research with respondents who identify as veterans.

Finally, the Scottish Government has supported work being done at a UK Government level to undertake a scoping study for provision of digital verification of veteran status and to which during 2022 we supported and contributed to the project’s Discovery Phase. We will continue to support the work as it progresses which will make it easier for all veterans to identify as such when accessing services and support. Finally, we have worked with colleagues in the Office for National Statistics, the Office for Veterans' Affairs and the devolved administrations to develop the first UK-wide Veterans’ Survey. The online survey is collecting information from veterans of the UK Armed Forces to help us understand current access to and perception of services in addition to veterans’ experiences and circumstances. The survey launched on 10 November 2022 and findings are expected by summer 2023.

It should, of course, be noted that veterans reserve the right not to declare their veteran status.

This Government firmly believes that every child growing up in Scotland, regardless of their background or gender, should have an equal chance of attending university and participating in higher education.

To date we have made progress on work to support fair access to higher education. The number of students attending university from the most deprived areas in Scotland is at a record high and we have exceeded the Commission on Widening Access target to have 16% of students from the most deprived areas at university by 2021. We recently appointed a new Commissioner for Fair Access, Professor John McKendrick, to continue to progress this important agenda.

Scottish universities are covered by the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), which requires them to, amongst other things, report on mainstreaming the equality duty; publish equality outcomes and report progress; and assess and review policies and practices.

As part of its March 2020 Memorandum of Understanding with the EHRC, the Scottish Funding Council developed a National Equality Outcomes framework to address the most persistent inequalities in further and higher education (HE) that institutions are asked to consider and report on as part of the 2021-25 PSED reporting cycle.

Sex, as one of the nine protected characteristics under The Equality Act (2010), is considered as part of the National Equality Outcomes, with outcomes including sex imbalance on courses and mental health support for male students.

The Scottish Government is committed to the production of a Student Mental Health Plan to support all students in further and higher education throughout their learner journey.

The Student Mental Health Plan will sit within and link to the wider actions across Scottish Government, including our Suicide Prevention Strategy, ‘ Creating Hope Together ’ which was developed and published in collaboration with COSLA in September 2022, and our forthcoming Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

Analysis of the responses to the 2020 Health and Social Care Staff Wellbeing Survey, by protected characteristics, was completed in 2021. The results did not show any significant differences in the wellbeing of staff from under-represented groups, compared to other groups of staff and compared to the general well-being of under-represented groups in the general population.

Demographic questions, including on ethnicity were included in the 2021 and 2022 iMatter Health and Social Care Staff Experience Continuous Improvement Model questionnaires for the first time.

The demographic analysis is scheduled to be available later this year. This will allow Health Boards to put action plans in place to deliver improvements, where needed, for under-represented groups.

The demographic questions replicate the 2022 Scottish Census questions, meaning that direct comparisons of the workforce to the population can be made.’

The Scottish Government continues to work with the Veterans in Custody Support Officer network to encourage breakfast clubs for veterans in Prison.

In 2020-21, the Scottish Veterans Fund provided funding to the Lothian Veterans Centre to run a weekly lunch-time club for older veterans providing a welcoming environment for companionship and peer support. More generally, the Scottish Veterans Fund has provided funding to several projects which provide support to veterans to integrate into the local community, such as an activity co-ordinator for veterans in FirstLight Café in Falkirk, or away days for veterans in the Huntly region through Networks of Wellbeing.

Regional transport strategies and developments, including their impact assessments, are led by the local authority and its Regional Transport Partnerships. We are aware that Glasgow City Council published its Glasgow Transport Strategy last year, with numerous policies addressing integration of transport.

The Scottish Government completes impact assessments and appraisals on its national policy and regulatory development, including for the smart and integrated ticketing measures in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, the second National Transport Strategy, and the second Strategic Transport Projects Review. The Scottish Government is also progressing the Fair Fares Review which will develop and assess options to create a fairer, more transparent system of fares across all modes that maintain and increase affordability for those who need it most.

We have published a housing guide which provides information about housing in Scotland and contacts of organisations who may be able to help Armed Forces and ex-service personnel obtain housing suitable for their needs. The guide also directs veterans to the Veterans Gateway which provides information on support to veterans and their families including housing and independent living.

The exact information requested is not held centrally or by Public Health Scotland. Detailed below are published information that are available and relevant:

1. Estimates of the number of homeless deaths registered in Scotland during 2021 are published by the National Records of Scotland. These data include breakdowns by sex and age-group, council area and cause of death, but have no information on whether they were receiving NHS treatment. These figures are also based on a wider definition of homelessness than people with no fixed abode. The publication can be found here: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/deaths/homeless-deaths/2021

2. Published figures on numbers of patients with “no fixed abode” that have been admitted to hospital can be found within the within the Annual Acute Activity publication. Published data is available for a ten year period, from financial year 2012/13 to financial year 2021/22. Data on patient activity is presented in Table 2 – inpatient and day case activity, and the measure of interest can be found by selecting the NHS board of residence in the indicator drop down and either stays, episodes or patients within the measure drop down. Figures where ‘no fixed abode’ will then be listed in the table. The publication can be found here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual-annual-year-ending-31-march-2022/

It should be noted that Transition is a Reserved matter. We hold regular discussions with Veterans UK and the Ministry of Defence to ensure there is consistency in the messaging provided to veterans and people leaving the Armed Forces.

Furthermore, as part of our stakeholder communications plan, we ensure that third party organisations, including those that support veterans, understand the overlaps and are in a position to adequately advise and assist veterans during their interactions with Social Security Scotland or the UK Government agencies administering reserved benefits.

The Scottish Government has designed the application guidance for Scottish Government benefits to provide comprehensive information on entitlement. Similarly, signposting is included to refer clients to the relevant agencies for reserved benefits where appropriate. Adult Disability Payment launched in August last year. The application form asks clients about their possible entitlement to Armed Forces Independence Payment, War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement and War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance. Where appropriate, clients are then directed to Veterans UK for further advice. We have also worked with Veterans UK to develop an information sharing process between the organisation and Social Security Scotland. This is intended to ensure that veterans can efficiently access the support to which they are entitled.

The Scottish Government provided £3,000 in 2020-21 to Legion Scotland to deliver Befriending and Mental Health First Aid training to individuals from the veterans community, including breakfast club volunteers. These sessions were initially delayed due to the pandemic. However, Legion Scotland successfully delivered the Mental Health First Aid training in March 2022. The planned Befriending courses were cancelled due to lockdown and the funding initially allocated was refunded to Legion Scotland and re-purposed to support the delivery of the MHFA training. In total, 28 people attended the courses including several admin staff from multiple breakfast clubs.