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The Programme for Government 2022 to 2023 on 6 September 2022, outlined that a dedicated Food Security Unit would be established within the Scottish Government with a view to monitoring ongoing supply chain vulnerabilities and linking with future food security work’. The Food Security unit is in the process of being established.

However, until the unit is officially established and underway, work is being taken forward by officials in regards to food security including the completion of other recommendations from the Short Life Food Security and Supply Taskforce Report as well as regular engagement with the Food and Drink industry.

The Scottish Government takes the topic of food security in Scotland seriously and I, as well as my fellow Scottish Ministers continue to press the UK Government, urging them to take action immediately on particular issues they have control over. I also recently wrote to the UK Government again to highlight the cumulative impact on the food and drink sector of labour and skills shortages and now rising costs.

We also continue to have a range of regular engagement with the EU, including on the important issue of food security and the associated work of the European Food Security Crisis preparedness and response Mechanism.

Scottish Ministers and officials will continue to work closely with industry representatives, and continue to engage across the sectors and governments in relation to food security and supply issues.

There are over 300 Properties in Care managed by Historic Environment Scotland, the vast majority of which are currently open and with free entry to visitors. Providing access to our world-renowned historic sites, particularly during the cost-of-living crisis, is one of the ways we can make cultural places accessible, understood, shared and enjoyed by everyone.

I will continue discussing future potential approaches for our Properties in Care with Historic Environment Scotland.

We are currently in initial stages of scoping a ‘Percentage for the Arts’ scheme, which would channel a small percentage of spending on all new public buildings and spaces into support for arts and culture. This work will require significant engagement and consultation with the culture, creative and heritage sectors, local authorities, and across Government, to put in place assessments of the legal, analytical, regulatory, and financial issues. Consideration must also be given to the environmental and equalities impacts of the scheme.

Continued partnership is at the core of delivering and improving the Super Sponsor Scheme. The Scottish Government is grateful to the continued work of local authorities, including City of Edinburgh Council, in their support to displaced people who have had to flee their homeland.

The Scottish Government understand that arrangements underpinning the Super Sponsor Scheme have incurred costs which could be considered out of scope of the various UK tariffs. We continue to urge the UK Government to have parity of funding no matter the route through which someone arrives.

Officials are in discussions with COSLA to finalise a framework through which local authorities will be reimbursed for costs incurred due to the super sponsor scheme as well as engaging directly with City of Edinburgh council to understand and agree costs incurred by the council since the scheme opened for applications.

The Scottish Government would like to offer reassurance that reasonable costs associated with the super sponsor scheme will be met by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government does not fund the costs of private dental treatment. The budget for NHS General Dental Services is entirely for NHS dentistry.

Private dental care was subject to the same infection prevention controls that reduced access to dental services during the pandemic period.

The Scottish Government has no functions concerning the legal protections in place to protect disabled people from disability discrimination during the employment-seeking process. These functions are reserved to the UK Parliament, as set out in Section 5 of the Scotland Act 1998. More information is available on the Scottish Parliaments website( https://www.parliament.scot/about/how-parliament-works/devolved-and-reserved-powers )

We are committed to broadening the range of people represented in Scotland’s public places, in particular the contribution of women and ethnic minorities. We will work with Creative Scotland, whose remit includes public art, on what form a fund would take and how a fund might best be deployed within available resources. The effects of the pandemic and the current cost crisis facing the culture sector, along with the challenging outlook for public expenditure, mean that we do not have a confirmed timeframe for when this will be in place.

We welcome the recommendations made within the recent Scottish stakeholder review of the ME/CFS NICE guideline and are working with stakeholders on how best to implement these. The report was produced independently by Blake Stevenson Ltd to present the views gathered during a stakeholder engagement exercise commissioned by the Scottish Government.

This information requested is not held centrally.

This information is not centrally held. While the Scottish Government’s role is to set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally have responsibility for both service delivery and people’s care. NHS Boards are expected to ensure that patients, including those who require care and support for ME/CFS, have access to a range of professionals to provide the appropriate management of their condition.

Given the range of symptoms which can be experienced with ME/CFS, we know there is no ‘one-size fits all’ response and our approach is to support people to access care and support in a setting that is appropriate and as close to their home as is practicable.

Our strengthening of the primary care workforce through recruitment of multi-disciplinary teams is making it easier for people to access this type of care and support. We have now recruited over 3,220 professionals, including community nurses and physiotherapists, with increased funding of £170m in 2022-23 to support further development of multi-disciplinary teams.