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The Homelessness in Scotland statistics series reports data from the HL1 (homelessness applications), HL2 (snapshot temporary accommodation) and HL3 (placement level temporary accommodation) data collections.

Information on the number of children within the household applying for homelessness support and in temporary accommodation is currently collected and reported on through the HL1 and HL2 collections respectively.

Data is published in the Homelessness in Scotland statistics series. Data is published on a 6-monthly basis, with the most recent publication relating to the annual data for 2020-21. Table 15 of the latest publication reports the number of children in homelessness applications and Table 27 reports the number of children in temporary accommodation as at the end of a quarter. A link to the latest publication can be found here:

Homelessness in Scotland: 2020 to 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

An additional question was added to the HL3 data collection in 2019 to gather information on the number of children living in temporary accommodation placements. However, not all local authorities have so far been able to provide this information as there is a lead in time required to update local authority management information systems and data extraction processes. Scottish Government are continuing to work closely with local authorities to assist with the provision of this data and understand timescales for when this can be made available.

In terms of daily dosage amounts, our advice is a supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D (400 IU). This applies to adults and children over one year of age. Ten micrograms per day is the average amount needed by the majority (97.5%) of the population to maintain adequate vitamin D levels when UVB sunlight exposure is minimal. This is to maintain bone and muscle health and is based on the recommendations of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), as set out in its 2016 report Vitamin D and Health. SACN advises all devolved nations and UK Government on nutrition related matters.

The report is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-vitamin-d-and-health-report

Further information on our current advice on vitamin D is available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/vitamin-d-advice-for-all-age-groups/

SACN published an updated rapid review on Vitamin D and acute respiratory tractinfections on 17 December 2020. SACN recommended the reference nutrient intake for vitamin D remain unchanged at 10 micrograms per day.

The rapid review is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-rapid-review-vitamin-d-and-acute-respiratory-tract-infections

We currently have no plans to revise our advice on vitamin D supplementation. We will continue to be guided by SACN as the evidence on vitamin D develops.

The exact information requested is not available centrally. The following table shows number of people reported on HL1 applications. applying for Local Authority assistance and presenting as homeless or threatened with homelessness, each year between 2016-17 and 2019-20 and their attendance at Accident and Emergency Departments in the 6 months before and after assessment decision date. The information presented is limited to 11 Local Authorities and the years shown.

The information in the table below will also exclude any homeless people or rough sleepers who attended Accident and Emergency Departments, but did not apply for Local Authority homelessness assistance.

Table 1: A&E attendances in the period before and after HL1 assessment decision date by financial year of the decision date.

Scottish Ministers intend to bring forward updated guidance on home education. As part of the follow up to the publication of this guidance, consideration will be given to what support is needed to ensure its successful application.

Equality impact assessments have been carried out where appropriate in relation to the levels approach in Coronavirus (Covid-19): Scotland’s Strategic Framework, including following its updates in February and June 2021.

In section 126 of Scottish Planning Policy, affordable housing is defined broadly as housing of a reasonable quality that is affordable to people on modest incomes and this includes social rented accommodation, mid-market rented accommodation, shared ownership housing, shared equity housing, housing sold at a discount (including plots for self-build), and low cost housing without subsidy.

The Scottish Planning Policy definition is therefore at a high level, since it will apply across a variety of housing types and areas. While the definition of affordable housing includes reference to people on modest incomes this term is not defined as affordability can be affected by a range of factors such as tenure, income and location.

Further advice on the types of affordable housing that can contribute to affordable housing requirements is set out in Planning Advice 2/2010 - https://www.gov.scot/publications/planning-advice-note-2-2010-affordable-housing-housing-land-audits/

As there is no universally accepted definition of rent affordability, Housing to 2040, Scotland’s first long-term housing strategy, which was published in March 2021 includes a commitment to work with stakeholders to develop a shared understanding of affordability which is fit for the future

Plans for future legislation are set out in the annual legislative programme announced in the Programme for Government.

We remain fully committed to restricting the promotion and marketing of foods high in fat, sugar or salt where they are sold to the public. Work is continuing to further improve the evidence base to underpin the proposals and we continue to engage with the other administrations in the UK to explore the scope for the possible alignment of policy and legislation.

On 1 December 2020 Joe Fitzpatrick, the then Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing commissioned leading HIV experts to deliver a proposal for how Scotland can become one of the first countries to eliminate HIV transmission by 2030.

This proposal will form the basis for a framework to eliminate HIV by 2030, which was a commitment in the 2021 SNP manifesto. It will contain advice on definitions, targets and monitoring outcomes, as well as ways to ensure capacity to report timely data. It will also consider current HIV epidemiology, detection and testing to find undiagnosed HIV. Interventions designed to prevent HIV transmission through differing routes will be reviewed, most notably through sharing of injecting equipment and sexual transmission. As this is a complex subject, the work to develop the proposal will take place over the remainder of 2021 and will be shaped by a wide variety of stakeholders, including clinicians, third sector organisations and people living with HIV.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving and embedding inclusive communication within Government and across public bodies, this is a focus of one of our Equality Outcomes for the 2021-25 reporting period, as well as being a 2020 PfG commitment. The Scottish Government intends all local and national services to be accessible to all citizens in Scotland, regardless of circumstances of an individual service user.

We expect local and national bodies to consider on an ongoing basis the needs of people who do not speak or access English as their first language. In the immediate term, we are currently developing a human rights and equalities mainstreaming strategy which will explore key themes such as effective communications and we expect that spoken language interpreting will form a significant part of these considerations.

Data sharing between the UK Government’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Social Security Scotland is an important element of the current devolution settlement. It allows the Scottish Government to top up reserved benefits in line with the provisions of the Scotland Act 2016. It also ensures that both governments can correctly pay people the “passported” benefits to which they are entitled because they are receiving other reserved and devolved benefits. As we will be required to share data for as long as the current devolution settlement exists, a shared protocol is desirable given the multiple complex interactions between devolved Scottish and reserved UK benefits and entitlements.

We have begun work with the DWP on a joint data strategy to inform our approach to data sharing in future.