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The number of people who have purchased a property via the Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE) scheme each year since its launch is set out in the following below:

The Digital Inclusion Fund was initiated in 2020 to enable students who, owing to low incomes, struggled to access online learning during the pandemic.

To date the fund has supported almost 11,000 learners across colleges, universities and within community learning settings. We expect this number to increase on receipt of final reporting on the £5 million investment for 2022-23; which is expected by the end of this academic year.

Traditional skills are promoted in a number of ways by non-departmental public bodies such as Skills Development Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland. These include apprenticeships, which are a key way for employers to invest in their workforce and provide skills that the economy needs now and in the future, as underlined by our commitment to a skilled workforce set out in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

As part of the Scottish Government’s Youth Employment Strategy, Developing the Young Workforce, we have worked with employers and sector bodies to develop a programme called “Build Your Future” that promotes careers in construction and heritage skills, including stonemasonry, to young people through construction skills tasters.

A short life working group is currently being led by Historic Environment Scotland to identify how sustainable models of stonemasonry training can be developed in Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland also directly supports and works with organisations across Scotland to promote skilled heritage jobs through provision of advice, support and mentoring. Through its grants programmes, Historic Environment Scotland also directly supports the employment of skilled craftspeople on third party projects, as well as requiring grant recipients to engage in education, training and outreach to promote skilled heritage jobs.

Electricity networks are a reserved matter and the Scottish Government has no role in determining how network infrastructure is delivered.

Scottish Government officials meet with Scottish Power Energy Networks and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues pertaining to the delivery of Scotland’s net zero targets and we encourage networks companies to work collaboratively with all stakeholders including Network Rail.

Improvements to the A702/A703 junction were made in early 2012 to simplify the layout to reduce the number of southbound lanes on the A702 on the approach to the junction with Old Pentland Road. In addition, footway build-outs were formed to improve sightlines for drivers joining the A702 from the side roads. These measures were carried alongside high friction surfacing and road marking enhancements being introduced at the junction.

Design work to install traffic signals at the junction is ongoing, with a preferred option being agreed by both Transport Scotland and Midlothian Council in 2022. A detailed design is programmed to begin in the coming financial year, which will take into account the numerous site constraints at this location .

The number of homes built through the Rural and Islands Housing Fund in each year since 2016-17, broken down by rural (mainland) and islands is provided in the following table. There are also a further 141 units through the fund that have been approved or are on-site. The Rural and Island Housing Fund plays an important role in offering support to community organisations and others to deliver affordable homes, while complementing the delivery through our mainstream programme by Councils and Registered Social Landlords. More than 6,000 homes have been delivered over the course of the previous Parliament in rural and island areas.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14348 on 31 January 2023. 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

Interaction of utility and rail infrastructure is a commercial issue that is managed through contracts between those parties involved. The Scottish Government has no role in those commercial discussions, although if concerns are brought to our attention Scottish Government officials will seek to understand the basis of those concerns and reach out to relevant parties to encourage a swift solution.

As at 23 January 2023, the Office of the Public Guardian are processing the following Power of Attorney applications:

• Electronic (EPOAR) submissions received on 25 May 2022
• Postal submissions received around 10 June 22

An expedited service is available for Power of Attorney applications that are to be processed urgently. Urgent applications will usually be processed within five working days.

I also refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13059 on 9 January 2023. 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

The Scottish Government published a National Carers Strategy on 21 December. This sets out a cross-government approach to tackling issues that affect carers, including through health and social care policies. The Strategy sets out our intentions regarding carers’ healthcare at chapter 3. We will consider how to provide flexible health appointments for carers, including how we provide replacement care for appointments as part of the implementation process of the Strategy.

There are already a range of services in place that can support unpaid carers to better manage their health. Some have a carer-specific focus, while others are more general. The Scottish Government will continue to raise awareness of these services among unpaid carers and will ensure that our health services consider the needs of carers. Taking a strategic approach to this will support a joined-up approach that supports all aspects of carers’ lives, and this will be done under the auspices of the National Carers Strategy.