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The Modernising Patient Pathway Programme Coeliac Disease Pathway Test of Change Final Report, September 2020 estimates that the incidence of diagnosed Coeliac Disease is 1% of the population in Scotland with 7-8 people remaining undiagnosed for every person diagnosed.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with long term conditions such as coeliac disease are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put the person at the centre of their care.

We expect all Health Boards to fully implement the Coeliac Disease Pathway in Scotland to improve under diagnosis and improve time to diagnosis for those with coeliac disease. Our £70 million Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan is increasing capacity and supporting workforce training. This also includes a commitment to promote and implement guidelines for non-biopsy diagnosis for coeliac disease, which is expected to reduce waiting times for diagnosis for this condition.

Health Boards have developed plans to increase capacity, workforce and activity. Mobile Endoscopy Units are providing access to an additional six endoscopy rooms to help people get the diagnostic tests they need. Additional activity throughout the week, including weekends, will help reduce diagnostic waits.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to extend free travel to people on employability schemes.

However, we recognise the important role that public transport plays in our lives. Accordingly, we are progressing the Fair Fares Review to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public transport fares that supports the future long term viability of a public transport system that is accessible, available and affordable for people throughout Scotland.

The Fair Fares Review is considering both the cost and availability of services and the range of discounts and concessionary schemes which are available on all modes including bus, rail and ferry to ensure our public transport system is more accessible, available, and affordable, with the costs of transport more fairly shared across government, business, and society.

The Fair Fares Review will report by the end of 2023 and will recommend a package of measures which can be considered for implementation from 2024-25 and onwards. These will provide opportunities to address the wider issues for the cost and availability of public transport services across all modes of public transport.

Information on the number of lone parents receiving Scottish Government funded employability support in each year since 1999 is not held centrally.

Official statistics for Fair Start Scotland (launched April 2018), and experimental statistics for No One Left Behind, our strategic approach to employability delivery (launched April 2019), are published quarterly by the Scottish Government and include data on lone parents. The publication relates only to Scottish Government funded activity data and not the entirety of employability related activity in each local authority area.

The most recent publication was on 22 February 2023 (Scotland's Devolved Employment Services: statistical summary February 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)). Statistics available for lone parents supported are shown below.

Table 1: Number of lone parents joining Fair Start Scotland from year 1 (April 2018 to March 2019) to year 5 so far (April 2022 to December 2022)

The Carer’s Allowance Supplement is a temporary measure to increase support for unpaid carers in Scotland in receipt of Carer’s Allowance until the Scottish replacement for Carer’s Allowance is in place. We have reviewed the eligibility criteria for the Carer’s Allowance Supplement as part of the process to develop proposals for the Carer Support Payment. We intend to continue to pay Carer’s Allowance as it is currently paid until we complete the transfer of all Carer’s Allowance awards from the Department for Work and Pensions to Social Security Scotland and onto Carer Support Payment. This will require changes to the eligibility criteria to ensure that carers in receipt of Carer Support Payment can receive the Carer’s Allowance Supplement automatically in the same way as it is paid to those in Scotland in receipt of Carer’s Allowance during the case transfer period.

A key principle at the heart of our second Benefit Take-Up Strategy, published in October 2021, is communicating and engaging effectively. Evidence-based communication and engagement strategies are developed for each of our benefits and paid-for tailored marketing campaigns for different payments are targeted at eligible audiences at relevant times throughout the year to make sure we are reaching the right people at the right time.

Social Security Scotland is currently running a national marketing campaign to encourage disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to check if they’re eligible for Child or Adult Disability Payments. Other recent Social Security Scotland marketing campaigns have focused on Scottish Child Payment’s extension to under 16 year olds, Young Carer Grant and Funeral Support Payment.

Social Security Scotland does not keep statistics on the total number of BASRiS [Benefits Assessment under Special Rules in Scotland] forms issued or the number received but does publish statistics regularly on the caseload of clients who were eligible for disability benefits via Special Rules for Terminal Illness: Social Security Scotland - Social Security Scotland statistics: publications

The DS1500 is a form produced and issued by the UK Department for Work and Pensions and serves the same purpose as BASRIS. Though it is never issued by Social Security Scotland it is accepted without the need to additionally complete a BASRIS form.

Scottish Government guidance on grant giving requires that all grants be completed by default. Therefore, at any one time, there can be a large amount of grants available, all at different stages of their operational cycle. Each grant fund is managed by a specific policy area within the Scottish Government. To ensure fair and transparent application processes, these funds are advertised as appropriate on the gov.scot website or other specific sites to ensure stakeholders and key specific groups are targeted for applications. The SG does not hold central information at the detailed level of individual scheme operation.

I can confirm that 28 of 32 local authorities charge citizens for technology-enabled care equipment as part of their telecare services.

The Data collated in 2022 also identified that charges range from £1.48 to £8.40 per week for telecare. An annual survey to ascertain current charging levels will be issued to local authorities, via COSLA, during the summer of 2023.

There is no reliable data held or published which we can refer to answer this question: Whilst Public Health Scotland publish the total number of patients waiting for specialist mental health services, detail of the individual types of assessment or diagnosis is not held.

The publications for both CAMHS and Psychological Therapies waiting times for the quarter ending December 2022 can be found at Publications - Public Health Scotland .

The Scottish Government’s National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People sets out seven standards for service providers to ensure that children and young people who have neurodevelopmental profiles with support needs receive the support that they require. The Specification is purposefully inclusive and includes support for those who may be identified with autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.