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The Scottish Government regularly engages with the UK Government and devolved government administrations in respect of student financial support matters. However, we have not been made aware of any issues relating to the conduct of Erudio Student Loans debt recovery practices that are impacting on Scottish borrowers.

If the member is aware of any specific issues for Scottish borrowers, they should be advised to contact Erudio Student Loans directly to raise their concerns. If, following that, they are not satisfied with the response then the issue can be taken to the Financial Ombudsman Service to consider.

The Scottish Government does not receive information on the number of people in Scotland who have loans payable to Erudio Student Loans Company.

The Scottish Government Programme for Government made the commitment to consult on phasing out the use cages for gamebirds and laying hens. This work is now progressing and the consultation on phasing out cages for laying hens and the call for evidence on gamebirds and quail are expected to go live in the early spring.

The proposed consultation on phasing out farrowing crates for pigs was originally intended to have been delivered jointly across all UK administrations. However, progress on a number of important pieces of animal welfare legislation have been significantly delayed or has ceased due to delays in UK Government timetabling, such as the Kept Animals Bill. DEFRA have confirmed that it now has no immediate plans to take forward the work on farrowing crates.

Regardless, the Scottish Government is pressing ahead on improving the welfare of all animals in Scotland, including pigs, and on 20 November 2023 published the Scottish Government Guidance for the Welfare of Pigs . We are also in the process of updating the Welfare of Farmed Animals (Scotland) Regulations 2010 to include this updated pigs’ welfare guidance.

We continue to listen and work with the industry and stakeholders on how best to achieve improvements in animal welfare as well as monitoring industry information to allow us to determine how to ensure best practice is delivered.

This information is not held centrally. This is a matter for Public Health Scotland (PHS), which, through the Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP), is responsible for oversight and leadership of vaccine delivery in Scotland. The Scottish Government is part of SVIP and is working closely with PHS and NHS Boards to support increased uptake of both doses of the free MMR vaccine to keep people safe from measles by preventing the spread of this very serious disease.

The Scottish Government is aware of the temporary reduction in beds at Kilbryde Hospice.

South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) has been clear that the temporary reduction of beds is due to clinical and operational reasons associated with current staffing challenges and are undertaking work to address this.

It is the responsibility of Integration Joint Boards to plan and commission adult palliative and end of life care services for their areas using the integrated budgets under their control, including workforce planning and allocating resources for staffing.

The Scottish Government is open to considering all options and will continue to work with the industry and other stakeholders to achieve improvements in pig welfare.

This is a matter for Public Health Scotland (PHS) as our national health protection body. Given the serious nature of measles and the current risk of importation and onward transmission, the Scottish Government is working with Public Health Scotland and NHS Boards through the Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP) on a range of measures to promote vaccination uptake.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with the industry and stakeholders to find ways for producers to transition towards implementing improved animal welfare methods and practices.

The Scottish Government welcomed the Committee’s thorough and wide-ranging report and we are committed to working with local government to deliver our shared climate change goals.

Following the Committee’s Inquiry, COSLA and the Scottish Government is working collaboratively to develop a Climate Delivery Framework to agree shared approaches to delivering action on climate change. As recommended by the Committee, we have also established a Scottish Climate Intelligence Service (SCIS) jointly funded with local government, which will help build the capacity of local authorities to reduce area wide emissions. A single data platform, currently being procured, will enable consistency of approach and adoption of best practice methodologies across local authorities and their delivery partners. This will provide all 32 local authorities with data-informed evidence, insights and intelligence they need for continuous improvement of their climate action plans.

The Scottish Government does not hold information about the types or numbers of funeral services in Scotland and does not make an assessment of trends in funeral choices.

Unattended funerals are most often direct cremations where there is no funeral service at a crematorium. Sometimes these are arranged as a preference by the deceased or by their relatives who might arrange a separate wake or celebration of the deceased’s life.

According to the recent Sunlife Cost of Dying report published in January 2024, the cost of a basic funeral rose from £3,953 in 2022 to £4,141 in 2023, an increase of 4.7%. The report shows there has been an increase in direct cremations over the past five years with 3% of funerals described as a direct cremation in 2019, rising to 20% in 2023. Direct cremations are often seen as a more affordable option but according to the Sunlife report there are various other reasons for choosing this option; this is often requested by the deceased or chosen because it is simpler to organise.

Issues relating to pricing and consumer protection are reserved to the UK Government. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) publish an annual review of market outcomes in the UK funerals sector and the most recent is available at: Review of funerals sector - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . Officials continue to engage with the CMA as required in relation to their Funeral Markets Investigation and the upcoming regulations for inspection of the funeral industry and licensing of funeral directors being made under the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016.