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The number of people who have been rejected for Home Energy Scotland loans as a result of poor credit scores is 886 out of a total of 9335 applications since 2017.

The Scottish Government expects all local authorities to comply with the school food and drink Regulations which are based on up to date scientific evidence and dietary advice about what energy and nutrients children and young people need in order to grow and develop healthily. The Regulations provide detailed specifications that must be met as food and drink is offered in schools and the accompanying guidance ‘Healthy Eating in Schools’ provides practical advice about how to meet the Regulations. The Regulations and guidance include specifications for and advice on meat provision in schools.

As long as the Regulations are being met, it is for local authorities to decide what meals to include on menus and as such the Scottish Government do not routinely monitor school menus. We have not been contacted by parents from Dumfries and Galloway about this matter. If parents do raise concerns about school menus we advise them to provide feedback to their local authority who can take this into account as they develop future menus.

When householders contact Home Energy Scotland, they are advised on the range of support schemes available, including whether they may be eligible for grant funded schemes such as Warmer Homes Scotland and the Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Schemes, before being directed to the HES loan scheme.

Even if funding is not available through these schemes, Home Energy Scotland will offer free and impartial energy efficiency advice on how to keep the home warmer and more affordable to heat. Tariff advice is also offered to ensure that households are on the most cost effective tariff for their circumstances and all callers are offered a benefit check. This is to ensure that, no matter what their income, they are receiving all the support they are entitled to.

Earlier this year, we published our draft Heat in Buildings Strategy setting out our ambition to transition 1 million homes to zero emissions heating by 2030 and to ensure all buildings achieve a good level of energy efficiency by 2035. Responses to the public consultation are now being analysed.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. It would be a matter for individual GP practices in England to decide whether or not to register patients outside their practice areas.

Scottish Government officials work closely with transport operators and disabled peoples organisations to improve the experience of disabled passengers and remove the barriers which prevent them from travelling, or make their journey an unpleasant experience.

Significant progress has been made since the creation of the Accessible Travel Framework in 2016 to remove or reduce barriers to travel but we are cognisant that more can still be done. Through engagement with disabled people and their organisations we are aware that the lack of accessible toilets in and around transport hubs can be a contributing factor to preventing people from travelling.

The Ferries Accessibility Fund awarded funding of around £427,000 towards a range of projects to improve accessibility across the ferry network which included changing places facilities on vessels on both the Northern Isles and Clyde & Hebrides ferry networks. Rail accessibility remains a reserved matter to the UK Government under the Devolution Settlement, however Transport Scotland continues to work closely with Train Operating Companies and Network Rail to ensure the provision of accessible toilets in rail stations and rolling stock remains compliant with the Design Standards for Accessible Railway Stations and Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations.

Teachers’ terms and conditions stipulate that composite classes cannot exceed 25 pupils. Local authorities have flexibility over how year groups should be balanced within a composite class.

The Scottish Government’s view is that the quality of the teacher and the organisation of the class to meet the range of children’s learning needs are more important factors in the success of children in composite classes, than the composition of the classes themselves. There are no plans to review the arrangements for composite classes.

National maximum class sizes for different types of class are set through legislation or in teachers’ terms and conditions. Any additional provision, for example, for small schools, is a matter of local policy.

The Scottish Government has had no formal discussions with Dumfries & Galloway Council regarding its policy on staff thresholds in small rural schools.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing all of the recommendations of Baroness Cumberlege’s Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, entitled First Do No Harm, where they relate to the responsibilities of the Scottish Government. The steps being taken to achieve this are set out in the Scottish Government’s Delivery Plan - published on 24 March..

The Delivery Plan describes a programme of work based on a multi-layered approach to rapidly reduce, and eventually eradicate, harm associated with mesh, sodium valproate and Primidos applicable and relevant to the Scottish context. To do this, the Scottish Government will work collaboratively with colleagues across the NHS and representative groups to agree and implement this work programme across Scotland.

In relation to sodium valproate specifically, through implementation of the Neurological Care and Support Framework , the Scottish Government is funding the development of an epilepsy register in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Tayside and NHS Lanarkshire, with a view to roll out across all NHS Boards in Scotland. Initial discussions have been held regarding the potential to link with UK-wide data sets facilitated by MHRA, in order to ensure alignment with a UK-wide valproate registry.

The one-off payment will be made following completion of teachers’ and lecturers’ work in relation to the Alternative Certification Model. We are continuing to work with partners to finalise the details and delivery mechanisms for the payment which will be announced in due course.

Following the criminal cyber-attack on SEPA in December 2020, the Scottish Government is working with SEPA, Police Scotland, the National Cyber Security Centre and the Scottish Business Resilience Centre, to a clear recovery strategy in response to a complex and sophisticated cyber-attack.

As part of this recovery strategy, frontline regulatory and flood warning services continue to be prioritised. SEPA’s Floodline and Pollution Hotline contact points continue to operate. The agency has increased resource to respond to customer enquiries, with customer enquiry backlogs, in areas such as environmental incident and permitting, being cleared.

SEPA has advised that regulatory teams have been deployed on over 170 occasions since January. Furthermore, 154 flood guidance statements have been issued and over 1045 regional flood alerts and local flood warnings have been issued.

SEPA has reported that since January, over 1,650 industrial pollution prevention and control, water environment, waste and other authorisations have been issued, with new high volume online services introduced for registrations of septic tanks. The Agency has completed or is progressing 304 planning cases to support Scotland’s recovery, engaging with 33 of 39 local councils to date.