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The Scottish Government monitors Warmworks' delivery across Scotland against key performance indicators including 'referral to completion' split by region. There had been delays in providing assessments due to high demand following launch of the scheme’s new phase in October 2023. Warmworks have now significantly increased their assessor capacity and the current expected wait time for a Warmer Homes Scotland assessment for a customer in the Islands is now six weeks.

As of 19 June 2024, there are scheduled court dates for 45 Fatal Accident Inquiries where proceedings have been initiated (relating to 26 mandatory and 19 discretionary FAIs). There are also a further 14 Inquiries in which evidence has been concluded and the issuing of the Sheriff’s Determination is awaited. In addition, COPFS has 219 death investigations where FAI proceedings have not yet commenced or where court dates have not yet been fixed. Of these, 213 relate to ongoing investigations where a mandatory FAI requires to be held and 6 to investigations where I have instructed that a discretionary FAI is to be held.

These figures do not include cases where enquiries are ongoing and where a decision on the holding of a discretionary FAI will be taken at the conclusion of the investigation.

Before commencing an FAI, COPFS requires to conduct a thorough examination of the whole circumstances surrounding a death. There are often a number of complex factors to take into account including the need to await and consider expert evidence or reports from other agencies, such as the Health and Safety Executive, The National Health Service, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the Scottish Prison Service, the Office of the Rail Regulator and many others. It can often take several years for these agencies to produce their reports to COPFS.

COPFS understands the impact that the delay in holding an FAI can have on bereaved families and is committed to working in partnership with all other agencies involved in death investigation to reduce the length of time it takes to initiate and conclude FAI’s.

Upon the request of the Scottish Government, research was conducted between March 2023 and March 2024 to model the impact of a reduction in meat and dairy intakes on the nation’s micronutrient intake. This work was led by Food Standards Scotland (FSS), in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, in response to the Climate Change Committee (CCC)’s recommendation in the publication, Progress in reducing emissions in Scotland, 2022 Report to Parliament . It revealed that Scotland could make significant progress towards the CCC targets for reduction in meat consumption by following existing dietary advice shown in the Eatwell Guide. The Scottish Government and FSS are seeking to carry out additional research dedicated to assessing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with dietary intakes as part a review of the Scottish Dietary Goals (SDG) in 2024-25. Additionally, the Scottish Government is engaging the CCC to explore the evidence base which has informed the Committee’s recommendation in the publication, Progress in reducing emissions in Scotland, 2023 Report to Parliament .

Detailed design of traffic signals for the A702/A703/Old Pentland Road junction is currently being carried out by specialist engineers. Provided no issues arise through the detailed design process and resources are available, construction of these improvements is programmed to begin this financial year. We are continuing to liaise with Midlothian Council to coordinate these works with other projects affecting the A702. The start date of the construction of these works will be planned to reduce disruption wherever possible.

The A704 is not part of the trunk road network and is the responsibility of the Local Authority, in this case West Lothian Council. Any investment plans for this road would be for them to comment on.

Transport Scotland will review Amey’s treatment of graffiti on the South West Trunk Roads Network against their contractual requirements. We are supportive of using street art to deter undesirable graffiti on trunk road structures. Work has already been commissioned for various structures within the Glasgow area with final designs having already been submitted by street artists for approval.

The length of residential rehabilitation treatments varies substantially. This data on individual placements is not collated centrally. The Scottish Government have commissioned PHS to establish the necessary data infrastructure to monitor residential rehab in Scotland. It will include more detailed information on treatment length. This monitoring data is not yet available.

There are no current plans to extend the provisions of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 to cover volunteers in the NHS. There is a staff in scope list available on the Scottish Government website which confirms the professions and services that are covered within the Health section of the Act.

Volunteers in health care services are not referred to in the Act and volunteers who do work in clinical roles in health care, for example as community first responders, while performing an important role, have no minimum contractual requirement, are not rostered on shifts and do not replace clinical employees. For these reasons they are not considered to be within the scope of the Act.

The Act commenced in April 2024 and the Scottish Government and Healthcare Improvement Scotland have been engaging extensively with Health Boards to help them prepare to meet the duties of the Act. The Act is in it’s infancy and the Scottish Government will review it only once several years of data is available to inform a coherent review.

The Scottish Government is currently working to publish the Hydrogen Sector Export Plan (HSEP) after Summer recess. The publication of the HSEP had been previously planned to take place in June 2024. However, the timetable for publication was revisited due to the start of the pre-electoral period on the 25 May 2024 which prevented official publications during this period.

The planning system in Scotland has undergone significant reform in recent years with the introduction of new legislation, policy and guidance. The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 made changes to development planning and consenting regimes to strengthen decision making and enable the delivery of high-quality development. National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) was published in February 2023, following extensive public and Parliamentary consultation and scrutiny. NPF4 Policy 16, Quality Homes, takes an all tenure approach to supporting more quality homes, emphasising delivery and the plan-led approach.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Planner and I published a letter to stakeholders on 27 June 2024, providing further clarification on implementation of NPF4 and policy 16 Quality Homes, and emphasising the need for positive and constructive collaboration across sectors to support delivery.

Following our recent public consultation on Investing in Planning, we are working with partners to progress a range of actions to increase the capacity and improve the performance of planning services. Key actions will be set out in due course.

City of Edinburgh Council received £5.3m in 2023-2024 of Area Based Scheme funding from the Scottish Government. Private homeowners are also able to access interest-free loans from Home Energy Scotland and should contact Home Energy Scotland either by calling 0808 808 2282 or by emailing Contact Home Energy Scotland .