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The Scottish Government remains committed to addressing labour market inequalities for racialised minorities. Our Anti-Racist Employment Strategy published in December 2022 supports and encourages employers to address these inequalities. It provides guidance on improving data as well as recruitment, retention and progression practices to improve the representation and experience of racialised minority staff.

The strategy further sets out a series of actions for the Scottish Government, including developing an anti-racism workplace training framework; supporting employers in their use of positive action measures; and continuing to engage with public sector leadership on recruitment and representation, data and on understanding institutional racism.

The Scottish Government is also currently reviewing the operation of the Public Sector Equality Duty in Scotland with a view to improving the Scottish Specific Duties, including data reporting on ethnicity. We have consulted on proposals which include extending the existing gender pay gap reporting duty to ethnicity and disability, with listed public authorities required to make more evidence-based decisions on the information they publish.

It is proposed that the carbon capture project at Peterhead Power Station would connect into the CCS infrastructure being developed by the Acorn Project and the wider Scottish Cluster. This would see its emissions transported through shared pipelines and safely stored under the North Sea.

The education and skills system is critical to the delivery of a just transition and the further education sector is actively supporting individuals to gain the skills and knowledge they need to participate in the green economy.

Our forthcoming Just Transition Plans will set out where the Scottish Government, partners in the private sector and educational providers can further support this ambition.

Additionally, the Scottish Funding Council’s Net Zero and Sustainability Framework for Action sets out the long-term plan to support the sector transition to net zero.

The Home Report single survey is based on a visual inspection of the home by a chartered surveyor. It provides information about the home, its condition, its accessibility and any repairs needed. Any defects identified during the property inspection would be noted in the survey report as well as any limitations to the inspection carried out. The Home Report is not a guarantee of the condition of the property, but it does provide buyers with important information about the property before they make an offer. Buyers are free to instruct their own surveyor to review the report or commission a more detailed survey before making an offer on a property.

The identification of RAAC usually involves a specialist survey, which often involves invasive investigation techniques and which is completed by a suitably qualified surveyor who is experienced with this type of construction.

The Scottish Government is clear that the views of local authorities are an important consideration in the decision-making process for determining energy consents applications.

The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 provides a legal framework for the operation and governance of local authorities in Scotland. While it doesn't specifically address conflicts of interest, it establishes the broader legal context within which local authorities operate and are required to conduct their affairs in accordance with the law.

Local authorities in Scotland are also subject to public procurement regulations, which include requirements to ensure transparency, fairness, and competition in the awarding of contracts. These regulations often include provisions aimed at preventing conflicts of interest in procurement processes.

The Energy Consents Unit consented 14 applications for Battery Energy Storage Systems between 2013 and 2023.

Women’s Aid groups that are not affiliated with Scottish Women’s Aid are funded in the same ways and with the same criteria as affiliated groups.

The main source of funding between 2021 and 2025 is the Delivering Equally Safe (DES) fund, the objectives for which are:

• Women and children affected by violence are identified (early)
• Women and children’s safety needs are met
• Women and children’s wider wellbeing needs are met
• Fewer people adhere to gender stereotypes
• People have increased understanding of all forms of VAWG (causes, consequences, and appropriate responses)
• Power, decision-making and material resources are distributed more equally between men and women.
• Tolerance of VAWG is reduced and people are more likely to recognise and challenge it
• Perpetrators are identified early
• Perpetrators are supported to change their behaviour
• Perpetrators are sanctioned / held to account
• Violence against women and girls is reduced / eradicated
• Negative impacts on women and children who have been affected by violence are reduced / eradicated.

In July 2021 all Women’s Aid groups received funding through the 100 Days (COVID emergency) funding. The objectives of the 100 days (COVID emergency) funding were:

• To fund additional staff to respond to an increase in demand from victims of abuse for support services;
• To fund improvements to organisations’ IT and digital resource; and
• To fund additional training to allow services to be augmented so that people could quickly and easily access help.

An additional grant is being provided from April 2024 to all Women’s Aid groups.

A non-affiliated Women’s Aid group (in Fife) is included in the £500,000 Fund to Leave pilot which was launched in October 2023. This will help to reduce the financial burden of leaving an abusive partner by providing up to £1,000 to help to pay for the essentials women and children need, including rent and clothing. Fife, along with Glasgow, South Lanarkshire, Edinburgh, North Lanarkshire were chosen for the pilot as the local authority areas where there are highest number of presentations to local authorities for homelessness assistance by women due to domestic abuse. The fund is being administered by Scottish Women’s Aid for the 4 affiliated groups with the grant being paid direct to Fife Women’s Aid.

The green jobs definition developed by the Universities of Warwick and Strathclyde, co-ordinated by Skills Development Scotland, does include occupations relevant to traditional building skills including stonemasonry and related trades. This information can be found here: https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/w5ilqmef/soc-categories-for-website.pdf

Last November, the Scottish Government welcomed the net zero pathfinder report published by Skills Development Scotland which assessed demand and skills issues across a range of sectors including construction. This information can be found here: https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/what-we-do/skills-planning/green-skills-research-and-evidence/cesap-pathfinder-wp1-an-evidence-based-approach-to-supporting-the-transition-to-net-zero

We remain committed to improving mental health service provision in primary care settings, including early detection and care for those presenting with an eating disorder.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Delivery Plan (2023) sets out our ambition to drive a shift in the balance of care across mental health to ensure a focus on prevention and early intervention in the community, including a focus on providing high quality mental health care in General Practice.

We are committed to supporting people to access the right care at the right time. That is why we have allocated £55.5 million to Health Boards this year to improve the quality and delivery of mental health services for all, including eating disorder services.

We have also provided Beat, the UK’s largest Eating Disorder charity, with over £600,000 to provide a range of support services for those impacted by an eating disorder. This includes the introduction of Beyond the Symptoms Training for GPs and Healthcare professionals to support them to identify when a patient has an eating disorder, and to confidently intervene early.

Additionally, the Scottish Government has recently developed a National Specification for the Care and Treatment of Eating Disorders in Scotland which will be published later this year. The National Specification outlines a national minimum level of service which will support local services to deliver person-centred, safe and effective care and covers all levels of treatment for eating disorders, from primary care all the way through to specialist inpatient care.

We are also establishing a National Eating Disorder Network which will look at improving specialist eating disorder services and links between primary and secondary services.