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The Scottish Government’s Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus plan for 2023 to 2026 is scheduled for publication towards the end of summer 2023. As part of this approach, there will be a focus on improving access to testing for STIs and blood borne viruses.

Recommendations made within the HIV Transmission Elimination Proposal are currently being considered, and prioritisation of those to be taken forward in 2023-24 is likely to be announced before the end of summer 2023.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-19568 on 26 July 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/questions-and-answers .

As indicated in response to S6W-19566 on 26 July 2023, a national project to develop an online sexually transmitted infections (STI) testing pilot has been underway since 2021 and is hosted by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with development work being undertaken across a number of Board areas.

Scottish Government officials are currently working closely with Public Health Scotland and NHS Boards to understand the scope of what is needed in terms of timescales, necessary governance and infrastructure to support a national service.

The upcoming Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus plan, due be published towards the end of summer 2023, will also have a focus on improving access to STI and blood borne virus testing across Scotland.

The Scottish Government recently invited funding bids from across Scotland for projects aimed at contributing to the priorities set out in the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Strategy, including improving the accessibility of testing services.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The HIV Transmission Elimination Proposal, commissioned by the Scottish Government and published on World AIDS Day in 2022, sets out 22 recommendations to ensure progress is made to meet our goal of zero HIV infection transmissions in Scotland by 2030.

An HIV Transmission Elimination Proposal Scoping Group met between March and June 2023 to review the proposal, and to identify key actions to be taken forward in 2023-24. The recommendations from this group are currently being considered and prioritised.

In addition, the Scottish Government has provided funding to support the development of an e-PrEP pilot and a national publicity campaign to address HIV stigma, to be developed by a multi-agency partnership.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting integration of former Hong Kong residents into our communities. We have published a dedicated British National (Overseas) welcome pack, in both English and Cantonese, on our website.

We continue to provide significant levels of funding to a range of organisations supporting the integration of migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum. This includes supporting organisations, such as COSLA, the Scottish Refugee Council and British Red Cross. We aim to ensure that all arrivals to Scotland are welcomed and supported to integrate into Scottish society from day one of arrival. This work will continue.

The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities currently provides funding to a number of national organisations to provide support to people arriving from Hong Kong across the UK, including Scotland. For 2023-2024 this includes:

Hongkongers in Britain Limited £300,000

Barnardo’s £300,000

Good Neighbour Church £300,000

Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers £170,921

The UK Government set up a network of ‘Hong Kong Welcome Hubs’ across the UK. These are hosted by existing ‘Strategic Migration Partnerships’ (SMPs). There are 12 SMPs across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland . SMPs have a coordinating and supporting role in delivering key national priorities on migration across the UK and play an integral role in the delivery of the Hong Kong UK Welcome Programme and VCSE projects. The Welcome Hub in Scotland is operated by COSLA, and is directly funded by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities.

A national project to develop an online STI testing pilot has been underway since 2021 and is hosted by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with development work being undertaken across a number of Board areas.

The Scottish Government provided £0.5 million for an initial pilot in NHS Lothian which has seen over 1500 testing kits ordered online, with demand outstripping availability. Scottish Government officials are currently working closely with Public Health Scotland and NHS Boards to understand the scope of what is needed in terms of timescales, necessary governance and infrastructure to support a national service.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that every school aged child has access to a device by the end of this Parliamentary term. We recognise that access to technology is a fundamental aspect of a modern education system and the commitment in the recently published Policy Prospectus to “improve digital access for learners” reaffirms this.

In 2020-21, we provided £25 million to local authorities across Scotland to tackle digital exclusion, directly providing devices and internet connections to children and young people to support their learning. We have also supported local authorities to directly invest in devices.

Information from local authorities indicates that a total of up to 280,000 devices have already been distributed to learners across Scotland. We do not hold detailed information on how those devices have been distributed across primary and secondary settings within individual local authorities.

In 2023-24, we are continuing to work with COSLA and other partners on delivering this commitment.

The Scottish Government remain committed to investing in the professional development of our valued social services workforce. A Graduate Apprenticeship for the profession is part of a range of options in consideration to widen access into social work. Officials are working with sector partners over the summer to provide Skills Development Scotland and Scottish Funding Council with updated evidence of employer interest and demonstration of the added value of an additional work-based qualification route for the social work profession in Scotland by Autumn 2023.

The Scottish Government commissioned an expert group to make recommendations on action to reduce the number of people in temporary accommodation and the length of time spent there, with a strong focus on households with children. The Scottish Government is thankful to Alison Watson, Director of Shelter Scotland, and John Mills, Head of Housing for Fife Council, for co-chairing the discussions which informed the group’s recommendations.

The Scottish Government published its response to the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group report on 19 July 2023. In our response, we have set out how we will prioritise action with partners in local government and across the housing sector on the recommendations that will have the most immediate impact on reducing the number of households in temporary accommodation.

Our national acquisition plan is backed by £60 million and will offer all local authorities, including Dundee, various routes to increase the supply of affordable housing, including through the purchase of privately owned properties. Increasing their supply of larger properties will support local authorities’ efforts to ensure households with children who have lived in temporary accommodation for a number of years are supported into suitable permanent housing.

Recognising that challenges vary from authority to authority, the Scottish Government will work with local authorities to take targeted action to bring about a more rapid reduction in the use of temporary accommodation in the areas where this is concentrated. This could include increased allocations of social homes to homeless households, reducing the number of long-term empty homes and more effective void property management. Large-scale flipping of temporary accommodation to a permanent home could also help to reduce the length of time households spend in temporary accommodation.

We will continue to work with all local authorities, including Dundee, on routes to increase their affordable housing supply, which is key to relieving the pressures on temporary accommodation.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of establishing mechanisms at a Scottish, as well as UK, level to support awareness and action on this issue across many sectors within the built environment.

Discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) and mitigation including on funding will be reported to relevant Ministers, directly where necessary, and through the Building and Fire Safety Ministerial Working Group.

Officials continue to work closely with relevant partners including the Scottish Funding Council, other public sector bodies and the wider structural engineering community in relation to this matter, including funding.