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The Health & Safety Executive, instructed by the UK Government, are developing a research methodology to assist with identification, assessment and remediation of RAAC. We will consider any steps required to be taken to ensure that students are not impacted by any universities or colleges that have to close any of their campus buildings due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

In the meantime, officials are working closely with the Scottish Funding Council in relation to this matter. The Scottish Funding Council is planning to provide guidance, prepared by authoritative organisations, to colleges and universities as soon as possible.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) will dispose of the site at HMP Inverness in accordance with Scottish Government policy which is set out in guidance within the Scottish Public Finance Manual. Thereafter it will be for any potential purchaser to determine the future use of the site in conjunction with the relevant Planning Authority.

The Scottish Government has remained committed to implementing the new model of neonatal intensive care as set out in The Best Start. That will see the most preterm and sickest babies receive specialist complex care in fewer centres. Evidence tells us long term health outcomes will improve for those babies if cared for in higher volume units.

We have been working with expert clinicians to plan for this service change and have identified that the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Aberdeen Maternity Unit should be the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) for babies and women requiring the most specialised care.

No neonatal units in Scotland will close. This is about ensuring the smallest and sickest babies are born where the they can readily access the very specialist care and services they may need.

Further information on the appraisal approach and framework can be found at

Information for parents can be found at Discharge Planning - Scottish Perinatal Network

The R100 contracts do not have a targeted number of premises broken down at local authority level. However, as of 31 May 2023 the R100 North contract has delivered 6,897 connections which equates to 11.3% of the R100 North contract targeted figures. For the R100 Central contract 8,905 connections have been delivered which equates to 27.6% of the R100 Central contract targeted figures. For the R100 South contract, 8,392 connections have been delivered which equates to 38.3% of the R100 South contract targeted figures.

Additionally, as the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) is demand-led we do not have a targeted number of vouchers broken down at local authority level. However, as of 1 July 2023, a total of 3,288 connections have been delivered through utilisation of R100 SBVS vouchers.

While we do not have a targeted number of premises broken down at local authority level, and therefore cannot provide a percentage breakdown, we can provide details of the number of premises that have received a connection through the R100 contracts and the R100 SBVS at local authority level. Please see the following below for further information:

The requested application figures for heat pumps and high heat retention storage heaters for the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme and Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan Scheme are set out in the following tables:

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Prisoners are charged £5.00 to use the Prisoner PIN phones for 100 minutes when calling a landline and are charged £10.00 when they call a mobile phone for 100 minutes.

There have been no changes to these prices in the last 4 years.

Neither the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme or the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Landlord Loan Scheme require the household or applicant to be in receipt of benefits to be eligible for funding. Accordingly, no information is collected in regard to this during the application process.

The HES Grant and Loan Scheme is available to all homeowners in Scotland. The PRS Landlord Loan Scheme is available to registered private landlords, acting either as an individual or a business, that owns privately rented properties.

The Trauma Informed Justice: A Knowledge and Skills Framework for Working with Victims and Witnesses, published on 3 May 2023 , gives organisations the information they need to develop and deliver training for their staff, tailored to the nature of the engagement those staff have with victims and witnesses. Justice organisations represented on the Victims Taskforce are working in collaboration to implement the framework and are being supported by NHS Education Scotland, the authors of the Framework.

The provisions in Part 2 of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill have been designed to make sure our justice system recognises how common trauma is, understands how trauma can affect people, and adjust its ways of working to respond to those impacts as far as possible and reduce the risk of retraumatising people. The Bill creates a legal definition of trauma-informed practice for the justice sector, to help provide clarity and consistency, and it requires criminal justice agencies to have regard to trauma-informed practice in their work with victims and witnesses of crime.

There were no incidents of someone being found in possession of a firearm within a prison in 2022-23. When the Recorded Crime in Scotland Statistics 2022-23 were originally published on the 20th June they showed one such case. However, Police Scotland identified an administrative error, whereby this crime should have instead been classified as bringing drugs into a prison. The above statistics were revised to reflect this and re-published on the 1st July 2023.

Dwelling types including flats are covered by the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme. Domestic Energy Assessors will carry out a survey of the home and recommend suitable improvements which can include insulation measures such as loft insulation, wall insulation and draft-proofing. The improvements offered to the homeowner will depend on the survey results of the home and what room it is in the property. Where there is a roof above the ceiling it will be loft insulation that is offered, subject to access and suitability. Where a flat roof is present, internal wall insulation (IWI) can be applied if appropriate and recommended by the Domestic Energy Assessor. This measure is only offered in habitable rooms (e.g. bedrooms or living rooms).