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Social Security Scotland works with individuals and disability organisations to design services so that everyone who may be eligible for benefits understands how they can apply for and receive them.

Clients can apply in ways that suit them best either by paper or online application, by telephone or they can receive application support from our Local Delivery team who can arrange a face-to-face appointment in a client’s home, a community setting or video call.

We have tested every stage of the application process with people and are committed to making adjustments based on feedback.

Social Security Scotland is committed to continuously improving to deliver benefits for the people of Scotland based on dignity, fairness and respect.

We recognise the importance of early detection of kidney disease in preventing the progression of chronic kidney disease and its associated complications. We expect NHS Boards to adhere to current guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment options from authoritative sources such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the UK Kidney Association (UKKA).

In Scotland we are at the forefront of using service and performance data to improve care and diagnosis of kidney disease. This includes the work of the Scottish Renal Registry which reports on patients receiving renal replacement therapy and promoting excellence in renal care in Scotland through best practice audits.

The National Cancer Quality Steering Group (NCQSG) has responsibility for the development and oversight of tumour specific national quality performance indicators (QPIs) to measure the quality of care for patients, this includes a set specifically for renal cancers.

We have also invested in research which is intended to inform new approaches for earlier diagnosis of kidney disease through the Scottish Chief Scientist Office: Kidney function and cancer risk: An analysis using creatinine and cystatin C in a cohort study (nih.gov) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8413238/ .

Once the Scottish and UK Government have agreed the elements of a partnership approach, including the methodology to be used to select possible locations, they will engage with the relevant local authorities and their partners.

The Scottish Government published the Scottish Strategy for Autism in 2011. This was a 10 year strategy which ran until 2021.

In March 2021, we published our Towards Transformation Plan as a follow-on to the Scottish Strategy for Autism and the Keys to Life Learning Disability Strategy. The Plan seeks to shape supports, services and attitudes to ensure that the human rights of autistic people and people with learning/intellectual disabilities are respected and protected and that they are empowered to live their lives, the same as everyone else.

We continue to work on delivering the action in our Towards Transformation Plan and also, are currently consulting on proposals for a Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill which will inform future strategies for neurodivergent communities, including autistic people.

The purpose of the desktop review was to assess which properties should be investigated for the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). NHS Scotland Assure is preparing a paper on options to proceed with discovery surveys to assess which NHS Scotland properties contain RAAC. Completion of the discovery surveys will provide an accurate assessment of how many, and which, properties contain RAAC.

The total funding provided to the University of Stirling to fund the Overdose Alert and Response Technologies: State-of-the-art Review is £59,978.

To support the ongoing delivery of Multi-Disciplinary Teams in 2022-23, including pharmacists, mental health workers and physiotherapists, we made available £170 million through the Primary Care Improvement Fund for Health and Social Care Partnerships. This was allocated in accordance with local need, with due consideration to implementation plans and Agenda for Change uplifts.

Analysis undertaken as part of the analysis underpinning the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan does not show any significant negative impacts from the closure of Hunterston B and Torness nuclear power stations on Scotland’s CO2 emissions.

Under this modelling, the reduction in electricity generation from nuclear power plants in Scotland will be compensated for by the vast expansion of low-cost renewables and flexible technologies such as storage, not by fossil fuel plants which would increase greenhouse gas emissions.

Modelling undertaken as part of the evidence base underpinning our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, estimated electricity generation capacity and demand in Scotland in 2030 according to a range of scenarios.

Across all three scenarios electricity generation capacity ranged between 20-41 GW (47-119 TWh) and electricity demand ranged from 48-55 TWh.

For refence, this analysis can be found at the following web address: https://www.climatexchange.org.uk/media/5419/cxc-scottish-whole-energy-system-scenarios-may-2022.pdf

A range of digital mental health therapies are available to support people to self-refer. These include treatments for: Insomnia, Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Stress, Resilience, Space from COVID, Supporting An Anxious Child, Supporting An Anxious Teen.

These treatments are open to anyone through self-referral across all areas of Scotland. In addition to this we have about 12 treatments open to self-referral for Health and Care staff, this including depression, a range of anxiety disorders. Table 1 provides more detail on what is currently available.

Table 1: Digital Therapies - Available treatments