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Scottish Ministers are committed to ensuring that people with mental health issues have access to independent advocacy. We recognise that advocacy is central to empowering people with mental health issues to have their voices heard and participate fully in decisions about their care.

Under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act, people with a mental illness have a right to independent advocacy.

We have provided funding of £500,000 per year to NHS Boards and £177,000 to the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA), and will continue funding to ensure people are supported to understand their choices and make their own decisions. The SIAA is a membership organisation which is responsible for promoting, supporting and defending independent advocacy in Scotland.

We also provide funding for third sector organisations who ensure collective advocacy for those with lived experience of mental health issues. This includes £188,000 this year to Vox Scotland who represent the voices of those with lived mental health experience to Scotland’s politicians and health professionals.

The Scottish Mental Health Law Review published its final report at the end of September 2022 and set out proposals for reform, including recommendations relating to the future provision and funding of independent advocacy services.

Cross-government work is now underway to assess these proposals and we will set out our response in due course.

The Government published budget proposals in December. Subject to parliamentary approval, that will determine the levels and duration of funding available.

Until this is finalised officials are not in a position to publish the application form and eligibility guidance. A final decision should be made in the coming weeks.

Two pathfinder Climate Action Hubs were launched in September 2021 covering the Northeast of Scotland (NESCAN Hub) and the North Highlands, Orkney and Shetland (North Highlands and Islands Hub).

Both Hubs have provided a vehicle for communities to come together stimulating community level climate activity and supporting communities to adapt to our changing climate.

The Scottish Communities Climate Action Network (SCCAN) is supporting the wider development of Climate Action Hubs. Funded by the Scottish Government they recruited 14 regional network coordinators in 2022 to bring communities together ensuring as inclusive an approach as possible. They are facilitating discussions on what is needed for each area, ensuring Hubs are shaped by and responsive to local need and build on existing support.

Evidence from the evaluation of minimum unit pricing (MUP) has shown that consumers have responded to the introduction of MUP in a variety of ways including reduced purchasing of products whose price has increased, switching to smaller pack sizes, to more premium products and to lower strength products.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) are undertaking a comprehensive evaluation of MUP, which includes assessing the impact of MUP on health, crime, public safety and public nuisance in Scotland, and the impact on the alcohol industry. A final evaluation report will be published in 2023.

All published studies are available on the PHS website: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/

The Statement of Dental Remuneration has been amended over the time period since January 2017 and now. The list of treatments in January 2017 is reflected in Amendment 133 and the current list is described in 158. These can be viewed at Statement of Dental Remuneration | Scottish Dental .

In summary, the range of care and treatment is broadly similar in both versions, however, a significant reform was delivered in February 2022 (amendment 155) which aligned child and adult examination appointments through an enhanced fee.

The reform of NHS dental services survey was responded to by over 500 dentists, the survey built on the Oral Health Improvement Plan which was developed through wide ranging public consultation in 2017. The reform of NHS dental services is presently focused on delivering payment system reform and sustaining NHS dental access for the general public.

The Scottish Government recognise the benefits of Scottish Racing to the economy and the positive impact it has on employment in communities across Scotland.

While we have not undertaken a direct assessment of the potential economic growth that the Scottish horse racing sector can contribute to the economy, we are aware of Scottish Racing’s 2018 Annual Review, which highlights that the sport generates £306 million to the Scottish economy as well as sustaining 3,400 FTE jobs.

Through our emergency sports funding package, we provided Scottish Racing with £2.265 million, recognising the value of sustaining and supporting Scotland’s racecourses.

The Scottish Government continue to engage with Scottish Racing and look forward to their 2022 Review and Prospectus, which will be published shortly with updated figures.

As at the 31 March 2022, there were 491 live homelessness cases that had been assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness where it was stated that at least one member of the household was formerly a member of the armed forces.

Statistics on former armed forces status for households assessed as homeless are available by year in table 22 of the latest annual Homelessness in Scotland publication , with further analysis available in the Veterans' homelessness in Scotland data tables .

There has been no decision taken around excluding people receiving treatment for alcohol issues from Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standard 1.

The MAT standards set out the standards of care people should expect for accessing treatment for drug problems and MAT standard 1 aims to ensure people receive same-day treatment wherever possible on the day they wish to begin medication assisted treatment.

Data is only available from 2015-16. Since 2015-16 a total of 1,531 pharmacist trainees have stayed in Scotland to complete their pre-registration training year.

The following table shows number of pharmacist trainees who have stayed in Scotland to complete their registration broken down for each year since 2015-16.

The Bioenergy Expert Panel is still to be assembled. However, in the meantime, interested stakeholders and expert parties can engage with policy officials. Stakeholders can get in touch via email: Stephen.Corrie@gov.scot