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Although the legal powers governing flexible working are currently reserved to Westminster, Scottish Government is committed to working with employers directly and through their representative bodies to explore ways of promoting and encouraging flexible, agile and inclusive workplaces that benefit all employees.

Improving access to flexible working is an important means to help people balance work and manage a range of health conditions as well as other commitments such as care without dropping out of the workplace with the loss of income, experience and skills that this entails.

In 2022-23 we are providing a total of £222,000 in funding to flexible working experts Flexibility Works to promote and support employers across Scotland to adopt flexible and family friendly workplaces.

Since 2019 we have also funded Timewise to deliver ‘A Fair, Flexible Work Programme for Scotland’ which focused on training a network of 70 Change Agents, both employment professionals and employability advisers on how to promote flexible working to employers and individuals.

In October 2021 our flagship Fair Work First approach to public sector spend included new criteria that asked employers to offer flexible working from day one of employment.

We continue to encourage employers to engage with all employees to consider flexible and hybrid working models where feasible and appropriate. However we recognise that employers are best placed to understand how their operations work most effectively and their employees’ and requests for flexible working, based on consultation with staff and unions.

There is no five-year target for take up of the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan scheme in the Highlands and Islands region. The scheme is demand-led and the number of households which can be supported is linked to the annual budget. The budget allocation across the HES loan/cashback scheme and replacement grant and loan scheme together in 2022-23 is £42 million, double the level for 2021-22. The budget for 2023-24 will be set in due course. The budget for the scheme forms part of at least £1.8bn which we have committed to allocating over the course of this Parliament to accelerate deployment of heat and energy efficiency measures and to support those least able to pay.

The new scheme introduces an increased grant level for households in rural areas, compared to other parts of Scotland. An uplift of £1,500 applies to both the heat pump and energy efficiency grants. This uplift increases the heat pump grant flat rate and the maximum limit of the energy efficiency grant to £9,000 respectively. The uplift is in recognition of the higher costs faced by rural households associated with the installation of measures (such as increased transportation costs, possible accommodation costs for installers, housing type amongst other reasons) and aims to support with these additional costs.

The first cohort of ScotGEM students graduated from the four-year course in June 2022. These graduates must now undertake two years of Foundation training before they are eligible to apply for specialty training posts. We therefore will not know how many ScotGEM students have entered General Practice Speciality Training until 2024.

There is no specific annual target for take up of the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan scheme in the Highlands and Islands region. The scheme is demand-led and the number of households which can be supported is linked to the annual budget. The budget allocation across the HES loan/cashback scheme and replacement grant and loan scheme together in 2022-23 is £42 million, double the level for 2021-22. The budget for 2023-24 will be set in due course. The budget for the scheme forms part of at least £1.8bn which we have committed to allocating over the course of this Parliament to accelerate deployment of heat and energy efficiency measures and to support those least able to pay.

The new scheme introduces an increased grant level for households in rural areas, compared to other parts of Scotland. An uplift of £1,500 applies to both the heat pump and energy efficiency grants. This uplift increases the heat pump grant flat rate and the maximum limit of the energy efficiency grant to £9,000 respectively. The uplift is in recognition of the higher costs faced by rural households associated with the installation of measures (such as increased transportation costs, possible accommodation costs for installers, housing type amongst other reasons) and aims to support with these additional costs.

Pay for staff in the SCS is reserved and operates within the UK Cabinet Office pay and performance management framework which sets out each year the level of pay increase and non-consolidated performance payments that may apply.

Since 2007, the number of senior civil servants (SCS) who have received a non-consolidated performance payment and a pay increase in the same year is 188. This covers the four calendar years 2007 to 2010.

The total amount of such performance bonuses during the period 2007 to 2010 was £2,503,000 and this represents 320 payments (so some of the 188 SCS will have received a payment in more than one calendar year).

No senior civil servants have received a non-consolidated performance payment alongside a pay increase in the same year since 2010 in line with the Scottish Government pay policy presumption against performance bonuses.

The Scottish Government values all NHS Scotland staff, at every level and in every profession. The latest pay offer we have made is significantly more generous than the 2022-23 pay settlements which have been put in place in the rest of the UK and was negotiated through a partnership process with the input of all recognised Agenda for Change Staff Side organisations. Depending on the grade, under this pay deal Clinical Psychologists will earn anywhere between £53,513 and £112,673 per annum.

The Scottish Government is proud that our Agenda for Change staff are the highest paid in the UK. This applies to both starting salary and people at the top of their Band. It may be helpful to contrast the latest pay offer in Scotland against the settlements which have already been implemented in England and Wales for Band 8 and 9 staff. This information is set out in the following table.

The cost information related to delayed discharge for the NHS is no longer included in the PHS publications. This is due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic where detailed cost data could not be submitted by NHS Boards to PHS.

52 students graduated from the ScotGEM course in June 2022. This is the first cohort of students that have graduated since the course commenced in 2018.

Replacing the previous cashback arrangements with a standalone grant was a key commitment in the Programme for Government 2022-23 and will offer a more straightforward, flexible and accessible way to access funding for priority measures; particularly in our rural and island areas with additional funding support available through the rural uplift.

To access the grant, applicants must contact the Home Energy Scotland (HES) advice service, which acts as the gateway for this funding and other Scottish Government delivery schemes, including Warmer Homes Scotland. A wide range of marketing activity encourages individuals seeking advice or information on funding support for energy saving improvements to contact HES, including a national marketing campaign currently underway until late January 2023 across TV, radio, press and social media.

The launch of the HES Grant and Loan Scheme generated substantial media coverage across different platforms, including newspapers, radio and TV. It has also been covered on different Scottish Government platforms, including on the gov.scot website and Net Zero Scotland social media channels (Twitter and LinkedIn). Both of these platforms have substantial reach, with the Net Zero Scotland Twitter having over 20,000 thousand followers.

In addition, the Energy Saving Trust (EST) who deliver the HES advice service and the new grant on behalf of the Scottish Government have promoted the new scheme. Newsletters have been issued to installers to inform them of the changes and they have undertaken various media engagements to promote the new grant offer available.

The Scottish Government and its partners will continue to work together to raise awareness of the new HES Grant and Loan Scheme across Scotland, including in the Highlands and Islands region. This will include monitoring uptake of the new offer and tailoring marketing material to reflect the new offer available where necessary.

A table providing a summary of awards made from the Net Zero Transition Fund (NZTF) and their objectives has been lodged with SPICE, BIB no. 63871.

It is too early to outline the carbon savings/environmental impact just now, but we will be asking for this data in due course. The fund remains open and there are a number of active applications under consideration with further expressions of interest from Social Enterprises which are being supported by Social Investment Scotland (SIS) to finalise their plans.