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HIV Scotland, along with all our third sector organisations, have made a significant contribution to Scotland’s goal of eliminating HIV Transmissions by 2030.

We were saddened to hear of the decision to close the organisation, and thank HIV Scotland for their support for people living with HIV in Scotland, and their valuable input across the sector.

Whilst their contribution will be missed, Scotland has a number of other excellent third sector organisations who share our ambition to eliminate HIV transmission within Scotland by 2030, and to improve the lives of those living with HIV. By working in partnership, I remain confident that we will meet those goals.

As one example, HIV Scotland were previously funded to lead the HIV self-test pilot which expands testing services so people can order a test in the privacy of their own home. Terrance Higgins Trust will now be funded to provide the service and mitigate any risk to the at-home testing service.

The majority of divorce actions are undefended and therefore do not require the non-applicant party to incur the expenses involving in entering the proceedings.

Where a divorce action is defended, either party may be eligible for civil legal aid.

The courts may make orders on how legal expenses incurred in a case should be met. The Scottish Government’s understanding is that in doing so the court can take account of a party’s behaviour in making or defending their case.

If the member wishes to write to me with additional information, I may be able to offer further comment.

I am absolutely delighted that today, Japan based cable manufacturer Sumitomo has announced plans to establish a manufacturing plant in Scotland to supply the country’s growing renewable energy sector. This is a real statement of intent that demonstrates the strength of confidence that investors have in our vision for a net zero economy.

Sumitomo have a proven track record in renewables technology which will be invaluable to supporting Scotland’s rapidly expanding offshore wind sector and the Scottish Government, together with our partners, will continue to work closely with Sumitomo to foster this important partnership and unlock the opportunities the global renewables revolution presents.

The Scottish Government is committed to a fair, inclusive and fiscally sustainable form of local taxation. Scottish Ministers have convened the ‘Joint Working Group on Sources of Local Government Funding and Council Tax Reform’, which is chaired by the Scottish Government and COSLA. The group is initially discussing and reviewing targeted changes to Council Tax to reflect the current circumstances created by the cost crisis. The group will also consider approaches to longer term reform, utilising the development of effective deliberative engagement, on sources of Local Government funding and Council Tax.

The 2023 non-domestic rates revaluation took effect on 1 April 2023. The next revaluation will take effect from 1 April 2026, implementing the independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates recommendation for three yearly revaluations which was legislated for in the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020.

The tax rates which are used to calculate non-domestic rates bills are reviewed and set annually in the context of the Scottish Budget.

The General Practice workforce survey 2022 collected information based on sessional commitment by GPs not hours worked. While GP sessions have sometimes been defined for the purposes of various payments, there is no contractual definition of GP sessions.

GP contract regulations require practices to ensure provision of services Monday – Friday 0800-1830. It is up to the practice to agree how that is covered by GPs and the number and length of sessions.

From responding practices to the General Practice workforce survey 2022, totalling 2,480 GPs, it was estimated that 22% of GPs had commitments of up to 4 sessions per week. 55% between 5 and 7 sessions per week and 23% of 8 or more. Dashboard - General practice workforce survey 2022 - General practice workforce survey - Publications - Public Health Scotland ”

This update has already been made. One sentence on the ARE Directorate home page was found to be out of date. After discovering that was the case, it was removed immediately. We have added the page to our regular review schedule.

As a result of the difficult decisions which had to be taken through the Emergency Budget review, recruitment of the 1,000 additional roles to support community mental health resilience, ensuring every GP Practice has access to a mental health and wellbeing service has not yet commenced. We have already prioritised significant investment to build mental health capacity in primary care through Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027 and the Primary Care Improvement Fund.

We remain committed to improving mental health service provision in primary care settings. We are therefore working closely with stakeholders, including the Mental Health in Primary Care National Oversight Group, to develop plans to best use the resource available across the system in 2023-24, and in future years to improve support, assessment and treatment in primary care settings.

Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN) submitted an application for consent for the Glenmuckloch to Glenglass Overhead Line (OHL) Reinforcement Project to Scottish Ministers on 16 January 2023.

The application was accompanied by an Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) which assesses the significant environmental effects of the project and contains the consideration of alternatives to the chosen route (including undergrounding).

This is a live application and therefore it would not be appropriate for Scottish Ministers to take any views on it.

A review of the tenancy deposit schemes was undertaken at the end of 2018. It was clear from the findings that the current regulations continued to provide a robust regulatory and operational framework.

Following the review a number of revisions to the operating procedures were made under The Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019 . The schemes submitted revised procedures in October 2019 and were reapproved in November 2019.

There have been no further significant changes to the revised scheme or original proposal referred to the Scottish Government for approval. Any considered changes would be discussed as part of routine monitoring discussions.

Under the phased restart of self-referrals, women aged 71-74, and those over 75 with a history of breast cancer, are currently eligible to self-refer for a screening appointment. Where the eligibility criteria is met, a breast screening appointment should be offered within nine months of registration for self-referral. All screening centres across Scotland have taken steps to ensure their teams are aware of the eligibility criteria.

The Scottish Government is not aware of any reports of women unable to register for a self-referral appointment if they meet the eligibility criteria. We would encourage any women who have been unable to obtain an appointment to contact their local screening centre. The latest information on self-referrals and contact details for local centres can be found at Breast screening in Scotland | NHS inform .