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To support delivery of the National Islands Plan, through the Islands Heritage and Culture Project the Scottish Government has supported the delivery of the following six projects:

• The Orkney Digitisation Project, delivered by Orkney Islands Council;
• The Angus Og Project, delivered by the Highland Archive Service and High Life Highland;
• The Shetland Culture and Heritage Hub, delivered by Shetland Amenity Trust;
• Outer Hebrides Heritage Trails, delivered by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar;
• The Aspiring UNESCO Global Geopark, delivered by Arran Geopark; and
• Opportunities for the Argyll Islands and Increased Visitor Footfall, Culture, Heritage and Arts Assembly

Each project received a grant allocation of £40,000 with the exception of the Orkney based project, which had a slight overspend, taking their allocation to £42,000.

We are committed to delivering on the priority in the Women's Health Plan (WHP) to improve access for women to appropriate support, speedy diagnosis and best treatment for endometriosis.

There has been substantial progress since the publication of the Women’s Health Plan and our first report on progress, published on 26 January 2023, sets this out in more detail.

We will support the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme to raise awareness of the Endometriosis Pathway for Scotland. The pathway was approved in January 2023 and will be distributed to all NHS Boards for implementation. It provides a streamlined, integrated pathway across primary, secondary and tertiary care that aims to provide a holistic approach and timely care for those with endometriosis and endometriosis-like symptoms.

We will also continue to work with our Endometriosis Advisory Group and Lived Experience Forum to support and inform our policy actions to deliver on the priorities within the plan.

Housing to 2040, sets out our plans to continue delivering quality homes for private rent. Over the next decade, we will continue to support the provision of homes for private rent with a focus on maximising delivery of these homes at the affordable end of market rents, working with private sector investors and partners whose business models match our ambition to improve quality and affordability for tenants.

For the social rented sector, we are committed to delivering on our target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be available for social rent and 10% will be in our remote, rural and island communities. We have delivered 118,124 affordable homes since 2007, over 83,000 (83,291) of which were for social rent, including 21,313 council homes. And we are pleased that housebuilding completions are at their highest annual rate since 2008, up 10% on last year, and that the number of affordable homes delivered is above the pre-pandemic year 2019.

Our ‘New Deal for Tenants’ draft strategy consultation set out that both private and social rented homes have a role to play in delivering affordable, quality housing which gives people choice and flexibility about where they live.

The New Deal for Tenants consultation set out the importance of attracting new investment to the private rented sector, acknowledging the important role of Mid-Market Rental properties and the Build to Rent sector. It was also acknowledged in the draft strategy consultation, that there is a clear need to improve the evidence base on the private rented sector in Scotland, in order to provide key evidence to support future policies. In the meantime, we continue to closely monitor available evidence and data in the private rented sector.

Finally, it is important to acknowledge the interconnections of second homes and Short Term Lets on the rental market. On 17 April, we launched a consultation on Second and Empty Homes – seeking views on giving powers to local authorities to increase the rate of council tax on second homes and empty homes. Nationally, we want to encourage more residential accommodation to be used as homes for living in and for these to be occupied for more of the time. Locally, councils should decide how to achieve the right balance in the use of housing to meet local needs and to support thriving communities.

Our Short Term Lets licensing scheme will allow local authorities and communities to take action to manage issues more effectively, without unduly curtailing the many benefits of short-term lets to hosts, visitors and the Scottish economy whilst ensuring short-term lets are safe and the people providing them are suitable. Powers to designate control areas will allow local authorities to manage high concentrations of short-term lets and help them ensure that homes are used to best effect in their areas. We consider the legislation is appropriate for the whole of Scotland, including island and rural communities, and offers considerable flexibility to local authorities on how it is implemented.

The Scottish Government wants to reverse the rise in the number of households in temporary accommodation, and will prioritise action on the recommendations considered to have the biggest and most immediate impact on reducing this number. The Scottish Government will publish its response to the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group’s recommendations in due course.

An estimation of the costs to implement the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group's recommendations has not been carried out. As the task and finish groups are sub-groups of the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group (HPSG), the implementation of the recommendations will be discussed with HPSG members and other bodies given the need for partnership working on action to reduce the use of temporary accommodation.

The Scottish Government response to the recommendations of the Report of the Independent Review of Mediation in the Civil Justice System in Scotland was published in December 2019. As set out in that response, we confirmed our intention to work with key stakeholders on a collaborative basis to fully understand the implications of those proposals in order to assist help shape any potential future legislative reform.

The Scottish Government established a Dispute Resolution Group consisting of key organisations and agencies representing a wide range of interests including dispute resolution organisations, Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service and consumer bodies to develop and shape an evidence-based package of reform aimed at mainstreaming the use of mediation in the civil justice system in Scotland. The Group met in 2020 but the work of the Group ceased due to the combined pressures of responding to Brexit and COVID 19.

The Scottish Government is using its existing powers to provide funding to key Mediation and Arbitration delivery organisations to give our citizens access to flexible, affordable and less stressful means of settling disputes benefitting them and saving time in courts.

We are also working with key stakeholders to continue the expansion of the availability of mediation services across Scotland to ensure access to justice for all our citizens.

The National Endoscopy Training Programme, launched in 2022, has supported 99 trainee endoscopists for basic courses to date. The programme has also supported 102 independent endoscopists with upskilling, and a further 24 senior trainee endoscopists with training and procedure numbers to support independent endoscopy certification.

There are also currently 222 trainee doctors within NHS Scotland across three training specialities who can perform, or are in training to perform, endoscopy; 32 in Urology, 47 in Gastroenterology and 147 in General Surgery.

The Scottish Government remains committed to exploring the implementation of HPV self-sampling, acknowledging the potential that it has to increase uptake levels and reduce barriers to cervical screening. As introducing a new screening test into the National Screening Programme is inherently complex, a working group has been convened to assess potential models and understand any required changes to the screening programme to support an initial roll-out. This work is being informed by emerging evidence from UK and global research, and will put us in a strong position to consider how any recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee (NSC) can be implemented in Scotland.

While the NSC recognises the potential benefits of self-sampling, it has concluded that there is currently insufficient evidence to recommend implementation. Studies are underway to gather further evidence, but it is not yet known when the NSC may make a positive recommendation. Additionally, it is unclear when the work to assess and validate a test for HPV self-sampling in the UK will be complete.

National qFIT guidance for primary and secondary care was published in May 2022. Where this has been fully implemented, NHS Boards have evidenced a 70% reduction in colonoscopy urgent suspicion of cancer demand. National investigation guidance for iron deficiency anaemia, post-acute diverticulitis and oesophageal varices pathways have also been published and are currently being implemented by Health Boards. The National management guidance for haematuria has also been revised.

Furthermore, an IBD Surveillance Strategy has been developed and is being implemented by Health Boards.

Since November 2021 twenty Nurse (non-medical) Practitioners have completed the course for non-medical endoscopy with a further two due to complete the course in April 2023. There are currently also a further 18 in active training. All non-medical Practitioners who commenced the programme have completed or remain in active training.