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The Scottish Government welcomes the publication of FIVEXMORE’s [The] Black Maternity Experiences Survey – a Nationwide Study of Black Women’s Experiences of Maternity Services in the United Kingdom , published on 24 May 2022, and we are considering its findings carefully, alongside the actions and recommendations from all audit reports and the MBRRACE-UK confidential enquiries. Our expectation remains clear: that mothers and babies receive high-quality, person-centred maternity care at all times, tailored to their needs, with quality and safety central to decision-making.

We are participating in the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Race Equality Taskforce . The Scottish Government’s Senior Medical Officer for Maternity and Women’s Health is a member of the Taskforce, which will make recommendations for actions in maternity services to tackle the inequity in outcomes for pregnant women and babies from minority ethnic communities.

From the £12 million we made available to support the wellbeing of the health, social work and social care workforce in 2021-22, we:

• Used £3.5 million to assist in the continuation of our national wellbeing resources
• Allocated £2 million to Health and Social Care Partnerships to provide evidence-based support to meet the needs of those working in primary and social care
• Allocated £2 million to Health and Social Care Partnerships to be used by Chief Officers of Integration Authorities (IA's) to support staff wellbeing during the winter pressures
• Allocated £2 million to Health Boards to support NHS staff wellbeing during the winter pressures
• Allocated £1.5 million to Health Boards to provide additional practical support that staff needed due to increased pressure from the Omicron variant
• Made £1 million available to support wellbeing projects for staff working in Adult Social Work and Social Care

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Homes2Fit is an accessible housing register set up and run by Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living (GCIL). The Scottish Government has not collected feedback or carried out an evaluation of Homes2Fit accessible housing register.

The Scottish Government has today published its response to the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce (ZEST) report which can be accessed at http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781804355176 .

The Scottish Government is grateful to ZEST for its work and welcomes the recommendations which will help shape Scotland’s just transition to net zero.

As was highlighted in the ZEST report, the second Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH2) is not fully aligned with net zero and Housing Associations’ and Local Authorities’ need for long-term certainty to plan investment appropriately.

The Scottish Government today confirms that the review of EESSH2 will be brought forward to commence this year for completion in 2023.

While the review is underway the current EESSH2 2025 and 2032 milestones will be put on hold temporarily to ensure that any investment is targeted toward long-term solutions that deliver net zero and support the eradication of fuel poverty. Whilst the review is underway, social landlords should continue to invest in energy efficiency measures to help reduce running costs, and in zero emissions heating systems where appropriate.

The Scottish Government’s Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund supports projects to deploy zero emissions heat, improve energy efficiency and reduce fuel poverty. The fund will make £200 million available over the course of this parliament - investing in a sector already leading the way in the heat transition.

The Scottish Government is committed to, and looks forward to, working jointly with the social housing sector on both the EESSH2 review and as we take forward next steps from the ZEST report.

As part of our Programme for Government commitment to provide the people of Scotland with the information they need to make an informed choice about their future, I am pleased to advise Parliament that the Scottish Government is today publishing Independence in the Modern World. Wealthier, Happier, Fairer: Why Not Scotland?

This is the first paper in the Building a New Scotland prospectus series designed to inform the debate on Scotland’s future. The paper sets out how other European countries comparable to Scotland use their full powers of independence to tailor policies to their own specific circumstances and in doing so outperform the UK across a range of indicators. The Building a New Scotland papers will set out the vision for a fairer, more prosperous and greener Scotland and, taken together, will form a prospectus for how an independent Scotland could work.

Independence in the Modern World. Wealthier, Happier, Fairer: Why Not Scotland? is available to view on the Scottish Government website from today :

• http://www.gov.scot/newscotland

At present, there is no marked increase in applications to the Home Owners Support Fund (HOSF). However, to ensure the scheme has maximum impact as part of our response to the current economic situation, I can confirm my officials are currently reviewing HOSF to consider what more can be done through the scheme to support homeowners struggling with mortgage repayments as a result of rising interest rates and the cost of living crisis.

My officials are currently reviewing the operational and delivery arrangements for the Home Owners Support Fund to consider what improvements can be made, including capital and equity arrangements for the scheme.

The following table shows actual funding provided between 2015-16 and 2021-22 to support the delivery of affordable housing in the South Lanarkshire Council Area.

The Super Sponsor scheme is designed to provide a quick and safe route for displaced people from Ukraine to come to a place of sanctuary by removing the need for applicants to be matched to an individual sponsor prior to being given permission to travel to the UK.

Once people have arrived, a national matching service, delivered by COSLA, will match those settling here with longer-term accommodation across Scotland.

Displaced people from Ukraine are asked to complete a short questionnaire that captures key information and preferences. This information is then used to find suitable longer-term accommodation. All 32 of our local authorities are taking part in this programme, and hosts have offered up their homes right across the country. The national matching service will ensure that people are offered settlement opportunities across Scotland, recognising that people will have different preferences and available housing is limited in some local authorities.

We have not undertaken any recent assessment of the costs to individuals or the economy of using reusable nappies compared to single-use nappies. However, in line with the waste hierarchy, the Scottish Government’s focus is on measures to promote reusable alternatives, like the reusable nappy vouchers in the Baby Box.