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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.

Staff across a wide range of services play a role in growing community mental health resilience and directing social prescribing, While it is not possible to quantify the total number of staff contributing to this objective, Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27 outlined our commitment to funding 800 additional mental health workers in key settings, including A&Es, GP practices, police station custody suite and prisons – ensuring local provision and support is at the heart of our plans. At the end of the commitment, an additional 958.9 whole time equivalent (WTE) mental health roles have been filled using Action 15 funding. This exceeds the original commitment and includes an additional 356.1 WTE mental health workers recruited to GP practices.

We have also prioritised investment through the Primary Care Improvement Fund (PCIF). At March 2022, 260 WTE mental health workers had been recruited to primary care settings. The PCIF also funds Community Link Workers (CLWs) as part of primary care multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs). CLWs also play a role in social prescribing by enabling people to identify and access relevant resources within their community. At March 2022, 249 WTE CLWs had been recruited to support GP practices.

Since 2021, we have invested £36 million in our Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults. We have made over 1,800 awards to grassroots community projects focused on prevention and early intervention, with the aim of building capacity within community organisations to support the mental health and wellbeing of individuals.

We are continuing to invest in community-based supports for children, young people and families, with a further £15 million being provided this year. These services benefitted over 38,000 children, young people, parents and carers in the first six months of this year alone. Many of these services include links to local sport and recreation activities, which capitalise on the benefits of young people being active.

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.

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.

The Final Report from the Oversight Group has been published today on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781805254362

Overall, the report is positive. It highlights where progress has clearly been made but also states a number of areas where further work is required.

The Scottish Government will continue to support sustainable change and improvements in Tayside, to ensure the safe and effective delivery of mental health services. We will work with partners in Tayside to ensure a detailed improvement plan is in place, with clear milestones and deliverables which progress the key areas for action detailed within the Oversight Group’s Final Report.

We will measure progress against agreed key deliverables in this plan, working closely with NHS Tayside, Local Authorities, Integration Joint Boards, the Chief Officer for Mental Health and other Chief Officers in Tayside. These arrangements will inform whether NHS Tayside can be deescalated from Level 3 to Level 2 for Mental Health Services in the future.

The Scottish Government will provide additional support to colleagues across Tayside, including access to advice and support from Professional Advisors and Senior Officials in the Mental Health Directorate to support progress.

I would like to thank the Oversight Group for the meticulous approach to this work. I have particularly welcomed the wide engagement the Chair and Members have had with staff and people with experience of using mental health services across Tayside, which has been a critical aspect in the successful delivery of this very challenging, but extremely important, programme of work.

The Scottish Government responded to the legal services regulation reform consultation analysis report on 22 December 2022. The response may be viewed at the following link: Legal services regulation reform - consultation analysis: Scottish Government response - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The response underpins the Scottish Government’s commitment to reforming legal services and to retaining the sector’s independence within a system that provides greater flexibility in how complaints are handled, to benefit both consumers and legal professionals. The response also sets out how the existing regulatory framework for legal services should be modernised to provide users with increased confidence, support growth in the sector and strengthen consumer protections.

I understand that the Law Society of Scotland has written to you directly on this matter however, I can confirm that it is the Law Society’s policy and practice to remove any suspended solicitor from their online searchable database. This is done as soon as they have been suspended, regardless of any outstanding disciplinary processes.

Officials have met with various stakeholders representing the private rented sector including Propertymark, Scottish Association of Landlords, Chartered Institute of Housing, Scottish Land and Estates, Citizens Advice Scotland and Living Rent.

Decisions on future plans for the private sector rent freeze, as well as other measures contained in the Act, will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Scottish Government has committed to developing a Bill on the regulation of legal services within this parliamentary session, and will continue to engage with stakeholders representing the consumer and legal perspective taking that forward.

The recording of contractors is not a mandatory field in our applications system and therefore our records are not complete. The Scottish Government Affordable Housing Supply Programme does not formally analyse whether contractors are SME housebuilders or the basis of their involvement.