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The Scottish Government has ensured that all refugees and displaced people from Ukraine have access to the same transport entitlements as other people resident in Scotland. Those who are aged over 60, under 22 or meet certain disability criteria, are able to access the national concessionary bus travel schemes which provide free bus travel across Scotland. The Improvement Service issued guidance to local authorities on processing concessionary applications of displaced people from Ukraine so that applications are fully supported and fast tracked. Local authorities can also use their own powers to provide additional travel support and a number of councils have already done so. I encourage other authorities to do the same where appropriate and Transport Scotland is actively reviewing whether further support for transport is required.

The Scottish Government has worked with the UK Government to allow immediate access to support, including the Job Start Payment, when displaced people from Ukraine meet the eligibility criteria. We will work with third sector partners and local authorities to consider how best to provide free bus travel to asylum seekers and refugees including displaced people from Ukraine.

Trade unions are key partners in delivering our economic and social aspirations. We will continue to promote strong trade unions and collective bargaining arrangements in all sectors, including the renewable energy sector. We have made a clear commitment to promote collective bargaining through the inclusion of an employee voice indicator, measured by collective bargaining coverage, within the National Performance Framework.

We also work closely with Scottish Renewables, the trade body for Scotland’s renewable energy industry.

Scottish Renewables played an active role in the development of the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) which explores issues such as skills development and staff retention in many industries including Energy. Through CESAP’s Implementation Steering Group we engage with both employers and their workforce as they move through the just transition to net zero. We will continue to engage with partners to deliver the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) and will move forward with improvements to the Green Jobs Workforce Academy.

Through the ‘Pitch In’ project, KIMO International and the NGO Fidra , have developed a community toolkit and best practice guidance to reduce the source of microplastic pollution. This includes information on reducing this source of microplastic pollution. Marine Scotland is working with stakeholders to support the implementation of this guidance in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is also taking action on the issue of microplastics pollution from plastic pellets, powders and flakes. We have supported the plastic industry’s voluntary ‘Operation Clean Sweep’ initiative which gives guidance for best handling practice, and are currently working with the industry to develop an auditable full supply-chain certification approach to reduce plastic loss from all businesses handling this material.

We estimate that a fully functioning 24/7, Scotland-wide thrombectomy service could deliver around 800 thrombectomies per year.

Through the Thrombectomy Advisory Group (TAG), work is currently underway to establish the optimal approach to increasing the out-of-hours availability of thrombectomies, the resources required to do so and the appropriate timescales for safely increasing capacity.

As the thrombectomy service develops we will continue to work closely with NHS colleagues and stakeholders to consider how to improve the service to ensure that safe and high quality interventions are provided to patients.

Under current arrangements, applications to sponsor or host under the Homes for Ukraine scheme are made to the UK Government, and processed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Home Office.

The UK Government published data relating to the Homes for Ukraine scheme, but has not published data on numbers of available hosts or sponsors. Published data is available at: Ukraine Family Scheme, Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) and Ukraine Extension Scheme visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Scottish Government will be releasing data on matching progress for super sponsor visa holders in the coming weeks.

The Scottish Government monitors trends in arrears and repossessions data published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and UK Finance which is collated in the quarterly Scottish Housing Market Review Scottish housing market reviews - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Home Owners Support Fund is a last resort scheme aimed at properties at the lowest 20% of the housing market. Applicants must have either mortgage arrears or have an interest only mortgage that has reached the end of its term and have no appropriate option to either repay the loan or to re-mortgage. There are a range of protections, advice and support services already in place for homeowners and not all of those affected by the current cost of living crisis will apply to the scheme.

The following table shows Home Owners Support Fund (HOSF) budget and expenditure for each of the last six years broken down by Mortgage to Rent (MTR) and Mortgage to Shared Equity (MTSE). HOSF is a demand led scheme and any difference between budget and actual spend reflects demand in that year and so there is no underspend or carry forward.

An internal review of the Home Owners Support Fund began in the Spring and will complete later this year. If Ministers decide to make any changes to the eligibility or operational arrangements for the scheme updated guidance will be published.

My officials give priority to cases with repossession orders and where a trustee is forcing the sale of a property, the requirement for secured loan payments to be 3 months in arrears will be waived. The Scottish Government does not hold data relating to the number of these types of applications that have been processed.

Confucius Classroom Hubs do not receive funding directly from the Scottish Government or the Chinese Government. Hubs in local authority schools are funded by the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools (CISS) via local authorities. Specialist classrooms (such as at Edinburgh Zoo), and Jordanhill School receive their funding directly from CISS.

In 2021-22, the Scottish Government provided CISS with a grant of £490,573. CISS publishes a joint annual report with Scotland’s Centre for Languages (SCILT) which includes information about funding and spending (available at: About Us (scilt.org.uk) ) . According to the 2021-22 annual report, approximately £400,000 was allocated from China in that year.

It is the responsibility of local authorities and schools to choose which languages to teach, and to determine what resources to draw on and partners to work with in order to support learning. Schools and teachers also remain responsible for curriculum making and the teaching in the classroom.