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The breakdown of the additional funding provided to Health Boards for Breastfeeding Initiatives since 2018/19 is as follows:

Capital and running costs of heat pumps vary depending on building type and characteristics. Over the last year, the Scottish Government has commissioned and published via ClimateXChange two research projects into the costs and performance of heat pumps:

1. Costs of zero emissions heating in new buildings (climatexchange.org.uk) (April 2021)

2. Heat pump use in Scotland: an evidence review (climatexchange.org.uk) (October 2021)

In addition, Scottish Government analysts draw on a range of modelling and real-world data, including analysis produced by the UK Committee on Climate Change, and the National Household Model. This informed the analytical annex to the Fuel Poverty Strategy published in December 2021, available at: fuel-poverty-strategy-analytical-annex.pdf (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government is grateful for the dedication and professionalism of the workforce across the entirety of the Test and Protect system for all they have done to manage the impacts of the pandemic.

As stated in the Test and Protect Transition Plan published on 15 March, the Test and Protect system will now move to a transition phase following which there will be a need to ensure the workforce reflects that required to provide a proportionate system for the future.

The Scottish Government and employers across Test and Protect are working tirelessly to ensure a fair and consistent approach which has all of the workforce at the forefront. The Scottish Government is actively working with employers to ensure every member of staff is supported to access available redeployment opportunities or to be signposted towards alternative opportunities in the broader public or private sectors. Employers are also utilising wider support available through partner agencies to maximise the individualised support given to staff who wish to seek employment opportunities elsewhere.

Whilst the Scottish Government is provided with management information on the scheduled capacity of the contact tracing element of Test and Protect only, the management of the workforce including all recruitment to the Test and Protect service throughout the pandemic has been managed by individual employers, not the Scottish Government directly.

External contractors who have supported the Test and Protect system consist of: those who have supplemented the core and fixed-term workforce and have been recruited by NHS National Services Scotland for the National Contact Centre; and those appointed by the UK Government to support contracts associated with testing. The Scottish Government was not directly involved in the process to recruit or manage either of these groups of contractors and therefore does not hold this information.

The Scottish Government is actively working with NHS Health Boards, Local Authorities and private employers to understand the exact current number of staff employed across Test and Protect which at the moment is more than 7,000. This exercise will allow us to ensure we maximise our support to each individual member of staff to sustain employment with their current employer to have access to support to move to other opportunities across the public or private sector.

In line with the timescales set out in the Test and Protect Transition Plan published on 15 March, we are in the process of engaging across the Test and Protect system to identify future resource needs.

The Scottish Government have used the data from the 2019 Scottish House Condition Survey to estimate the likely impact of energy price increases since 2019 on fuel poverty. This has been done by increasing modelled fuel bills in line with increases in the Ofgem price cap for the average dual fuel bill. This was based on an increase of 71% over the weighted average price caps in 2019 of £1,170 to an anticipated price cap of £2,000 in April 2022.

The analysis indicates that between 807,000 (32.3%) and 831,000 households (33.3%) could now be in fuel poverty as a result of the April 2022 price cap.

The analysis accounts for the mitigations announced by the Scottish and UK Governments in response to the April 2022 price cap increase, namely the UK Government’s £200 energy bill rebate and the Scottish Government’s £150 council tax credit for those in council tax bands A to D or in receipt of council tax reduction. The range provided depends on whether the Scottish Government’s £150 council tax credit is treated as a reduction to fuel bills or an increase in incomes, which are calculated differently within the fuel poverty definition.

Data on complaints regarding the removal of care packages is not aggregated centrally – complaints may be made to the Scottish Government, the Care Inspectorate and individual Health and Social Care Partnerships, rather than to a single organisation.

The pandemic continues to present challenges for supported people, the social care workforce, and unpaid carers. We are working closely with Health and Social Care Partnerships to urgently address these pressures. We have made clear our expectation that disruption or removal of care packages should be avoided. Health and Social Care Partnerships have provided assurances that those care packages of most clinical urgency will continue during this difficult period.

More than £175 million has been invested through Warmer Homes Scotland, the Scottish Government’s national fuel poverty scheme since its launch in September 2015, helping over 25,000 households throughout Scotland.

Eligibility for the scheme is based on both the property and the individual meeting the qualifying criteria. Individual eligibility is based on “proxies” - certain benefits which are an indication of the likelihood of the household living in or being at risk of fuel poverty. The eligibility criteria are designed to target support at households who are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of poor energy efficiency and heating systems. This includes those with a long term health condition (as well as carers, older people and families with children under 16 years of age).

During the lifetime of the scheme, the eligibility criteria have been reviewed and amended to manage demand and increase referrals, and in line with policy priorities. Households also move in and out of fuel poverty and the receipt of qualifying benefits.

For these reasons an estimate as outlined is not possible.

The Scottish Government has committed to procuring a new enhanced successor to Warmer Homes Scotland when the current contract expires in June 2023, with a formal procurement process now underway. As outlined within the Fuel Poverty Strategy, working with the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel, we will seek to ensure the eligibility criteria is aligned with the updated Scottish fuel poverty definition and that assistance continues to be targeted at those who need it most.

As independent Chair of the review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy in Scotland, Dr Colin Church has determined the scope, process and timelines of the Review.

In December 2020, Dr Church set out in a Call for Evidence his intention to commission a further piece of work, since he believes an assessment of the options to decarbonise the existing residual waste treatment infrastructure in Scotland may take longer than the intended timescale for the review.

This further work will not impact on the delivery date of the Review Report or Scottish Government’s ability to respond to the Report. Dr Church has stated his aim is to submit the report by Easter 2022 and we will publish it as soon as possible after this.

We do not hold this information centrally. Private contractor costs that have been incurred relating to Test & Protect staff would be held by the Boards recruiting the relevant staff members. In addition, costs relating to private contractors for staff working at test sites were awarded and managed by the UK Government as part of the National Testing Programme, and are not managed by the Scottish Government.

On 1 March 2022, there were 71 UK Government-operated test centres, 39 Scottish Ambulance Service-run mobile test centres, and around 50 temporary local authority and health board-run asymptomatic test sites across Scotland. There were also 23 operational small-scale test sites in NHS Highland and NHS Grampian, resulting in a total of around 180 test sites.

As the First Minister said in her 15 March statement when she announced the Test and Protect Transition Plan, the primary purpose of testing is changing from population-wide testing to reduce transmission, to targeted testing to support clinical care. It will also be required on an ongoing basis for surveillance, outbreak management and health and care workforces.

Until the end of April, we will continue to advise those with symptoms to get a PCR test. PCR test sites will remain open during this period, though opening hours and locations may change during the transition. Test sites will close at the end of April – although a small number of mobile testing units and lab capacity will be retained for our longer term contingency and testing purposes.

A copy of the Test and Protect Transition Plan can be found here: Supporting documents - Coronavirus (COVID-19): Test and Protect - transition plan - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)