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Priority is given to applicants who are aged 68 or over and to those who have a terminal illness.

Many applicants to Scotland’s Redress Scheme, for a variety of reasons, require additional support in relation to practical support to complete an application, sourcing of evidence and supporting information, and also in relation to the emotional impact going through the process can have. Support is available to applicants at all stages of the process.

When additional support is required, case workers refer applicants to the Redress Support Service provided by the In-Care Survivors Alliance. The In-Care Survivors Alliance draws on its existing network of over 70 delivery partners to provide support.

The Redress Support Service can help applicants access the emotional, practical or access to records support they require. They currently have contracts with two delivery partners; Birthlink and Wellbeing Scotland, who provide additional support for applicants in accessing records.

We understand that applying for redress may bring up difficult emotions. Applicants, and potential applicants, can call the Redress Emotional Support Helpline which can be contacted on 0800 211 8403. This service provides listening ear support to those who need it while applying, or thinking about applying for redress. Applicants do not need to go through a case worker to access the helpline which is in addition to other emotional support available.

Through the Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support Fund, the Scottish Government fund 29 organisations across Scotland. These organisations support people who have suffered child abuse. They are very experienced at offering confidential support tailored to the needs of the individual. Information on the organisations and their services can be found here Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support Fund: 2020-2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Scotland’s Redress Scheme is being delivered in accordance with the Digital Scotland Service Standard . Criteria 8 relates to the creation of a service which protects users’ privacy. All of our systems are designed in line with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidance and have been penetration tested by NCSC-approved CHECK suppliers.

Given the sensitivity of the information which is being sent, it is important that survivors have a choice on how they apply. Although email has so far been the most common application channel, survivors can also apply via post. There is also a Document Upload portal which can be used by applicants to submit supporting documents.

The Privacy Notice for Survivor Applicants and the Privacy Notice for Next of Kin Applicants provide details on how the information collected by Scottish Government, as administrators of Scotland’s Redress Scheme, is managed and how it is used. In addition, Redress Scotland, who are the independent body responsible for decisions on applications and the amount of financial redress to award, also have a privacy notice in place.

In the last year our active travel delivery partners have focussed on building on established projects within schools and early education settings, as part of the continued efforts to promote walking and cycling as modes of travel for getting to and from school.

Living Streets coordinates the "WOW" project which encourages school children to walk once a week to school and provides schools, with both online and physical resources to encourage more walking, through an inter school competition. Over 130 schools took part in the WOW event at the end of the 2021-22 academic year. For 2022-23, Living Streets have established Walk to School Week (May), which saw 70 schools take part in the inaugural event, and Walk to School month (October), which it is currently preparing for. Further activity is underway with 6 secondary schools to support school travel planning, and 15 nurseries to deliver the Little Feet walking initiative.

Cycling Scotland's Bikeability Scotland Cycling Training Scheme continues to be available to all schools in all 32 Scottish local authorities. This training provides lifelong learning skills from how to balance on a bike to tackling roundabouts and junctions, where awareness of other road users and road position is crucial.

We fund Sustrans to deliver behaviour change programmes, including £745K for the successful Ibike project in schools in 2022-23. This project empowers children, parents and teachers to walk and cycle together through activities such as cycle and scooter training, led rides, and road safety awareness sessions. In 2022-23 this programme will work with at least 10 LAs and target 16,000 pupils.

It is not clear what is meant by peatlands being ‘lost’.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on how many hectares of peatland have been ‘lost’ in each of the last 15 years but we have committed £250 million to restoring 250,000 hectares of degraded peatlands by 2030.

The most recent published figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is available at: Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme and Ukraine Family Scheme: Visa data by age and sex of applicant - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) .This provides the sex breakdown by age grouping of displaced people from Ukraine who have arrived under the Super Sponsor Scheme.

The Scottish Government supports research and development in a renewable energy system through a range of funds, ensuring Scotland will be at the forefront of new transition opportunities. Our Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray has offered £20 million to projects this year, ranging from testing and promoting emerging technologies such as electric vehicle battery recycling, offshore green hydrogen, and decommissioning, to innovative projects such as a digital innovation lab and a supply chain pathway and challenge fund.

This builds on support offered through our £75 million Energy Transition Fund (ETF) and £100 million Emerging Energy Transition Fund (EETF). The ETF supports four projects: the Energy Transition Zone, Global Underwater Hub, Net Zero Technology Transition Programme, and Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub, which will all support the sector to make progress on energy transition. The first tranche of the EETF’s hydrogen investment programme was launched via the £10 million Hydrogen Innovation Scheme with a focus on innovation in green hydrogen, storage and distribution technology. To provide a coordinated vision for the sector, our upcoming Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will set out the energy system’s role in delivering a just transition to net zero and climate resilience.

The Scottish Government’s contract with First Marine International (FMI), a subsidiary of HaskoningDHV, sets out deliverables around timing and the quality of the work done on the report that the Scottish Government has commissioned. These are being used to determine performance and are linked to milestone payments to the supplier. The use of milestone payments is a common mechanism in Scottish Government contracts.

Any decisions around potential investment at the yard will be subject to value for money considerations and to subsidy control rules.

The Scottish Government is not aware of any Scotland-wide surveying or monitoring of rat populations over the last five years.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Scotland’s Redress Scheme is delivered jointly by the Scottish Government and Redress Scotland – a new non-departmental public body which assesses and makes decisions on redress applications. Redress Scotland is an independent body, which is not part of Scottish Government and is monitored by the Redress Scotland Sponsorship Team, within the Children’s Rights, Protection and Justice Division.

Scotland's Redress Scheme is delivered within the Scottish Government's Redress, Relations and Response Division. Across the division 44 staff are currently employed in a variety of roles including Operations, Survivor Relations, Contributions, Policy, Service Design and Delivery, Business Management and Communications to provide an efficient, robust and trusted scheme for applicants, partners and stakeholders.

As part of the administration of the Scheme, a bespoke Case Management System (CMS) has been developed. The CMS is hosted in a secure environment and holds sensitive, personal information relating to applications. Not all colleagues in Scotland’s Redress Scheme have access to CMS, which is restricted to ensure only staff with a specific need to access the applicant data are able to do so.

Certain staff in Redress Scotland also have access to the CMS, meaning that information does not generally need to be shared via multiple systems.

The Privacy Notice for Survivor Applicants and the Privacy Notice for Next of Kin Applicants provide details on how the information collected by Scottish Government, as administrators of Scotland’s Redress Scheme, is managed and how it is used.

It is a matter for Redress Scotland to determine their resourcing within their budget, however some details on their staff are available on their website . In addition, Redress Scotland also have a privacy notice in place.