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The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme (SSIP) Lead conducts a review process and meets with all NHS boards to understand the provision of stroke services and create a local action plan to improve performance where needed.

We recognise that the Scottish Stroke Care Standards are challenging for the service and expect Stroke Managed Clinical Networks and Health Boards to work together to drive forward quality improvement programmes of work to achieve these.

Table 1 on Crimes recorded by the police, Scotland, 2012-13 to
‎ 2021-22, from the National statistics on Recorded crime in Scotland, includes the requested information on theft of a motor vehicle. This is available within the supporting document and the associated excel tables at: Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2021-2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

If useful, a rolling annual picture is also available in the shorter quarterly releases of National Statistics on recorded crime, based on the most recent 5 years. Figures for the years ending June 2018 to June 2022 are available at: Recorded Crime in Scotland: year ending June 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Information on the number of people convicted for ‘theft of a motor vehicle’ is available in the Main tables (table 4b) of the National Statistics on Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2020-21 statistical publication available at Supporting documents - Criminal proceedings in Scotland: 2020-2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . The latest available information is for the financial year 2020-21.

It should be noted that the national lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent court closures resulted in significant reduced activity in both the number of reports being referred to COPFS and the number of proceedings going through Scottish courts. Consequently the 2020-21 figures should not be considered indicative of any long-term trends.

Whilst the Scottish Government do publish data on both recorded crimes and criminal proceedings in Scotland, these are based on distinct and unlinked data sets. Care should be taken when comparing different data sources relating to the criminal justice system. Detailed information on why these two data sources are not directly comparable can be found in Annex C, paragraph 14 of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2020-21 bulletin.

For example recorded crime statistics count crimes and offences at the time that they came to the attention of Police Scotland while criminal proceedings statistics report on cases which have concluded in court. This means that a crime may be recorded by the police in one year, charges brought and court proceedings concluded in subsequent years. In addition, a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime, or a set of crimes with more than one victim, in a proceeding, but only the main charge is counted in these court proceedings statistics. There is also the possibility that the crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings.

The Scottish Government has no plans at this time to amend the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 to limit peat extraction for those with valid planning permission, and no assessment of costs has been undertaken.

Our draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) made clear the critical role that peat and carbon rich soils have to play in helping to achieve net zero target by 2045, through sequestering and storing carbon and proposed new national planning policies such that development proposals for new commercial peat extraction, including extensions to existing sites, should not be supported except in very limited circumstances. We are pleased with the wide interest in NPF4 from across society and are carefully considering the broad range of views shared with us before finalising NPF4 for Scottish Parliament approval.

At the same time, we are taking forward work to develop and consult on a ban on the sale of peat-related garden products, as part of our commitment to phase out the use of peat in horticulture.

The authorisation of plant protection products (PPPs) is an area devolved to the Scottish Government and Scottish Ministers have arranged for functions related to regulating PPPs to be exercised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on our behalf. Whilst Asulox does not currently hold a full approval for use, the Scottish Government carefully considered and consented to, the HSE’s recommendation to authorise limited and controlled emergency use of Asulox for bracken management during 2022.

Delivery of PPPs by drone falls under the HSE regulations covering aerial spraying. To ensure safety on the ground and in the air both the HSE and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are involved in considering any such applications. Scottish Ministers encourage our regulator and stakeholders to look to solutions that decrease risks to human and environmental health.

The Active Scotland Delivery Group last met on 21 July 2021, with partners rightly focussing on Covid management and recovery in the interim period. Meetings have recently been undertaken with individual partners with a view to reconvening the group by the end of the year and refreshing the Active Scotland Delivery plan post Covid.

We have set out Scottish Government’s and COSLA’s commitment to implementing the key recommendations set out in the Coming Home Implementation report, which are essential to achieving our aim to significantly reduce delayed discharge and inappropriate out-of-area placements for adults with learning disabilities and complex care needs by March 2024.

Scottish Government are committed to working with local Health and Social Care Partnerships to achieving this aim and work to develop the Dynamic Support Register is underway and it will be established as soon as possible.

I refer the member to question S6W-10779 on 20 September 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

£25m digital inclusion funding was made available by Scottish Government in 2020-21 for local authorities to use to support learners, in line with their own local needs. This funding supported the provision of 14,000 internet connections and 72,000 tablets or laptops for learners across all local authorities.

A number of local authorities have also invested their own funding in technology and have distributed connections and devices to learners in line with their own digital strategies.

We continue to work with local authorities on plans to ensure every school-aged child has access to a device and connectivity by the end of this parliamentary term.

The following tables 1 to 4 show breast screening uptake from January 2019 to June 2022 for each of the breast screening centres. Uptake is defined as the proportion of eligible patients invited who receive a technically adequate and complete screen. 2019 data is provided as a baseline. Note that table 2 reflects a period when the programme was paused due to COVID-19.

It is important to note that the data provided was collected and used for management purposes for monitoring the recovery of the program and has not been subject to quality checks for official publication. Public Health Scotland publish breast screening programme statistics every year; the last publication was in April 2022 and the next publication is due in April 2023.

Table 1 – Breast screening uptake (% of eligible participants) by screening centre, January to December 2019

The Scottish Government’s funding agreement with CoSLA enables local authorities to pay sustainable rates to providers in the private, third and childminding sectors who meet the National Standard, and enter into a contract with a local authority to provide funded early learning and childcare (ELC).

Last year’s Financial Sustainability Health Check reported that payments for the delivery of funded ELC account for around 33% to 45% of income for private providers. Providers are responsible for setting fees that are not associated with the provision of funded ELC.

The Scottish Government and local government recognise the need to strengthen the process for setting sustainable rates, and are progressing the programme of actions from the Health Check .

This includes publishing jointly with COSLA, on 26 May 2022, updated guidance to support local authorities to set sustainable rates. The guidance emphasises the importance of ongoing consultation and dialogue between local authorities and their local ELC providers.

The Scottish Government is committed to collecting annual data on the sustainable rates set by local authorities, and will publish an update this autumn.