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The Scottish Government recognises that Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) is a debilitating condition which can have a huge impact on people’s lives. We are committed to ensuring those affected by it are supported through the NHS and our social security system.

Social security support may be provided through devolved disability benefits, which comprise our newly launched Child Disability Payment, Child Winter Heating Assistance and also through Adult Disability Payment, which is planned to launch nationally in the summer of 2022, and Pension Age Disability Payment which will follow.

For all of Scotland’s new forms of disability assistance, we are making improvements to the application and decision making process. For Adult Disability Payments this will include replacing current assessments with person centred consultations. This and other changes will ensure that we take full account of fluctuating conditions like ME and markedly improve how all decisions are made.

In advance of the launch of our new benefits, adults continue to be eligible for existing disability benefits administered by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The Cost of Care model will be updated and the uplift will be applied to both care staff and senior care staff.

Scotland’s Covid-19 vaccination programme has been extremely successful, with over 8 million doses administered within 10 months. With the ongoing pandemic, we are following the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice by prioritising based on age and health status with highest health needs first as we know both increase the risk of serious illness from Covid-19.

Given the scale and the challenges that the programme faces, delivering all boosters will take place over a period of several months, however the vaccination programme is continuing at considerable pace – including administering over 436,000 COVID-19 and flu doses in the first week of November.

Health boards are working at pace and appointing those in most vulnerable groups for when they become eligible for a booster. Since the booster programme began in mid-September, the number of booster and third doses administered stands at 1,342,841 as of 19 November.

You can view more information on the number of 1st , 2nd , 3rd and booster doses delivered at: COVID-19 Daily Dashboard | Tableau Public .

Human trafficking is a hidden and often complex crime. Accurately assessing the scale of the problem in Scotland and beyond is challenging, although a range of estimates exist around the prevalence of the issue, both in the UK and globally.

Data on the number of trafficking victims in Scotland is drawn from the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The NRM is the UK-wide framework for identifying potential victims of trafficking and ensuring they receive appropriate support and assistance.

Information from the NRM is released by the Home Office Single Competent Authority quarterly and in an end of year summary. Data relating to 2020 and 2021 can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics .

The total capital grant funding provided by the Scottish Government to North Ayrshire Council, in real terms, since 2008-09 is set out in the following table. Prior to 2008-09 the Scottish Government supported local authorities’ capital funding programmes through a combination of loan charge support for historic debt, supported borrowing allocations and a range of separate capital grants outwith the annual local government finance settlement (the details of which are not held centrally).

The capital funding for local authorities changed fundamentally with effect from 1 April 2008 with these individual capital grants being incorporated into the annual local government finance settlement. It should also be noted that funding for Police and Fire transferred out of the local government finance settlement with effect from 1 April 2013. As a result the years prior to 2013-14 are not comparable to the years after 2013-14.

The real terms figures were calculated using the October 2021 HM Treasury GDP deflators.

This cohort was appointed locally and Health Boards used this data to make arrangements. Anyone who was identified as part of this cohort in tranche 1 should automatically be included for the second.

The majority of Health Boards sent personal NVSS invitations through Royal Mail in the traditional blue envelopes to eligible 12-17 year olds, which contained a scheduled appointment and information leaflet. Boards will also undertake mop up sessions in communities and schools to ensure that young people who wish to be vaccinated are able to have this.

Online material was promoted to young people, parents/carers from 17 September. Drop-in clinics across Scotland accepted young people from 20 September onwards, ideally attending with their parent/carer. A smaller number of more rural Boards have opted to undertake school based delivery models and they sent the national invite letter, leaflet and consent form home in September.

NHS Inform has been updated with information, and information leaflets have been provided by Public Health Scotland. News releases by Scottish Government have been issued and communication material has been issued to Health Boards. There will be a mixture of local Board and Nationally coordinated social media and marketing – this is aimed at providing the key information to support people being aware of what is being offered and how NHS Scotland is delivering this.

We are not aware of any issues of this cohort not being notified of appointments for second doses. If the member is aware of any instances, please contact me for officials to investigate.

Children and young people aged 12 to 15 can attend open access services to receive their vaccine: Open access services | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot) , or an appointment can be arranged a few weeks in advance by contacting the vaccination helpline on 0800 030 8013.

Booster vaccinations in Scotland started as soon as possible once the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provided their advice on boosters, which stated that the booster dose should be offered no earlier than six months after completion of the primary vaccine course, however there is some flexibility to offer a booster vaccination to the most vulnerable groups after five months.

1,342,841 people have received a booster or 3rd dose to 19 November, and we are working as quickly as we can, prioritising those most vulnerable.

Data on boosters by JCVI priority group is not yet published. We continue to work closely with Public Health Scotland to develop the vaccination data to provide robust statistics that enhance public understanding.

Booster vaccinations in Scotland started as soon as possible once the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provided their advice on boosters, which stated that the booster dose should be offered no earlier than six months after completion of the primary vaccine course, however there is some flexibility to offer a booster vaccination to the most vulnerable groups after five months.

1,342,841 people have received a booster or 3rd dose to Friday 19 November, and we are working as quickly as we can, prioritising those most vulnerable.

Data on boosters by JCVI priority group is not yet published. We continue to work closely with Public Health Scotland to develop the vaccination data to provide robust statistics that enhance public understanding.

Having been driven to extinction, beavers are now again an established part of Scotland’s wildlife, and the Scottish Government recognises that they will play an important role in restoring Scotland’s natural environment. Through their creation of wetland habitats that support a range of species including invertebrates, fish, amphibians, birds and mammals. Beaver dams can also play an important role in filtering sediment from watercourses and in mitigating flooding.

We will support trapping and translocation projects as a proactive measure to help establish beaver presence in areas of Scotland outside their current range and beyond areas where it might be expected that natural expansion would reach in the short term. As set out in the Shared Policy Programme, financial and practical support will be made available to facilitate translocation.

NatureScot have played a key role in working with stakeholders to develop our approach to beaver management and build sufficient experience enable us to take this significant step in expanding the beaver range in Scotland. NatureScot will lead on developing a national beaver strategy to direct this work as part our programme to restore and enhance biodiversity across Scotland. We will ask NatureScot to put this new policy direction into effect from the start of the new trapping season in the summer of 2022. This will mean that projects that aim to create new populations of beavers outside their current range will be considered for licenses. As is normal with these types of projects, groups proposing them would be expected to provide support on aspects such as consultation, monitoring and management. Trapping and translocation as a licensed mitigation measure will be carried out by or on behalf of NatureScot.

We will ask NatureScot to examine aspects of trapping and translocation with a view to guidance and streamlining the process. For example there may be scope for expanding the range of techniques and traps employed, as well as reducing some of the current measures and monitoring of beavers trapped and released within Scotland. We will also ask NatureScot how capacity for trapping and translocation can be increased if necessary to support additional demand.

All use of trapping and translocation will continue to be in accordance with animal welfare best practice and in accordance with the IUCN Guidelines and the Scottish Code on Conservation Translocations. Both of these documents emphasise the need for meaningful consultation and the importance of local acceptance of translocated animals. This will remain an important aspect of the Scottish Government and NatureScot’s consideration of translocation proposals.

The Scottish Government understands that through their modification of the environment, beavers can produce negative impacts on some species, on agricultural land, forestry and on infrastructure. Many of these impacts can be reduced or avoided through mitigation measures that allow beavers to remain in situ . NatureScot will continue to provide advice and financial support for such measures for as long as they are required. We will also promote the development of ideas for beaver mitigation techniques employing new technology. Lethal control will continue to be utilised as a management measure where necessary and as a last resort.

In conclusion we look forward to facilitating the expansion of beavers as part of our efforts to restore Scotland’s natural environment while supporting land managers to manage any risks this may pose. We will build on the experience of managing beavers in Scotland learned over the last twelve years or so and enabling the biodiversity and hydrological benefits to be seen over a wider area of Scotland, while continuing to ensure important economic interests can continue to be protected.

To ask the Scottish Government how many farmers have received support through the Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme since 2018