Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government is working to respond to the health and wellbeing needs of children and young people who are looked after, in light of recovery from the pandemic; and as part of our commitment to Keep the Promise, our continuing response to the recommendations of the Independent Care Review. Our policy framework is subject to continuous improvement and will be updated, if required, as part of this work.

The most recent statistics indicate that there has been an increase in the use of cocaine and crack cocaine over recent years and we are seeing this reflected in the drug-related death statistics. It is believed this increased use may be related to decreases in price and increases in purity. We also know that availability of cocaine across Europe has been at record levels in recent years.

This increase is part of a growing pattern of poly drug use. Of the 458 deaths where cocaine was implicated, there were 16 where cocaine was the only substance involved. Poly drug use continues to present new and complex challenges for treatment services and we continue our efforts in surveillance to understand and respond to emerging drug trends.

We continue to work closely with Police Scotland, drug treatment services and key stakeholders to closely monitor the situation and ensure the appropriate services are in place for those most at risk.

People should be provided with high quality person centred treatment regardless of the type of drugs they are using. Alcohol and Drug Partnerships use both national and local data and intelligence to commission appropriate services that respond to the immediate and changing needs of their population.

It is also vital that we continue to closely monitor drug trends, as well as the harms associated with drug use. One of the key pieces of work being taken forward by the Drug Deaths Task Force is work to improve our public health surveillance of drugs.

The Drug Deaths Taskforce are in regular contact with colleagues at Public Health Scotland around receiving data relating to drugs and receive this quarterly, which is then fed back to the Taskforce.

There are also a range of projects funded by the Taskforce, which have identified key issues around drug trends and harms in a wide range of areas across Scotland, and this information is being collated and will be shared and used to help make important decisions around highlighting trends and harms along with tackling these efficiently and quickly.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of enhancing mental health awareness and provision within the public sector and wider workplace.

Our Clear Your Head campaign has been in place since April 2020 to help people look after their mental health during the pandemic. Given the particular pressures on Health & Social Care over this period, we have provided a range of additional wellbeing support to the Health and Social Care workforce including the National Wellbeing Hub, the National Wellbeing Helpline, Coaching for Wellbeing, the Workforce Specialist Service and additional funding for psychological interventions and therapies to support the mental health of Health and Social Care staff.

More generally, we continue to support See Me, Scotland’s national campaign to end mental health stigma and discrimination, improving the culture, policies and practices for workplaces. Our ambition is for a trauma informed workforce across Scotland, supported by our National Trauma Training Programme. We also have a short life working group in place to take forward key actions relating to employment and mental health from our ‘Covid 19 Mental Health Transition and Recovery’ plan.

(a) & (c) The latest set of annual statistics on the number of Long Term Empty Properties and Second Homes, based on Council Tax Base data as at September 2020, were published in the Housing Statistics Quarterly Update in December 2020, and are available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-scotland-quarterly-update/ , with detailed local authority level Excel tables covering the period from 1996 to 2020 available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-empty-properties-and-second-homes/ . Figures are split into the categories of Long Term Empty Properties and Second Homes, however are not available broken down by housing tenure.

The latest annual figures show that there were 47,333 Long Term Empty properties and 24,466 Second Homes, across all tenures, as at September 2020. In addition, there were 44,143 Unoccupied Exemptions, generally properties which are empty and unfurnished for less than 6 months and exempt from paying council tax.

(b) The Scottish Housing Regulator publish figures on the number of vacant self-contained lettable social housing properties, with most recent data as at end June 2021 available as part of the Covid-19 dashboards at: https://www.housingregulator.gov.scot/landlord-performance/national-reports/covid-19-dashboards , and with previous annual data published as part of annual Charter Data figures for 2014/15 to 2018/19 at: https://www.housingregulator.gov.scot/landlord-performance/statistical-information

The latest Scottish Housing Regulator figures on vacant self-contained lettable social housing stock show that there were 8,886 empty social sector homes (including 5,311 local authority homes and 3,575 housing association homes) as at the end of June 2021. There will always be vacant social housing stock at any point of time as social landlords prepare homes in advance of them being re-allocated. Social landlords, as part of meeting the Scottish Social Housing Charter, strive to provide an efficient and effective management of their housing services. This includes minimising the time houses are empty. Latest published figures from the Scottish Housing Regulator show that the average time to re-let a social housing property in the quarter April to June 2021 was 52 calendar days (an average of 62 days for local authority properties, and 41 days for housing association properties).

The Scottish Government also collects information on vacant stock from local authorities as part of annual statistical returns, which covers all types of local authority vacant stock, including lettable stock, as well as stock used as temporary accommodation for the homeless, stock awaiting demolition or modernisation, and stock in low demand areas. However the figures exclude local authorities which have transferred their stock to Housing Associations (Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow City, Inverclyde,Na h-Eileanan Siar and the Scottish Borders). Latest annual statistics for 2019, by type of stock and length of vacancy, are published at https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-scotland-2019-key-trends-summary/ , with detailed local authority level Excel tables available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-local-authority-housing-stock/ .

The latest available Scottish Government annual statistics on local authority vacant housing stock show that there were 7,409 vacant local authority dwellings as at end March 2019. This includes 2,782 normal letting stock dwellings, 476 dwellings used as temporary accommodation for the homeless, 2,208 dwellings awaiting demolition, 1,430 dwellings forming part of a modernisation scheme, and 513 dwellings in low demand areas.

(d) The draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) on Short-term lets: licensing scheme and planning control area legislation published for consultation on 25 June 2021, available at: https://consult.gov.scot/housing-and-social-justice/short-term-lets-draft-licensing-order-and-bria/ , sets out the available information on number of short-term lets, which includes self-catering properties. The BRIA estimates that there are approximately 32,000 short-term lets in Scotland, based on research in 2019, but also highlights the challenges in gauging the full size of the short-term lets market, which includes accommodation ranging from single rooms, whole homes and unconventional accommodation.

In June 2021, there were approximately 17,850 premises registered on the Non-Domestic Rates roll as self-catering properties. This figure is from the self-catering units on the Assessor’s valuation roll. The Scottish Government does not routinely publish summaries of the valuation roll as it is a live administrative dataset which is publicly searchable on the Scottish Assessors Association website, available at: https://www.saa.gov.uk/

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of council tax registered premises used for self-catering purposes.

The Scottish Government will undertake a comprehensive awareness raising campaign which will run across a range of channels including TV, Radio and digital to ensure people are aware of the new legislation and encourage compliance. This will include material to support third sector stakeholders and messaging on the importance of using reputable tradespeople including signposting to local government Trading Standards.

The Strategic Framework within Scotland’s Scams Prevention, Awareness and Enforcement Strategy, published in 19 March 2021, focusses on prevention, disruption, awareness, education and enforcement. This is intended to help all consumers with practical steps they can take to recognise common scam tactics and avoid the risk posed by this criminal activity.

Further advice can be obtained from consumeradvice.scot which is a free consumer helpline funded by the Scottish Government.

To ensure that a policy, project or scheme does not unlawfully discriminate against any protected characteristic, the Scottish Government develops an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) at the onset of each policy. The 2021 STEM bursary EQIA can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/stem-bursary-equality-impact-assessment-2021/

Extenuating circumstances will be considered at the STEM bursary advisory group in advance of a 2022 STEM bursary scheme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02179 on
‎ 1 September 2021. 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 .

The Scottish COVID-19 Mental Health Tracker study provides data on the prevalence of mild to moderate mental health problems. Wave 4 of the Tracker Study is due to be published in the coming weeks.

Alongside other sources, we use the Tracker Study to monitor the mental health and wellbeing of the Scottish population. This provides insight into the potential impact of COVID-19 pandemic, and accompanying restrictions, on the mental health of the Scottish population, and has allowed us to tailor our mental health policy response as needs continue to evolve.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 require Scottish Ministers to review the requirements at least once every 21 days. This review took place on 24 August 2021 where it was agreed that the existing Covid-19 requirements be retained for a further three weeks, and will be subject to review at that time.

As part of that ongoing review we have made a very minor amendment to the principal regulations to enable performers to perform or rehearse for a performance without face coverings in situations on stage where the wearing of a face covering is not possible, and distancing or partitioning is not possible. This exemption will only apply in situations where there is either a partition or a distance of at least one metre between performers and other people (including the audience) but that does not include people who are performing or rehearsing with the performers or assisting with the performance or rehearsal. Scottish Government will publish guidance to supplement these regulations.

The Regulations have been published at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ssi/2021/299 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02179 on
‎ 1 September 2021. 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 .