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Data on the number of heat pumps in Scotland can be found on page 27 of the ‘Renewable Heat in Scotland, 2019’ report, which was published in October 2020: Renewable-Heat-in-Scotland-2019_new.pdf (energysavingtrust.org.uk) . The report states that there are, as of 2019, 17,140 heat pumps in Scotland. The next report is due to be released in October 2021.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Whistleblowing complaints and discipline are matters for the designated Deputy Chief Constable of Police Scotland, with oversight by the Scottish Police Authority.

Police Scotland takes whistleblowing seriously and have set-up an independent advice line to provide confidential expert advice to officers and staff who have any concerns. They will continue to develop the Whistleblowing process to support Policing for a safe, protected and resilient Scotland.

We do not underestimate the severe impact the pandemic is having on the night-time sector and restrictions will not be kept in place a day longer than necessary. As the First Minister made clear on 13 July, a gradual approach to the lifting of restrictions gives the best chance of sustainability and will help build people’s confidence to return to their normal lives and support these businesses.

We have previously made additional funding of up to £750 per week available to nightclubs depending on their Rateable Value. We regularly engage with the night time industry. Guidance for the night time economy will be developed in partnership with the industry in line with the decisions on moving beyond level 0 and taking account of the baseline measures which will be in place. We are however, at this time, unable to commit to further funding for businesses or their employees including those in the night time economy due to a lack of further consequentials from the UK Government.

We continue to urge the UK Government to extend both the Self Employment Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to support both workers and the self-employed impacted by the ongoing influence of COVID-19 the economy .

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Property transactions involving the sale of land and leases of 20 years and over are usually registered in the Land Register of Scotland. The register is managed and maintained by the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland as required by the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012. The register contains information on the parties to registered deeds (the buyer and the seller) but not on the status of those parties (ie whether they are private sector or public sector).

“This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days” .

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service have already publicly outlined how they will look to manage the impact of COP26 on our Courts. While trials are suspended in the sheriff courts during COP26, the High Court trials will continue as programmed. However, given the proximity of the conference to Glasgow High Court and the potential for disruption, trials assigned for Glasgow during the two-week period from 1 November to 12 November will instead be heard at sheriff courts out with Glasgow. Similarly we have outlined how the additional £50m allocated towards the Justice Recover, Renew, and Transform (RRT) programme, will help drive further reform, including greater use of digital tools and improved support for victims and witnesses. We will also see an increased court capacity from September 2021, which includes the expansion of remote jury centres and a daily increase of 4 additional High Courts, 2 additional Sheriff Solemn Courts and up to 10 Sheriff Summary Courts, all of which will have a positive impact in addressing the case backlog as a consequence of the pandemic. It would be prudent to see how that significant development works in practice before considering what potential and broader impact of any further expansion thereafter might have across the Justice system.

The Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) proactively notifies victims of decisions not to prosecute in all solemn cases and all summary cases within the specified case remit of the COPFS Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service, including Domestic Abuse and Hate Crime. COPFS proactively notifies victims of decisions to discontinue prosecutions in all categories of cases. COPFS advises all victims of all decisions not to prosecute on request.

COPFS is exploring possible approaches to extending the current notification scheme to all relevant summary cases, including possible IT solutions.

We recognise the serious and immediate recruitment issues being experienced by the sector. Tourism and hospitality businesses have been extremely hard hit by the pandemic and the ability to employ committed, talented and enthusiastic staff will be an important part of the recovery, not just in Edinburgh but throughout the whole of Scotland.

To address recruitment issues, we are working with key sector organisations in the public and private sector to support a recruitment marketing campaign. This was launched on the 5 th July. In the first three weeks of the campaign, there has been 12,223 new users on the Career Scope website, where we are signposting people to find available jobs.

The campaign will promote a range of roles within the industry and help people find a job that suits different skill sets. It will support businesses fill staff shortages that have occurred as a result of Brexit and encourage those aged 18-30 to play their part in helping businesses recover from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by applying their skills to the diverse job opportunities available now.

The campaign has been developed in conjunction with the sector, and lead partner the Scottish Tourism Alliance, and is supported by £100,000 of Scottish Government funding.

COP26 will be the biggest international summit the UK has ever hosted, meaning that the policing operation is considerable and will require large deployments of both Police Scotland officers and mutual aid officers brought in from other parts of the UK.

Decisions on how to allocate these resources are a matter for the Chief Constable. However, the recent HMICS review into Police Scotland’s planning for the event offers a high degree of assurance around the service’s ability to balance business as usual policing with delivering a safe and secure COP26.

The Scottish Government does not hold data centrally on how many people have been referred by their GP to mental health services.

Public Health Scotland have provided the following table information showing the number of mental health inpatients referred by their GP for the calendar years 2016 to 2020, broken down by year of admission and NHS board of treatment. This information will not show referrals to non-statutory mental health services which routinely are not recorded. Patients will be counted multiple times if they have been admitted within the same board in different years, or different boards in the same year, or both. Complete figures for 2021 cannot yet be provided.