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Energy Savings Trust, who administer the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Landlord Loan Scheme on behalf of the Scottish Government, do not hold this information in the format you have requested.

However, the Scottish Government has provided funding for 26 properties for renewables systems through the PRS Landlord Loan Scheme since the scheme was established in April 2020.

We need to rapidly accelerate our deployment of renewables in order to support decarbonisation of the GB grid by 2035, and significant investment in our grid infrastructure is required to ensure clean, low-cost renewable electricity can flow to where it is needed. We are clear that such infrastructure must be delivered with lasting benefits for our economy and the people of Scotland .

In regard to the proposals for pylons in the Torthorward area, we understand that Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN) has undertaken the first of two rounds of public consultations on the proposed Harestanes West connection. No application has been submitted to Scottish Ministers for consideration with regards to this development. Once an application is submitted it is subject to consultation with the public, statutory and local bodies, and local communities have an opportunity to make a representation to the formal application.

The Scottish Government is aware that communities in areas which may be impacted by proposed electricity network developments may have questions and concerns regarding pylon infrastructure, and we can provide assurance that any potential impacts - on communities, nature, landscape and other valued natural assets - are important considerations when determining applications for consent.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland’s report and will carefully consider its recommendations.

The Scottish Government has already taken action to address the gaps in data on out-of-area placements specifically for people with learning disabilities and complex care needs through the implementation of the recommendations made within the Coming Home Implementation Report.

This work is being carried out in partnership with COSLA and brings practitioners, professionals and people with lived experience together to progress these recommendations which aim to significantly reduce inappropriate out-of-area placements experienced by people with learning disabilities and complex care needs.

We launched Dynamic Support Registers across Scotland in May 2023 to improve monitoring of out-of-area placements and to help local areas to plan for people with learning disabilities and complex care needs. Integration Authorities are operationalising these local Dynamic Support Registers and will also report data from them using a new national reporting system.

The operation of Dynamic Support Registers by all Integration Authorities was agreed through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Scottish Government and COSLA.

The Scottish Government has provided funding for 190 properties for energy efficiency measures through the Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan Scheme since it was established in April 2020.

In Dumfries and Galloway, a range of eating disorder care and treatment is provided in line with good clinical practice across primary care, community services and specialist services for children, adolescents and adults.

This includes the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Specialist Eating Disorder Service which provides out-patient treatment to children and young people impacted by an eating disorder. In addition, there is a Specialist Eating Disorder Service for adults, SEDS, which is based within Mountainhall Treatment Centre. This service provides those over the age of 18 a safe, supportive and collaborative environment to support them to live a more fulfilled and independent life.

Furthermore, Dumfries and Galloway has pathways into paediatric, general adult and CAMHS inpatient facilities when admission for an eating disorder is required.

Through Scottish Government funding of over £600,000 per annum, Dumfries and Galloway also has access to a wide range of support services offered by Beat, the UK’s largest Eating Disorder charity, which include:

• Nexus – A Carer telephone support programme which provides a weekly scheduled coaching call to support recovery.
• Synergy - A new service that provides direct support to under 18s and their families through weekly sessions over Zoom.
• Solace - Structured weekly peer-to-peer support groups for carers via Zoom.
• Motivate - Weekly support for those aged 18+ to ensure service users remain motivated while waiting for treatment for anorexia or bulimia to begin.
• Bolster - Weekly support through telephone sessions for Adults (aged +18) who are unable to access treatment.
• Momentum - Self-help programme based on cognitive behavioural therapy for adults (aged 18+) who present with Binge Eating Disorder or regular binge eating episodes.

Phasing out fossil fuel heating is essential to meet our legal climate targets and makes us less dependent on volatile and increasingly expensive fossil fuel prices. As set out in the Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, the Scottish Government considers “low and zero emissions heating systems” to be systems that have zero direct greenhouse gas emissions. This includes individual electric heat pumps and connection to heat networks, or electric systems such as storage heaters, and systems that have very low emissions, such as those that use hydrogen.

In line with the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change, we agree that bioenergy – such as biomass, bio-heating oil and bio-propane - should only be used in those applications where its carbon reduction impact is maximised, where alternative options are not available, and where it comes from sustainable sources. We recognise that, for a small number of homes, bioenergy might offer the only feasible way to reduce emissions from heating to displacing fossil fuels, especially where electric heating or heat pumps are unsuitable. We will therefore consider how such homes may be dealt with under any future regulatory system.

East Lothian Council convened an Incident Response Group as the incident required a multi-agency, co-ordinated response. As part of the co-ordinated response, a sub-group consisting of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s (SEPA’s) Airborne Hazard Emergency Response (AHER) Team, Public Health Scotland and the local Health Board, provided scientific advice in relation to air quality and impacts on human health.

No additional assessment by Scottish Government on air quality, local people or wildlife was therefore required.

SEPA is continuing to engage with the operator and investigating the incident.

The reasons for the Commissioners’ resignations are a matter of public record as set out in letters to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee.

I am grateful to the Chair and Commissioners for their contributions to the Commission and thank them for their service.

As the Commission is an independent public body any issues relating to internal relationships are for the Commission to manage .

The Public Bodies Climate Change Reporting 2021-22 Analysis Report , page 15, shows grid electricity consumed by around 180 public bodies which have reported annually since 2015-16 on compliance with their statutory climate change duties. Reporting years are 12 months to 31 March rather than calendar years.

Total grid electricity consumed by reporting public bodies is set out in the following table.

Strong literacies skills help people fulfil their potential, achieve their goals, and take advantage of opportunities and the Scottish Government wants every citizen in Scotland to have the literacy capabilities necessary to bridge the poverty gap, to understand and shape the world they live in, and to enjoy the rich knowledge and benefits that being able to read, write and use numbers can bring.

Scotland has its own adult literacies guidance and action plan contained within Adult Literacies in Scotland 2020 which encompasses numeracy. Its impact will be reviewed as part of the Adult Learning Strategy for Scotland, this will produce recommendations on next steps for adult literacies within the context of the Adult Learning Strategy.