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In mitigating the impacts of the cost of living crisis, the Scottish Government has taken action to reduce costs, including through our Emergency Budget Review (EBR) in autumn 2022. This responded to the new pressures arising from the crisis, and set out unprecedented reductions in planned spending totalling £1.2 billion, to ensure the Scottish Government was able to manage the annual budget prudently in the face of rising inflation and economic uncertainty.

The significant savings taken in the EBR were applied across government, the full list of which can be found here - Emergency Budget Review published - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Through this reprioritisation in the EBR, we were able to provide further help to those most impacted by the cost of living crisis. The Scottish Government recognises the pressure on household budgets which is why, both last year and this, we have allocated almost £3bn to support policies which tackle poverty and to protect people as far as possible during the ongoing cost of living crisis. This includes increasing the Scottish Child Payment to £25, emergency legislation to put in place a rent freeze, and a range of support for energy bills such as delivering energy efficiency and heating improvements.

The 2023-24 Budget built upon work in the EBR and involved taking difficult savings decisions to allocate around £700 million extra to fund enhanced pay deals.

The on-going cost of living crisis continues to present financial challenges to the Scottish Government. We are reviewing opportunities for more effective targeting of spend through the 2024-25 Budget, whilst prioritising programmes of work which have the greatest impact on the delivery of our core missions.

Public Health Scotland Publish information on the number of GPs and patients nationally and by Health Board and this is available at:

General Practice - GP Workforce and practice list sizes 2012 - 2022 - General Practice - GP workforce and practice list sizes - Publications - Public Health Scotland

Table 2 sets out the number of GPs nationally and in each board area and Table 4 shows the registered number of patients nationally and in each Health Board, over the past 10 years.

The Scottish Government have purchased the following laptops since 1st March 2020 for use on the SCOTS network.

Information on future releases of Official Statistics by the Scottish Government can be accessed at: Official statistics: forthcoming publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . This shows that publication of the next set of results for the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) has been pre-announced for November 2023. This is consistent with the recent answer to question S6W-18049 on 2 June 2023, which stated that the next SCJS results would be published in the autumn. We will publicise the exact date in November through both the aforementioned document as well as through the Scotstat network. 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 .

As set out in the Programme for Government 2023-24, the Scottish Government has committed £3,03m in 2023-26 to progressing the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care, which is expected to launch in October 2023.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of biodiversity and nature restoration, and the urgent need for action at home and abroad to tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. This is why our Global Affairs Framework makes clear that Scotland will play its full role, engaging with international networks on biodiversity protection and nature restoration to make positive contributions and cooperate with others.

Our biodiversity strategy sets out our vision to be nature-positive, halting biodiversity loss by 2030 and reversing declines by 2045. Achieving these goals will require significant efforts and – as part of these – we will continue to implement our international obligations, engage with international partners to cooperate and share best practice, and actively participate in multilateral fora where possible.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17708 on 16 May 2023 The Clydebridge Steelworks site in Cambuslang is not currently operational and no staff are currently employed at the site. The future of the site is an operational matter for Liberty Steel and I understand that a number of options for the future of the site are being considered including a possible sale.

Scottish Government maintain an open dialogue with Liberty Steel and have regular meetings with them.

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 Government published new guidance on the provision of equipment and adaptations in January 2023, this includes advice on the use of Technology Enabled Care (TEC) and assistive technology. The guidance recommends that Health and Social Care partners, with their Housing colleagues, work together to maximise the opportunities provided by TEC, developing local strategy and policies, which help people to choose their own digital solutions as part of self-management and earlier intervention approaches, as well as utilising technology to address issues of isolation and frailty.

Officials are now in the process of setting up a guidance Implementation Group, with the aim of working with the sector to ensure the guidance is fully embedded across Scotland. This will include making use of the new Baseline Assessment Tool to benchmark services against the Key Actions within the guidance. We expect the evaluation work to commence in the Spring of 2024, once we are through the pressures of winter.

Scotland’s Digital Health and Care Strategy also outlines how technology will be used to reshape and improve services, support person-centered care, and improve outcomes.

Furthermore, the procurement and funding of our Connect Me digital platform has enabled access to this remote monitoring system for all Territorial Health Boards and Partnerships. The Connect Me programme provides the opportunity for IJBs to consider redesign of care pathways to incorporate digital solutions thus releasing resource capacity in their delivery services.

Running parallel to the Connect Me programme is the Digital Health and Care Directorate’s programmes for Social Care and Telecare. Both programmes work to support the social care sector (from IJBs and local authorities, to support and care provider organisation) in embedding the use of digital solutions for citizens.

There are no Lord Advocate’s Guidelines in relation to assaults generally. Lord Advocate’s Guidelines have previously been issued to the Chief Constable in relation to the recorded police warning system for adult offenders.

There are currently no plans to publish the guidelines referred to above.

In 2022 we published our consultation on Tightening rules on advertising and promoting vaping products . Evidence about the impact of e-cigarette use on health was included as a section.

Since then Electronic cigarettes and health outcomes: systematic review of evidence (anu.edu.au) and the UK Government commissioned Khan report have been published, adding further to the evidence base.

In May 2023 we published "Vaping – understanding the prevalence and trends among adults and children" ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/understanding-prevalence-trends-vaping-adults-children/pages/2/). This analysis of data on vaping from twelve surveys conducted at UK or regional level, with a focus on current use, ever tried and dual use of vaping products, and differences by socio-economic status.

We work with Public Health Consultants, Scottish Government analysts, and a range of academics and stakeholders to understand how this, and other evidence, informs current understanding. It is an ongoing process to ensure that the development of a refreshed Tobacco Action Plan is based on the latest evidence.