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In most cases it is a legal requirement to provide a Home Report to prospective buyers when selling a home. The home report comprises of a single survey, property questionnaire and energy report and is completed by a qualified surveyor. The energy report gives information on the home's energy efficiency in the form of an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). An EPC states the energy efficiency of a building based on standardised assumptions about the way in which a building is used.

The Scottish Government published a consultation on EPC reform on 25 July 2023 seeking stakeholder views on proposals to reform the current metrics to provide more holistic information about the efficiency of a home that is relevant to current and potential owners and occupiers. Our reform proposals include responding to recommendations on improvements to the EPC scheme made by the Climate Change Committee, our statutory advisers on climate matters.

I have met with sport scotland and Cricket Scotland on a number of occasions to discuss progress against the Changing the Boundaries report and will be meeting the interim CEO on 21 September.

The issue is also regularly discussed at monthly meetings between myself and sport scotland’s Chair and Chief Executive.

In addition, Scottish Government officials meet on a fortnightly basis specifically to discuss the work resulting for the Changing the Boundaries report as well as the issue of racism more widely.

The Scottish Government recently published the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy which sets out our ambition to ensure individual, communities and organisations have greater awareness of the problems caused by litter, understand their responsibilities in preventing litter and are enabled and motivated to behave responsibly. A 2023-24 Action Plan, published with the Strategy, details specific actions and interventions that will be progressed in the first year of the Strategy, including a national community-focused education programme.

If there is a broad stakeholder support for an annual national litter day going forward, then Scottish Government would consider endorsing it as part of wider awareness raising work with stakeholders to tackle littering in line with the Strategy commitments.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to discuss with the UK Government the licensing of testosterone treatments for perimenopause or menopause for use in Scotland. As noted in the answer to question S6W-18294, on 14 June 2023, regulations for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines are currently reserved to the UK Government and are the responsibility of the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). For a medicine to be routinely prescribed, it firstly needs to receive a licence from the MHRA. It is the responsibility of individual pharmaceutical companies to apply to the MHRA for a marketing authorisation (licence). Whether to submit an application to the MHRA is a decision made by a pharmaceutical company. The application process requires a company to provide data demonstrating the quality, safety and efficacy of the medicine.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR’s) Health Technology and Assessment Programme (HTA) is considering several research applications against the call ‘Testosterone for the treatment of menopause symptoms beyond altered sexual function’. Any applications will be considered by the HTA funding committee in mid-November, with final outcomes known early December 2023. This should help identify any substantive new evidence on the use of testosterone to support pharmaceutical companies in applying to the MHRA for a licence.

The Scottish Government is supportive of the NIHR’s backing for this important research and will monitor the outcomes from the programme.

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

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS recognises the importance of attendance at Children’s Hearings for those in prisons and their families and remains committed to working with GEOAmey and all Multi-Agency Liaison Group partners, to improve contract performance.

SPS, The Scottish Children's Reporter Administration and GEOAmey are working collaboratively to address the current challenges in service delivery. SPS is also continuing to support GEOAmey in improving their staff recruitment and retention to meet the current and future demand for service in this important area of the Justice Sector.

The Scottish Government is clear that there is no place for racism or discrimination of any kind in sport, or indeed wider society and we are working to ensure there is real and lasting change on this issue.

While there is clearly a long way to go, there have been some significant positive steps taken towards delivering change within the sport in recent months, and the Scottish Government has confidence that the necessary steps are being taken.

To ensure transparency around the progress made against the recommendations, sport scotland are publishing quarterly progress updates. The most recent update was published on 25 July and can be accessed on the sport scotland website.

The location of funded organisations broken down by local authority area was as follows:

• 1 Aberdeen
• 1 East Ayrshire
• 1 East Dunbarton
• 4 East Renfrewshire
• 5 Edinburgh
• 1 Falkirk
• 2 Fife
• 11 Glasgow
• 1 Highland
• 1 Inverclyde
• 1 Midlothian
• 1 North Ayrshire
• 4 North Lanarkshire
• 1 South Ayrshire
• 4 South Lanarkshire
• 2 Stirling
• 1 West Lothian

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02253 on 2 September 2021. The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of complaints of antisocial behaviour in short-term let properties, but Police Scotland continue to publish general recorded crime data by offence. This should be interpreted with some caution as it is drawn from a live operational database, and not produced as Official Statistics: Crime data - Police Scotland

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

Based on information supplied by delivery partners, the Scottish Government anticipates that the Affordable Housing Supply Programme will fully utilise the available 2023-24 budget of £752 million.

The issues of slowing social rented approvals and starts were discussed with Homes for Scotland at meetings on 20 April, 27 April and 9 August.