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Overall more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record, (data correct as at 25 July 2023). 87.5% is a very high fill rate for Combined Infection Training ST4 in rounds 1 and 2 of 2023 recruitment. Within that context there will always be a small number of posts that will not fill. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities.

Based on available evidence, we estimate that the cost of achieving the targets is up to £1.4 billion for the 2027 target, a further £3.7 billion for the 2030 target and a further £1.1 billion for the 2035 target.

Much of this cost will need to be met by the private sector and the Scottish Government is working to introduce a strong policy and regulatory framework to underpin that investment. The extent to which individual projects require public subsidy will vary from project to project. To date, through Scotland’s Heat Network Fund and the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme, Scottish Government has committed approximately £62.7 million in capital funding for the construction of heat networks. SHNF is a demand-led programme meaning future funding requirements will be dependent on projects with viable business cases and committed co-investors progressing to capital readiness – based on the current pipeline, we expect to allocate around £25mn to projects in 24/25.

Data is not currently reported in a format which shows primary care medicines spend by licenced indication, (Prescription only Medicines (POM), Pharmacy medicines (P) and General Sale List (GSL)). A P pack medicine may be prescribed and supplied for a condition not listed under the P licence on the prescription, particularly if that is the right drug for the patient's condition.

For the financial year 2022-23, the primary care drug spend was £1.22 billion. The NHS in Scotland has a policy to prescribe generically where generic drug is available. Generic prescribing accounts for 85% of primary care drug volumes but only accounts for 30% of the cost.

The recent 4-nation consultation on Creating a Smokefree Generation and Tackling Youth Vaping included suggested action on ‘other nicotine consumer products’ including nicotine pouches. The consultation also provided an assessment of the current evidence on nicotine pouches. The Scottish Government is currently working as part of a 4 nations approach on analysing the consultation response and considering next steps following the consultation.

We have engaged with a range of stakeholders during the development of the Fair Fares Review which includes transport operators, delivery partners, passenger groups, campaigning groups and trade unions. This includes; ScotRail Holdings, ScotRail, the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers (ATCO), the Mobility Advisory Committee for Scotland (MACS), CalMac, Northlink, Regional Transport Partnerships, the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), Cosla, Transport for Edinburgh (TfE), Glasgow City Council, the Poverty & Inequality Commission, Transform Scotland and the Poverty Alliance.

Former Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth MSP and officials met with trade unions to discuss the Fair Fares Review on 14 March 2023. Following which a letter providing a further update on the review was issued on 12 May 2023 from the subsequent Minister for Transport Kevin Stewart MSP. I engage regularly with trade unions and look forward to continuing these conversations on all transport related matters including the Fair Fares Review as we work to deliver our vision for the future of public transport in 2024 and beyond.

We have previously answered two FOIs on website visits to the Building a New Scotland Papers:

• Unique online visitor statistics: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Building a New Scotland webpage visitors: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Paper title: Migration to Scotland after independence

Main paper URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-migration-scotland-independence/

Main paper publish date: 3-11-2023

Main paper views in first month (all pages): 22,790

Easy read URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-migration-scotland-independence-easy-read/

Easy read publish date: 3-11-2023

Easy read views or download link clicks in first month: 2,150

Audio URL: https://on.soundcloud.com/TfSaz

Audio publish date: 3-11-2023

Audio link clicks in first month: 20

Community language landing page URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-migration-scotland-independence/documents/

Translation publish date: 3-11-2023

Translation downloads in first month:

Arabic: 15

Bengalii: 6

Bulgarian: 2

Cantonese: 13

French: 16

Gaelic: 12

Hindi: 8

Italian: 1

Mandarin: 9

Polish: 1

Punjabi: 4

Romanian: 2

Russian: 6

Spanish: 15

Ukrainian: 4

Urdu: 29

BSL YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpPkTZ2ZVv8

Date BSL Version Published: 3-11-2023

Views in first 30 days: 18

The recent concerns noted around Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) are acknowledged by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and partner agencies. Where the material is in poor condition, has degraded or has been incorrectly installed, there could be a greater risk of weakness or collapse which could present additional safety implications. Where RAAC is identified through SFRS Operational Intelligence information gathering or a Fire Safety Enforcement audit, SFRS staff will record information regarding any affected buildings. This allows SFRS to develop a tactical plan to protect firefighters and minimise risk to the wider public in the event of any emergency incident. The safety of fire fighters is paramount and during an incident SFRS will undertake a dynamic risk assessment where necessary to take into account all potential risks, including the presence of RAAC.

It is not possible to provide information on staffing costs for this work because in line with usual practice, details of individual tasks carried out by civil servants, including the number of hours spent on them, are not routinely recorded as there is no business need to do that.

It is not possible to provide information on staffing costs for this work because in line with usual practice, details of individual tasks carried out by civil servants, including the number of hours spent on them, are not routinely recorded as there is no business need to do that.

The Scottish House Conditions survey already accounts for and records the presence of low carbon heating technologies including heat pumps and solar panels.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) consists of an interview with householders and a physical inspection of the dwelling they occupy, which provides a picture of Scotland's occupied housing stock. It covers all types of households and dwellings across the country - whether owned or rented, flats or houses. The physical data about the dwelling is recorded by surveyors trained to collect detailed information on housing characteristics.

The presence of a heat pump is collected in the survey through question M2 in the SHCS physical survey form , which records the main form of heating in the dwelling. This question will also record the presence of other low carbon heating technologies including other electric heating sources, and community heating. The type of heat pump (if present) is then recorded in question M11.

The SHCS also collects data on if a dwelling is suitable for solar panels or solar photovoltaics (PV), and if they have been installed through question D7 of the survey SHCS physical survey form , with questions D8 and D9 recording the percentage of the roof which is covered by solar PV and/ or solar panels respectively.

The SHCS key findings report has not previously included figures on the number of dwellings with heat pumps or solar panels / PV, due to their limited prevalence in the dwelling stock, but this can be added to future reports. Both are accounted for in our measurements of EPC’s, modelled energy use, energy costs, and fuel poverty calculations. Additionally, this data is included in the SHCS dataset on the UK Data Archive . We have included the estimated number of dwellings and percentage of all dwellings with a heat pump in table 1, and solar panels, solar PV, or both installed in table 2.

As the 2020 SHCS was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and results from the 2021 External+ SHCS were published as experimental statistics the 2019 SHCS provides the most recent official statistics on heating systems and solar panels / PV. Results from the 2022 SHCS have been pre-announced for publication in February 2024.

Table 1: Estimated number of dwellings and percentage of all dwellings with a heat pump (2019).