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The Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan Scheme supports landlords with the cost of installation for energy efficiency improvements, renewable systems and energy storage systems.

The scheme is delivered through a demand-led model where funding is applied for by the applicant directly, who in turn is responsible for sourcing an approved installer and paying funding to them once works are complete.

Once a funding agreement has been put in place, applicants have 12 months to claim the funding.

The number of funding agreements put in place and number of loans that have been claimed by applicants through the scheme since January 2022 are outlined in the following table:

The Scottish Government is committed to a fair, inclusive and fiscally sustainable form of local taxation. We convened a Joint Working Group co-chaired by Scottish Ministers and COSLA which is actively considering targeted changes to reflect the current circumstances created by the cost crisis, including delivering a joint consultation on measures which would allow local authorities to increase the rate of Council Tax on second and empty homes. The group will also consider approaches to longer term reform, utilising effective deliberative engagement. I will ensure that Parliament is kept appraised of this work at suitable junctures.

NHS Boards are responsible for ensuring they have local policies in place to recruit effectively and retain their staff. They are supported in this through the Scottish Government’s National Workforce Strategy, which sets out the actions it will take in partnership with Boards to plan, attract, train, employ and nurture the health and social care workforce. At national level these actions include increasing workforce supply through international recruitment and providing additional medical and nursing student places.

Since 2014, Scottish Ministers have created 725 expansion posts across a wide range of medical specialties including 20 posts in geriatric medicine. This 32% increase in geriatric medicine training brings the total number of established places to 82 across all years of the Geriatric Medicine training programme.

Scotland's ambitious emissions reduction targets, including targets for reducing emissions every year until reaching net zero by 2045, are set under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. The level of these targets are kept under regular review to ensure they are in line with the latest climate science and advice from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), our independent statutory advisers. We have recently laid draft regulations to modify annual targets for 2021-2029 for technical reasons, to reflect updates to international standards for carbon accounting and in line with the latest advice received from the CCC.

As is standard practice, any planned changes to Scottish Income Tax will be announced during the regular annual Budget process. Our approach to taxation will continue to be guided by the strategic objectives and principles set out in our Framework for Tax, which underpins our fair and progressive approach.

We are committed to engaging with the public to explore how best we can use our existing powers to continue to deliver the most progressive taxation system in the UK, and achieve the Government’s three key missions of equality, opportunity and community.

The Scottish Government will consult on the next Climate Change Plan, a draft of which will be published in November 2023. Plans for consultation are still in development.

I refer the Member to answers S6W-15324 on 9 March and S6W-16168 on 24 March 2023.

As stated in answer S6W-15324, the Statutory Guidance for the Scottish Welfare Fund sets out the responsibilities for Local Authorities in their administration of the Fund, including promotion and raising awareness across all potentially eligible individuals. This includes providing information on the Fund and making clear guidance available on how to apply for a grant. Local Authorities are also required to ensure that other services which have contact with people in crisis have up to date information about the Fund, including promotional posters and leaflets.

The Statutory Guidance sets out a requirement for Local Authorities to make provision for applications to be made online, on the phone and face-to-face. Local Authorities are expected to actively promote these channels. This is important to meet the varying needs of applicants, including older people who may not be online.

The Independent Review into the Scottish Welfare Fund published on 24 March 2023. As set out in answer S6W-16168, the Scottish Government is working to publish an Action Plan by the end of Spring 2023. The Action Plan will set out next steps for policy improvements to the Fund across a range of areas, including accessibility and promotion.

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 methodology used to assess dwellings’ EPCs is adjusted over time to update modelling assumptions and reflect changes in technology. According to our National Statistics publication on the conditions of the housing stock, the Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS), 24% of dwellings had an EPC rating of A-C in 2010, and 51% had an EPC rating of A-C in 2019. This is calculated using SAP 2009, an older methodology, which allows comparisons back to 2010.

The most recent methodology, SAP 2012 (RdSAP v9.93) provides figures for only 2018 and 2019. In 2018, 43% of dwellings had an EPC rating of A-C. In 2019, 45% of dwellings had an EPC rating of A-C.

Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Scottish House Condition Survey, 2019 is the latest year for which we have National Statistics for EPC ratings across the Scottish domestic housing stock. Figures for 2023 will be published in late 2024 or 2025.

The Scottish Government is working with local government partners on the Additional Support for Learning Project Board to deliver the recommendations of the 2020 additional support for learning review by March 2026. All local authorities are considering the actions of the ASL Review, and will continue to consider the incorporation of actions within local improvement plans.

As our joint Scottish Government and COSLA Additional Support for Learning action plan notes, local commissioning has developed considerably since the Doran Review was published in 2012. This reflects the increased flexibility within schools and local authorities to develop tailored interventions through local delivery of our £750 million investment in the last parliamentary term and £1 billion in this parliamentary term to close the poverty related attainment gap. Local delivery of the Strategic Equity Fund and Pupil Equity Fund and greater alliance with the Third Sector are key features of local commissioning.

Progress in closing the poverty related attainment gap was reported in our five year impact report , published in 2021 and future progress will be reported in line with our Evaluation Strategy for the Attainment Scotland Fund 2022 – 2026 and the National Improvement Framework measures .

In addition, the Scottish Government is working with partners in ADES, COSLA and Education Scotland, to develop a national measurement framework which aims to support improved outcomes for children and young people with additional support needs.

Improved experiences of children and young people with additional support needs will continue to be considered as part of the action plan and progress can be followed through the published minutes of the Project Board.

Figures on employee owned businesses in Scotland are collated every two years in a census exercise commissioned by Co-operative Development Scotland and published shortly thereafter. The last census was undertaken in February and March 2022

At that time there were 146 Scottish-registered employee-owned businesses and worker co-operatives and 49 non-Scottish registered employee-owned businesses. The census revealed that the Scottish registered EOB's and worker co-operatives have a combined turnover of £691m and employ 5,350 people.