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Scottish Government officials have engaged with UK Government counterparts regarding the provision of support to consumers such as park home owners who are ineligible for the £400 Energy Bills Discount Scheme. Officials have provided details on the number and location of mobile home sites in Scotland to assist with identifying how best to distribute the funding.

On 8 September, the Prime Minister announced a package of measures to help mitigate the impact of rising energy prices on consumers. This stated that those households who are not part of the regulated market, such as those living in park homes, are set to receive support through a new fund. The Scottish Government has asked for further detail and clarification, and have been advised that this will form part of the Chancellor’s fiscal statement later this month.

Aberdeenshire is home to over 8000 (one third) of all private water supplies in Scotland, more than double those in Argyll and Bute, and almost triple those in the Highland Council region. Given the prevalence of water scarcity in the North East of Scotland and the numbers of Private Water Supplies in Aberdeenshire and hence the acute challenge, we decided to pilot in this area to inform any future interventions.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09995 on 16 August 2022. 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 does not hold data on the sector of how many caravan park owners and managers have met the criteria for the fit and proper person test or how many have failed the test. This is a matter for local authorities and the information requested is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government did not allocate any finance for the Young Islanders Challenge in 2021-22. However, £28,500 was allocated to our delivery partner, Youth Scotland, to support the Young Islanders Challenge in 2020-21.

The specific information requested is not held centrally.

I refer the member to the answer to S6W-10892 on 20 September 2022 which provides information on funding for extra-curricular activities for young people and activities for young carers. 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 recognises that pulmonary rehabilitation is an important element of respiratory care. Since the publication of our Respiratory Care Action Plan in March 2021, we have established the Scottish Respiratory Advisory Committee (SRAC) to oversee its implementation. They have identified pulmonary rehabilitation as one of the key priorities for 2022.

To take forward this key priority, we have established a group of clinical experts from across Scotland, as well as involving people living with respiratory conditions. The group are currently carrying out a scoping exercise to determine areas of good practice and areas that require improvement, including access to appropriate venues. This scoping exercise will aid the development of consistent guidance on access to and delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation services across Scotland. The group will also seek out new and innovative approaches in pulmonary rehabilitation and support boards to test new models out with traditional health settings.

Increased energy costs are one of a range of cost pressures NHS Boards need to manage in order to deliver services that best meet the needs of their local populations.

We have committed to an Emergency Budget Review to tackle the challenges facing public finances and help support those hit hardest by the cost crisis. The Scottish Government continues to work with NHS Boards to address financial pressures across the system, to the support recovery and reform and delivery of a financially, environmentally and socially sustainable health and care services.

The latest available information on the number of people convicted for ‘stalking offences’ is provided in the following table.

Number of people proceeded and convicted for stalking offences (where main crime) in Scottish courts, 2018-19 to 2020-21.

Since the introduction of Graduate Apprenticeships (GAs) in Scotland we have seen a positive increase since the first two years of the scheme in the number of individuals taking up the opportunity to study for degree-level courses while in employment.

The following table shows the number of GA starts from 2017.

The Scottish Government has not received any requests from the affordable housing supply sector for an early review of benchmarks in accordance with the scenarios envisaged in the Report on the work of the 2021 Affordable Housing Investment Benchmarks Working Group.