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The Scottish Government has committed to introducing a Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill to ensure that the rights of autistic people, people with learning disabilities, and neurodivergent people are respected and protected.

Informal consultation has already begun with 30 events involving 18 different organisations taking place as part of the scoping work undertaken between May and July 2022.

Final decisions on the exact timing of a formal public consultation will be taken and announced in due course.

We have set out Scottish Government’s and COSLA’s commitment to implementing the key recommendations set out in the Coming Home Implementation report, which are essential to achieving our aim to significantly reduce delayed discharge and inappropriate out-of-area placements for adults with learning disabilities and complex care needs by March 2024.

Scottish Government are committed to working with local Health and Social Care Partnerships to achieving this aim and the National Support Panel will be established as soon as possible.

The recent targeted review of the Capital Spending Review does not include a new funding stream dedicated to supporting new theatre spaces. The Scottish Government currently considers any request for capital funding of cultural venues on a case by case basis, dependent on a robust Business Case. We have provided £5.5 million towards the Citizens Theatre refurbishment, including a recent £1.5 million of additional support through Regeneration Capital Grant Fund, and will provide £6.5 million to support the King’s Theatre Edinburgh redevelopment.

Responsibility for the routine maintenance, upkeep and management of burial grounds in Scotland rests with the relevant burial authority. A burial authority may be a local authority or a private owner. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (as amended), owners must ensure any premises they are responsible for are maintained to a safe standard for both employees and visitors. The Burial ground memorial safety: local authority guidance was produced to assist local authorities meet their obligations to inspect and make safe memorials and headstones.

At this time the Scottish Government has no plans to provide financial support to local authorities for the maintenance of burial grounds.

The Scottish Government is acutely aware of the impact that the recent price rises in the cost of energy will have on people, especially those using medical equipment at home, such as CPAP machines for the treatment of sleep apnoea.

Decisions about the reimbursement of energy costs associated with CPAP machines and other medical machines in individuals’ homes are made by NHS Boards. The Scottish Government continues to work with NHS Boards to address financial pressures across the healthcare system, including the impacts of the increase in energy costs. In May 2022, we published our Resource Spending Review that set out investment of £73 billion in health and social care to 2026-27.

The Scottish Government will also use the Emergency Budget Review to increase the Fuel Insecurity Fund to £20 million in 2022-23. The Fuel Insecurity Fund is aimed at helping people who are at risk of self-rationing their energy use, or self-disconnecting entirely because they cannot afford their energy bills.

The Scottish Government has committed to introducing a Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill to ensure that the rights of autistic people, people with learning disabilities, and neurodivergent people are respected and protected.

Across our work, we involve organisations led by disabled people and charities representing the views of a wide range of people who come under the learning disabilities, autism and neurodiversity umbrella.

Our intention is that the Bill will be fully co-designed with people with lived experience, and we ran 30 events with 18 different organisations during the scoping work which took place between May and July 2022.

We are also establishing a lived experience advisory panel to support the development of the Bill. Details about the recruitment process for the panel will be available shortly.

I refer the member to question S6W-10779 on 20 September 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

In line with the Grant Agreement between Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd and ScotRail Trains Ltd, the first Service Level Commitment (SLC) has to be prepared within the first quarter from 1 April 2022 i.e. end of June 2022.

Transport Scotland’s will publish the Service Level Commitment on the Transport Scotland website once this process has been agreed and finalised.

The Scottish Government published the Learning/Intellectual Disabilities and Autism: Towards Transformation Plan in March 2021. The plan looks at the actions needed to shape supports, services and attitudes to ensure that the human rights of autistic people and people with learning disabilities are respected and protected and that they are empowered to live their lives, the same as everyone else.

In the plan we have committed to work with Inspiring Scotland 'Support in the Right Direction' and other partners to ensure that more people with learning disabilities access their rights under the Social Work (Self Directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 to direct their own support. With the aim of providing as much freedom and choice in directing that support as they want in order to achieve their own outcomes.

We are also working with strategic partners such as Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) who have been commissioned to gather and provide insights into different approaches to the redesign of learning disability day services and recognition of the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has created for service users, their families and service providers, including where there are changes to delivery models away from building-based services.

Fair Start Scotland Service Providers offer specialist support for people with learning disabilities and those who are neuro-diverse, as well as the opportunity to access Individual Placement and Support (IPS) and Supported Employment where this would be of benefit to the individual.

IPS (Individual Placement and Support) and Supported Employment are integral parts of the Scottish employability support landscape. Independent reviews of each model within Fair Start Scotland were commissioned by the Scottish Government and are due to be published by autumn 2022. These reviews will allow us to build on success factors, whilst identifying areas for improvement to ensure the continuation of this vital element of support for individuals as they move towards and into work.

The Scottish Government is a key partner in the Save a Life for Scotland Partnership. The delivery of the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy 2021 – 2026 is facilitated and overseen by two groups; the Strategy Delivery Group and the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Reference Group.

The Scottish Government attended the most recent meeting of the Strategy Delivery Group on 7 April 2022.

The most recent meeting of the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Reference group, also attended by Scottish Government, took place on 27 April 2022.

Scottish Government also took part in a Save a Life for Scotland partner’s meeting on 18 May 2022.