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The Scottish Government does not hold all the data requested. However for 2020-21 (and 2021-2022 for modern apprenticeships), the number of students studying towards a dental nursing qualification was:

Modern Apprenticeships;

• In 2020-21, there were 312 starts on the dental nursing framework.
• In 2021-22, there were 343 starts on the dental nursing framework.

Colleges;

• In 2020-21, there were 420 enrolments on dental services courses at Scottish colleges.

Universities;

• In 2020-21, there were 25 enrolments on dental nursing courses at Scottish universities.

2021-2022 figures for colleges and universities will not be available until January 2023.

Where NHS dental services are provided by independent dental contractors, staff including dental nurses are employed by the practice, and not the NHS Board. Terms of service and pension arrangements are set by the practice owner(s).

Where NHS dental services are provided by the Public Dental Service, the dental team is employed by the Board on appropriate NHS terms of service.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10431 on
‎ 6 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

To date Giardia has not been found in any beavers in Scotland, though targeted testing has been carried out on both live animals and carcasses in Tayside as well as in Knapdale.

Although beavers can carry this parasite the EPIC report published in 2017 points to other sources of environmental contamination being equally or more likely to be a source of Giardia infection. Humans, livestock and wild animals are all potential sources of Giardia. EPIC conclude ‘the reintroduction of beavers is likely to present a very small additional risk as the number of beavers excreting these organisms will be likely to be small relative to the large number of wild, domestic and livestock animals and humans which contribute to existing public health risk’.

NatureScot continue to carry out general health screening to ensure that beavers released under licence from NatureScot are not acting as a source of disease prior to any translocations.

We do not routinely monitor for giardiasis in beavers. A 2021 report on health screening of wild beavers found no animals testing positive in Britain for Giardia. However, NatureScot continue to collect beavers reported to have been found dead in the wild or killed as part of licensed control and conduct screening on these carcasses for a range of diseases and pathogens as an ongoing programme of disease surveillance in beavers.

The Scottish Government is extremely thankful for the generosity of all those who have expressed an interest in hosting people displaced by the current conflict.

Scotland is now providing a place of safety to more displaced people per head of population than any other part of the UK. The Scottish Government is providing accommodation that is safe and sustainable whilst people are waiting to be matched suitable longer term accommodation. Significant action is underway to increase the temporary accommodation capacity as well as boost the matching system to maximise the number of people who can be placed with volunteer hosts who have completed the necessary safeguarding checks.

We want Scotland to be a safe, secure home for as long as people need and thank the people of Scotland for their continued offers of support to help us in that aim. Those homes offered are still very much needed. We are keen to see more people in Scotland volunteer as hosts if they think that they can provide a welcoming home for a displaced person or family.

We are committed to engaging with the profession on a reform programme for NHS dental services. As part of that commitment we have recently issued a profession-wide survey asking for comments on a list of possible treatment items for inclusion in a future NHS model.

We have also asked for nominees for a NHS dental reform advisory group to the Chief Dental Officer. NHS Boards are currently reviewing the nominations and will put forward the nominees for each Board area in due course.

Scottish Government has provided an unprecedented level of financial support throughout the pandemic to support NHS dentistry. The £50 million of COVID-19 funding was provided directly to NHS dental contractors through the financial support payments. Alongside this, practices have received £35 million of free PPE to support the provision of NHS dentistry.

In addition, £5 million of funding for ventilation improvements and £7.5 million for speed adjusting hand pieces, was made available to NHS practitioners to support recovery and help increase capacity within practices providing NHS dental services. This scope for this funding was subsequently expanded to allow practices to claim for repairs and replacement of a range of dental equipment. This funding was allocated to Health Boards and practices were advised of the process for claiming funding if they wished to submit an application.

Demand for the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Advice service has risen significantly since the recent energy bill rises and other cost of living pressures have started to put pressure on households.

Earlier this year, we committed to expanding the HES service by 20% and this increase will be fully operational from October. HES capacity has increased in the last three years with the number of households targeted for advice and support rising from 77,000 in 2020-21 to 132,000 this year - an increase of 12,000 on 2021-22.

We recently allocated additional funding for energy advice services in the face of rising bills - £1.2 million to ensure households and businesses get support. This includes £280,000 to expand the Home Energy Scotland Advice Service and a further £198,000 for Home Energy Scotland to provide training to third sector organisations on energy efficiency.

We have also augmented the Home Energy Scotland Energy carer service which visits and supports extremely vulnerable households who would struggle to engage over the telephone or online. This type of work broadens and strengthens the capacity of the advice network but does not generate pro rata increases in numbers of households supported because the level of support required for these households is very intense.

We will continue to monitor demand for the Home Energy Scotland service to ensure it has the capacity to meet demand.

In August the average processing time was 8 days and the longest processing time was 10 days.