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The Scottish Government is improving infrastructure in Inverclyde as demonstrated by our investment in school buildings over the last three years which has seen the completion of new schools in Port Glasgow and Greenock as well as a major refurbishment in Kilmacolm.

We are also currently investing in a contemporary healthcare facility in Greenock to provide mental health accommodation and enable a fundamental change in the way older peoples care is delivered in Inverclyde.

Looking forward we have planned investment for a new health and care centre in Greenock. Inverclyde will also benefit from our investment in the Glasgow & Clyde Valley City Deal which includes projects in Inverkip, Port Glasgow and Greenock.

The Scottish Government is engaged in on-going dialogue with our partners on these issues. Specifically, there is on-going discussion with Dyslexia Scotland regarding the information and support they offer, including a helpline, assessments and support to clients.

Skills Development Scotland is providing tailored measures, including funding and capacity building for employers, as well as support for individuals. SDS link to the Open Doors consortium which provides in work support for vulnerable young people and their employers, and are rolling out enhanced funding for all MA frameworks which will help in this area. SDS’ Our Skillsforce tool is a gateway for employers to access other tailored resources.

A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People, our Disability Delivery Plan to 2021, published in December 2016, sets out our ambitions and commitments to supporting disabled people - including those with dyslexia and other learning difficulties and disabilities - into sustained employment. We will support individuals and employers providing advice and access to practical support such as DWP’s Access to Work funding when appropriate. Dyslexia Scotland and SDS, among others, are key partners in this and offer advice and support to, and capacity building for employers and individuals in the workplace.

Further, our Fair Work Convention aims to ensure that all people have access to fair employment including fair pay, and which also offer an effective voice, opportunity, security, fulfilment and respect.

SDS is also committed to improving the success of individuals with dyslexia as set out in in their five year Modern Apprenticeship Equality Action Plan, published in December of 2015.

Devolved employment services, in place from April 2017 will provide those entering work and their employers with individualised in-work support to ensure employment is sustained.

Scottish Government has worked closely with Inverclyde Council and Riverside Inverclyde Urban Regeneration Company to develop their local regeneration plans and we will continue to engage with them to see how we can best support their regeneration aims for the area.

Since 2009, Inverclyde has benefitted from over £38 million from SG regeneration funds and earlier this month I announced a further award of £900k from the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund for 2017-18.

It is essential that Scotland maintains its population growth to ensure that we have an appropriate demographic profile to sustain all of our population living full, supported and productive lives. Stimulating population growth is a key driver of sustainable economic growth, and in Scotland, most of our population growth is supported by inward migration. We know that 90% of the population increase in Scotland over the next ten years is projected to come from migration (57% from net international migration and 32% from net migration from the rest of the UK). This is markedly different to the projections for the UK as a whole, where 51% of the projected population increase over the next 10 years is due to natural change and 49% is due to international migration. If current trends continue, net inward migration is projected to be the main contributor to Scotland’s population growth over the next 25 years.

As the Chamber of Commerce have identified, it is crucial that Scotland has an immigration system which enables businesses to attract and access the skills and talent required to boost Scotland’s long-term competiveness and to support Scotland’s Economic Strategy.

The Scottish Government is always open to suggestions for the improvement of legislation but has no immediate plans to propose amendment of the National Assistance Act 1948.

Historic Environment Scotland is not producing planning guidelines for conservation areas. Its consultation on its Managing Change in the Historic Environment guidance relating to windows provides best practice guidance in relation to windows of all kinds in historic buildings. I will draw Historic Environment Scotland's attention to the principles underpinning the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill as it considers the responses to that consultation.

Historic Environment Scotland takes energy efficiency seriously, conducting ground-breaking research and producing advice and guidance on how to prevent heat-loss, insulate and make improvements to traditional buildings, which focuses on approaches that differ from those applicable to more modern buildings. These are freely available from the Historic Environment Scotland website.

The designation and day-to-day management of conservation areas is the sole responsibility of Local Authorities, which produce their own local guidance and policies. Historic Environment Scotland is not producing planning guidelines for conservation areas.

The Scottish Government’s policies on alteration or change in the historic environment are set out in Scottish Planning Policy (SPP). Historic Environment Scotland's publications in the series, Managing Change in the Historic Environment, aim to explain that policy clearly in the context of best practices for traditional buildings.

On 27 February 2017, Historic Environment Scotland published a consultation on its Managing Change in the Historic Environment guidance relating to windows. This provides best practice guidance in relation to windows of all kinds in historic buildings.

Historic Environment Scotland is not conducting a consultation on planning guidelines for conservation areas. Its current consultation on its Managing Change guidance relating to windows does not contain any criteria relating specifically to the installation of replacement windows in conservation areas, since the designation and day-to-day management of conservation areas is the sole responsibility of Local Authorities, which produce their own local guidance and policies.

The historic environment is important. It enriches the quality of our lives and helps to define who we are and is a vital part of the national economy. It supports over 60,000 jobs and contributes £2.3 billion to the national gross value added (GVA). We must not take the historic environment for granted, or assume that it will last forever.

Historic Environment Scotland also contributes to the Scottish Government's energy efficiency goals, conducting research and producing advice and guidance on how to prevent heat-loss, insulate and make improvements to traditional buildings. The draft Managing Change guidance on windows includes advice on energy efficiency and considers a variety of options for improving the energy efficiency of windows, including less invasive approaches than double glazing or replacement windows, which will be more cost-effective in the short and longer term.

The Scottish Government is committed to introducing the new Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) into the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme by the end of 2017. The new test is considered more user friendly than the current test and is expected to help increase participation in the programme.

Furthermore, a review of communication materials used in the Programme is underway. As part of this review, Health Scotland is working with the RNIB to consider whether current information materials could be adapted or enhanced to ensure accessibility.