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The Scottish Government collects information from local authorities on the number of homelessness applicants who have slept rough a) the night before; and b) in the three months previous to their application.

This information is provided by local authority area in the following table:

Homelessness applications where the applicant slept rough:

Source: HL1 dataset at 23 May 2017

Note: All figures are rounded to 5 for disclosure purposes

This information is published in the Annual Homelessness in Scotland 2016-17 publication and is available at this link:

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/06/8907/downloads

The Scottish Government has committed to work in partnership with local authorities to introduce low emission zones into Scotland's four biggest cities between 2018 and 2020. Part of the preparations for introducing these LEZs will be to understand how they will effect each City’s wider group of citizens. We anticipate that local councils will carry out a Equalities Impact Assessment as part of the process of designing their low emission zones, particularly in relation to communities who rely on public transport to move around.

The consultation Empowering Schools: A consultation on the provisions of the Education (Scotland) Bill asks a number of questions with regards to the establishment of the Education Workforce Council including question 21 that specifically seeks views on what education professionals and practitioners should be subject to mandatory registration. A list of proposed practitioners is provided within the consultation paper which includes classroom assistants and additional support for learning support workers.

Given the opportunity which the Education Bill provides we wish to consider the scope of the Education Workforce Council as broadly as possible and carefully consider the consultation responses on this issue as the policy position is finalised.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12767 on 27 November. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The Minister for Transport and the Islands gave the keynote speech at the annual Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) Conference, which took place at Trump Turnberry in November. He did not have a meeting with CPT on that occasion.

I have regular discussions with my ministerial colleague. Ultra Low Emission Vehicles have a key role to play in tackling climate change as set out in the draft Climate Change Plan.

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Disappointingly, 2016 saw an increase in road fatalities . One death on Scotland’s roads is always one too many and, while Police Scotland figures illustrate a slight improvement for the first half of 2017, all partners remain committed to securing our challenging and ambitious casualty reduction targets.

I recently attended the Road Safety Strategic Partnership Board meeting, which brings together key road safety partners, and I am encouraged by the work being done. The average speed camera system on the A9 continues to demonstrate a radical improvement in driver behaviour and the new A90 average speed camera system will, I am sure, be just as successful. Road Safety Scotland maintains delivery of effective learning resources, and the Seatbelts on School Transport (Scotland) Bill continues its progress through the Scottish Parliament.

It is encouraging that, overall, casualties fell by 1% between 2015 and 2016 from 10,973 to 10,901, the lowest number since records began, and the clear longer term downward trends should be acknowledged. Through continued education, enforcement and engineering, we are well placed to progress in the right direction towards our Road Safety Framework to 2020 targets.

Scottish Government held extensive discussions with stakeholders in the lead up to the publication of the consultation on Free Bus Travel for Older and Disabled People and Modern Apprentices on 25 August this year.

Officials met various groups including Age Scotland, the Scottish Seniors Alliance, the Scottish Pensioners Forum and the Scottish Older People’s Assembly. In addition, officials met representatives from various branches of Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) to discuss the proposed consultation.

The vast majority of responses to Scottish Government consultations are made through our online portal Citizen Space, which can be accessed for free through most local libraries in Scotland for those without access to a computer. In addition, there are facilities to respond by email or letter.

The Scottish Government has undertaken a number of meetings with stakeholders as part of its consultation on Free Bus Travel for Older and Disabled People and Modern Apprentices.

These include a number of groups representing older people across Scotland, including Age Scotland, the Scottish Seniors Alliance, the Scottish Pensioners Forum and the Scottish Older Peoples Assembly. The locations of these meetings were chosen on the basis of convenience for those attending. Two of them took place in Government offices located in an area of social deprivation.

In addition discussions were held with representatives from various groups including Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers (ATCO), Bus Users Scotland (BUS), the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA), Skills Development Scotland, Young Scot, ENABLE Scotland, the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) and Regional Transport Partnerships.