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The Scottish Government has a strategic target of reducing hepatitis C related liver failure (i.e. life threatening disease associated with hepatitis C) by 75% between 2015 and 2020. Modelling work undertaken by Health Protection Scotland and Glasgow Caledonian University has informed the Scottish Government Hepatitis C Treatment and Therapies Group’s annual treatment number target.

The modelling indicated that 1,500 people with moderate to severe disease needed to be treated annually during 2015 – 20 to achieve a 75% reduction in hepatitis C-related liver failure. The Scottish Government’s strategy in terms of elimination of hepatitis C as a serious public health concern is very ambitious, given that the World Health Organisation’s target is a 10% reduction in HCV-related mortality by 2020.

The treatment target for 2017-18 will be 1,800 - an increase of 300 from that for 2016-17. In the context of this strategy there are early encouraging signs that it is working. In 2015 the number of new hepatitis C-related liver failure case presentations declined by 22%. Figures for 2016 figures will be available in mid-2017.

The information requested in relation to the number of people being diagnosed with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) in Scotland over the past ten years is not held centrally. However, the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Trust estimates that it affects approximately 1% of the population.

The NHS Choices website provides clear and accessible information on the causes, symptoms and diagnosis of hiradenitis suppurativa. This can be accessed at the following link: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hidradenitis-suppurativa/Pages/Introduction.aspx

We are committed to ensuring that Scotland delivers on its obligations to disabled people under the UNCRPD and other human rights treaties. A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People – our Delivery Plan for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) - published in December 2016 sets out both ambitions and actions aimed at transforming the lives of disabled people in Scotland. The Plan was produced with the active engagement of disabled people and the organisations that represent them and they will continue to be engaged in its delivery and challenging its effectiveness.

The Scottish Government is committed to working in partnership with Scottish civic society to explore the benefits of further incorporating internationally-recognised human rights into the law of Scotland. That commitment applies to the UNCRPD as well as to other human rights treaties. We are determined to build on established good practice and to put human rights at the heart of both policy-making and delivery. We will continue to pursue the vision we share with civic society of a Scotland where disabled people can live with human dignity and enjoy their human rights in full.

Scotland’s record in realising the rights of disabled people will be examined, alongside overall UK performance, by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in August.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on arrests and it is not possible to derive information on religious hate crimes from the recorded crime database. With regards to people being charged the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) have published information up to 2015-16 on hate crime charges reported to them by the police:http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/publications/equality-and-diversity

This report contains details on the number of charges where a decision is awaiting on how to proceed and where it was decided not to proceed to court. The reasons given for why cases were not proceeded to court ("no action") are presented in Table 8. It is not possible to derive a local authority breakdown from the COPFS database.

Neither the Scottish Government or the COPFS hold information on the faith group, gender, race or country of origin of the victim.

Statistics on the number of people proceeded against and convicted for crimes with a religious aggravator recorded by local authority is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre - Bib number 58574. Statistics are presented on a financial year basis up to 2015-16 and are not available on a monthly basis thereafter.

The following table shows the sentencing information requested. Please note that the statistical sources in this answer are not directly comparable due to timing differences. For example, the COPFS figures measure individual charges at the case marking stage while the sentencing information are representative of closed cases that have reached a final verdict in court. This means information relating to an individual could be recorded in different years depending on the stage of the justice system. In addition, a court case can cover more than one charge or count of recorded crime but the sentencing statistics only count the main charge in a case.

People convicted with a religious aggravator recorded against the main charge, by main penalty 2007-08 to 2015-16

Source: Criminal Proceedings Database

The Scottish Government does not hold data on arrests but it is possible to derive information on racial hate crimes from the recorded crime database. Crimes of racially aggravated harassment and racially aggravated conduct recorded by the police broken down by local authority is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre - Bib number 58575.

With regards to people being charged the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) have published information up to 2015-16 on hate crime charges reported to them by the police: http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/publications/equality-and-diversity

This report contains details on the number of charges where a decision is awaiting on how to proceed and where it was decided not to proceed to court. The reasons given for why cases were not proceeded to court ("no action") are presented in Table 8. It is not possible to derive a local authority breakdown from the COPFS database.

Neither the Scottish Government or the COPFS hold information on the faith group, gender, race or country of origin of the victim.

Statistics on the number of people proceeded against and convicted for crimes with a racial aggravator recorded, broken down by local authority, is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre - Bib number 58575. Statistics are presented on a financial year basis up to 2015-16 and are not available on a monthly basis thereafter.

The table below shows the sentencing information requested. Please note that the statistical sources in this answer is not directly comparable due to timing differences. For example, the COPFS figures measure individual charges at the case marking stage while the sentencing information are representative of closed cases that have reached a final verdict in court. This means information relating to an individual could be recorded in different years depending on the stage of the justice system. In addition, a court case can cover more than one charge or count of recorded crime but the sentencing statistics only count the main charge in a case.

People convicted with a racial aggravator recorded against the main charge, by main penalty 2007-08 to 2015-16

Source: Criminal Proceedings database

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) publishes statistics on accidental dwelling fires, however this data is not broken down into specific causes.

These statistics are available on SFRS’s website, and can be found at this link: http://www.firescotland.gov.uk/about-us/fire-and-rescue-statistics.aspx

The SFRS has a statutory duty to promote fire safety across Scotland. In the Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2016, Scottish Ministers require SFRS to contribute fully to improving the safety and well-being of Scotland’s communities and to ensure that there is a clear process for working with partners to identify the risks faced by communities and individuals so that activity can be targeted using a risk-based approach.

The SFRS considers how best to reduce dwelling fires, including those caused by electricity, what the focus of its preventative action will be, and with which partner organisations it will work to achieve this.

In addition to a programme of fire safety awareness campaigns and community safety engagement events, the SFRS carried out 71,743 Home Fire Safety Visits in 2015-16. The SFRS website also carries safety information for householders on a range of issues, including home appliances and electrical safety.

A table setting out how much was awarded in each year since 2007 under the Section 16b Grant Funding Scheme, which organisations were beneficiaries, and how much they received can be found at BIB number 58580.

After a wide-ranging review that took in to account the views of over 40 beneficiary organisations, and with due consideration to finances, the decision was made to discontinue the Section 16b annual funding scheme as it was determined to be no longer fit for purpose.

The discontinuation of the Section 16B scheme has had no impact on the amount of Section 10 funding that is awarded.