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It is disappointing to see an overall increase in households becoming homeless from the private rented sector. However, there was a notable decrease between the first and last six months of the year. This is likely due to the cost of living legislation that was introduced in October 2022.

The cost of living crisis continues to place people across Scotland in a precarious position. On 1 June we laid regulations which would – subject to the approval of Parliament – extend emergency measures to cap in-tenancy rents and give additional eviction protections for a further, and final six months, to 31 March 2024, provided they remain necessary and proportionate.

If approved by Parliament, these measures will continue to help stabilise housing costs for private tenants and ensure that the enforcement of evictions will continue to be paused for up to six months across all tenures except in a limited number of circumstances. This provides tenants with additional protection where an eviction order/decree is granted - giving them more time to access the support they need and to find alternative accommodation.

We know that the best way to end homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place. As stated in this year’s Programme for Government (published 5 September 2023), in the coming year we will introduce a Housing Bill which will include new duties aimed at the prevention of homelessness.

Through local authorities we have provided over £8.8 million to support more than 6,620 households in rent arrears through the Tenant Grant Fund.

Discretionary Housing Payments play a vital role in safeguarding tenancies. In 2023-24, we are making £83.7 million available to local authorities to spend on Discretionary Housing Payments:

• £69.7 million to fully mitigate the bedroom tax, helping over 92,000 households in Scotland sustain their tenancies
• £6.2 million to mitigate the benefit cap as fully as possible within devolved powers
• £7.9 million to mitigate against the damaging impact of other UK Government welfare cuts, including the ongoing freeze to Local Housing Allowance rates

It is vital that Police Scotland continues to inspire public trust and maintains relationships with local communities. These principles are clearly set out in both the Scottish Government’s Strategic Police Priorities and in the Police Scotland/Scottish Police Authority Joint Strategy for Policing . While the decision to conduct a pilot is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, it will be crucial when the results of this pilot are examined, to confirm that local priorities continue to be met with no detriment to communities.

Officers in the North East are not stopping the investigation of minor crimes. Members of the public should continue to report all crimes. Police Scotland has stated that, as part of the pilot, on occasions where crimes are reported without an associated threat, harm, risk or vulnerability and there are no proportionate lines of enquiry, staff will inform the caller that their report has been filed and supply a crime reference number but no further action will be taken. Should thereafter any evidence become available that open up a line of enquiry the incident will be appropriately investigated. Police Scotland has stated that the new approach will ensure that individuals receive faster updates on their incident reports.

Policing remains a priority for the Scottish Government. Despite financial challenges due to UK Government austerity, we have increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, investing more than £11.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013.

Minimum unit price (MUP) is one of a range of population and individual level interventions set out in the Scottish Government Alcohol Framework that together are intended to improve the prevention and treatment of alcohol related harm in Scotland. MUP is a whole population policy with a particular focus on hazardous and harmful drinkers. People with alcohol dependency are a diverse group with complex needs, who fall within the extreme end of the harmful drinking category.

Given the clinical needs of people with alcohol dependence, MUP is not intended to be the key intervention for this cohort – treatment and care services are critical for this group. In 2022-23, £106.8 million was made available to support local and national initiatives overseen by Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships - ensuring that local services can respond to local needs. This includes activities like signposting those receiving treatment for alcohol dependence to local services to meet wider social and financial needs where they arise.

I recognise the need for urgent action in Inverclyde following the publication of the National Records of Scotland data on alcohol-specific deaths during 2022. It shows that with 28 deaths Inverclyde had the highest age standardised mortality rate for alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland – at 33 per 100,000 of population.

We are providing and will continue to provide funding to statutory and community services operating in Inverclyde as part of the Government’s plan to help tackle this public health emergency. We have committed to continue our financial support to the Inverclyde Alcohol and Drug Recovery Service as well as supporting the contributions made by community Link Workers and others working in the local area. We will also continue to provide support through accessible community Funds to local initiatives such as Moving On, which I visited earlier this month, to hear from people impacted by alcohol and drugs.

I am fully committed to do everything in my power to tackle alcohol-related deaths in Scotland, working with partners including Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships and third sector organisations to ensure that local needs are met, and that funding is making the maximum impact in all local areas.

The Scottish Government released a statement responding to and welcoming Lord Etherton’s LGBT Veterans Independent Review on the day it was published. We said that the report made clear that from the many personal accounts within the review, that a grave injustice was done. Lord Etherton’s recommendations and suggestions will go some way to addressing that.

While the Armed Forces are a reserved matter, and the recommendations within the independent review are all for the UK Government to deliver, it did contain two suggestions for Scotland. These were around diversity and inclusivity policies and training for healthcare and housing providers, to ensure that veterans do not face any repeat of the homophobic policies they suffered whilst in the Armed Forces. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting LGBT veterans and is considering how to deliver on these suggestions.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-19568 on 26 July 2023. 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/questions-and-answers .

In August 2021, the Scottish Government published Reset and Rebuild, a recovery plan for sexual health and blood borne virus (SHBBV) services. This plan was co-produced with NHS and third sector partners, to take stock of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on SHBBV services and people that use them.

The Scottish Government’s SHBBV plan for 2023-2026, which is due to be published towards the end of summer 2023, will include a focus on improving access to SHBBV services across Scotland.

In addition, as noted in response to S6W-19566 on 26 July 2023, work is on-going to understand and put in place the necessary governance and infrastructure to support a national online testing service for sexually transmitted infections and bloodborne viruses.

The Scottish Government has also provided funding to support the development of an ePrEP pilot and a national publicity campaign to address HIV stigma to be developed by a multi-agency partnership.

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 .

The HIV Transmission Elimination Proposal, commissioned by the Scottish Government and published on World AIDS Day in 2022, sets out 22 recommendations to ensure progress is made to meet our goal of zero HIV infection transmissions in Scotland by 2030.

An HIV Transmission Elimination Proposal Scoping Group met between March and June 2023 to review the proposal, and to identify key actions to be taken forward in 2023-24. The recommendations from this group are currently being considered and prioritised.

In addition, the Scottish Government has provided funding to support the development of an e-PrEP pilot and a national publicity campaign to address HIV stigma, to be developed by a multi-agency partnership.

The Scottish Government’s Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus plan for 2023 to 2026 is scheduled for publication towards the end of summer 2023. As part of this approach, there will be a focus on improving access to testing for STIs and blood borne viruses.

Recommendations made within the HIV Transmission Elimination Proposal are currently being considered, and prioritisation of those to be taken forward in 2023-24 is likely to be announced before the end of summer 2023.