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a) Neurological Conditions: estimating the prevalence in Scotland of selected conditions using GP and Hospital Admissions datasets , a Scottish Government experimental statistics report published in December 2022, contains estimated prevalence of selected neurological conditions in Scotland, including ME/CFS.

b) We do not hold data on the prevalence of people living with fibromyalgia in Scotland.

c) Until March 2023, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported monthly on responses to long COVID questions in the COVID-19 Infection Survey (CIS) . This reporting provided prevalence estimates of self-reported long COVID by duration and associated activity limitations, with data available at Scotland level.

The Scottish Government republished the Scottish Good Practice Statement on ME/CFS in February 2023, updated with key recommendations from the latest NICE guidelines on ME/CFS.

Officials continue to work with stakeholder groups to explore how we might further review and implement the guidance in Scotland.

Health and Social Care Partnerships submit monthly reports to Public Health Scotland on the number of people waiting for packages of care. The last published submission on the 21st August showed that 294 people were waiting for a care at home package in the community and 65 people were waiting for a care at home package from hospital on the 7 th of August in Dumfries and Galloway. 84 people were waiting for a social care support assessment from the community and no one was waiting for a social care support assessment from hospital on the 7th August in Dumfries and Galloway.

These figures represent a snapshot and will vary on a daily basis as individuals are added to lists at point of assessment and are subsequently assigned care packages.

The Scottish Government knows that the sector faces challenges and is committed to working with all partners to improve social care support services and to delivering a National Care Service to provide high quality care across the country.

Council Tax is a local tax and the responsibility for the administration of the system, including the application of any reductions, rests with each individual local authority.

Properties that are incapable of being occupied, that are undergoing, or which have undergone, major repairs or structural alterations are exempt from Council Tax for up to 12 months. Local authorities also have discretionary powers to reduce the Council Tax liability of unoccupied properties by up to 50% for an unlimited period.

Proposals for creating new woodland in Scotland are assessed under the Forestry (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017. These regulations require those developing forestry projects to identify and consider potentially significant effects on the environment, including cumulative effects.

Scottish Forestry’s Woodland Creation Application Guidance advises those developing forestry proposals that identifying potential impacts and protecting the environment should be factored into the woodland design before any application is submitted. As a result, forestry proposals are often extensively modified, including where cumulative effects have been identified, during the development process to take account of potential environmental impacts, and applications must be supported by analysis of key environmental information.

Since 2019, no forestry applications have been refused consent as a result of significant cumulative environmental impacts.

We need to rapidly accelerate our deployment of renewables in order to support decarbonisation of the GB grid by 2035, and significant investment in our grid infrastructure is required to ensure clean, low-cost renewable electricity can flow to where it is needed. We are clear that such infrastructure must be delivered with lasting benefits for our economy and the people of Scotland .

In regard to the proposals for pylons in the Torthorward area, we understand that Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN) has undertaken the first of two rounds of public consultations on the proposed Harestanes West connection. No application has been submitted to Scottish Ministers for consideration with regards to this development. Once an application is submitted it is subject to consultation with the public, statutory and local bodies, and local communities have an opportunity to make a representation to the formal application.

The Scottish Government is aware that communities in areas which may be impacted by proposed electricity network developments may have questions and concerns regarding pylon infrastructure, and we can provide assurance that any potential impacts - on communities, nature, landscape and other valued natural assets - are important considerations when determining applications for consent.

In Dumfries and Galloway, a range of eating disorder care and treatment is provided in line with good clinical practice across primary care, community services and specialist services for children, adolescents and adults.

This includes the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Specialist Eating Disorder Service which provides out-patient treatment to children and young people impacted by an eating disorder. In addition, there is a Specialist Eating Disorder Service for adults, SEDS, which is based within Mountainhall Treatment Centre. This service provides those over the age of 18 a safe, supportive and collaborative environment to support them to live a more fulfilled and independent life.

Furthermore, Dumfries and Galloway has pathways into paediatric, general adult and CAMHS inpatient facilities when admission for an eating disorder is required.

Through Scottish Government funding of over £600,000 per annum, Dumfries and Galloway also has access to a wide range of support services offered by Beat, the UK’s largest Eating Disorder charity, which include:

• Nexus – A Carer telephone support programme which provides a weekly scheduled coaching call to support recovery.
• Synergy - A new service that provides direct support to under 18s and their families through weekly sessions over Zoom.
• Solace - Structured weekly peer-to-peer support groups for carers via Zoom.
• Motivate - Weekly support for those aged 18+ to ensure service users remain motivated while waiting for treatment for anorexia or bulimia to begin.
• Bolster - Weekly support through telephone sessions for Adults (aged +18) who are unable to access treatment.
• Momentum - Self-help programme based on cognitive behavioural therapy for adults (aged 18+) who present with Binge Eating Disorder or regular binge eating episodes.

Phasing out fossil fuel heating is essential to meet our legal climate targets and makes us less dependent on volatile and increasingly expensive fossil fuel prices. As set out in the Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, the Scottish Government considers “low and zero emissions heating systems” to be systems that have zero direct greenhouse gas emissions. This includes individual electric heat pumps and connection to heat networks, or electric systems such as storage heaters, and systems that have very low emissions, such as those that use hydrogen.

In line with the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change, we agree that bioenergy – such as biomass, bio-heating oil and bio-propane - should only be used in those applications where its carbon reduction impact is maximised, where alternative options are not available, and where it comes from sustainable sources. We recognise that, for a small number of homes, bioenergy might offer the only feasible way to reduce emissions from heating to displacing fossil fuels, especially where electric heating or heat pumps are unsuitable. We will therefore consider how such homes may be dealt with under any future regulatory system.

Dental registration statistics, including the percentage of children who are registered with a NHS dentist in the Dumfries and Galloway area, are published by Public Health Scotland and can be viewed online at Dental statistics - NHS registration and participation 24 January 2023 - Dental statistics - registration and participation - Publications - Public Health Scotland .

NHS Dumfries and Galloway have appointed a Task Force to improve access to dental services in the area. Their work includes promoting Scottish Government funding, including the Scottish Dental Access Initiative grant and the Recruitment and Retention allowance, of which both incentives are available throughout the whole Board area.

On 27 July I wrote to the dental sector with a new suite of fees incentivising a full range of NHS care and treatment. The new model reduces bureaucracy, provides greater clinical freedom to NHS dental teams and reflects modern dentistry. The intention behind these payment reform measures is to better incentivise dentists to provide NHS dental care, thereby sustaining and increasing NHS dental access as we move forward.

The regulation of consumer protection, including the work of Trading Standards Scotland, is reserved to the UK Government.

Trading Standards Scotland (TSS) is an intelligence-led organisation that investigates consumer issues where harm has occurred across local authority boundaries. It has never held the function of providing advice directly to consumers.

Anyone seeking help with a consumer issue should contact Advice Direct Scotland at www.consumeradvice.scot or on 0808 164 6000.