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The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 is a key part of the Scottish Government’s help for tenants facing the impact of the cost crisis. The Act introduced a temporary rent cap and moratorium on the enforcement of evictions, along with increased damages for unlawful evictions – until at least 31 March 2023.

The Scottish Government has made clear it will retain and use the provisions in the Act only where they remain necessary and proportionate in connection with the cost of living crisis. This is demonstrated in regulations laid before the Parliament on 19 January which:

• expire the rent cap provisions for the social sector on 26 February, so that it allows landlords to implement changes from the end of March; and also
• suspend the rent cap provision for purpose-built student accommodation, recognising that new tenancies in academic year 2023-24 would not be covered by the Act as it stands in any case.

I also announced on that date - in light of the differences in how the social and private rented sectors operate and the clear economic evidence demonstrating the continued pressure being placed on private rented households due to the ongoing cost crisis - that the Scottish Government will bring forward regulations to extend the remaining provisions in Part 1 of the Act for a further 6 months to 30 September 2023, provided it remains necessary and proportionate.

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 (Amendment of Expiry Dates and Rent Cap Modification) Regulations 2023 were laid on 27 January 2023 and, subject to the approval of Parliament, will mean that the rent cap for the private rented sector will continue, along with the moratorium on enforcing evictions - which will continue to apply across all sectors.

In order to ensure the provisions are proportionate, the Act gives power to vary the level of the rent cap. And whilst the focus of the emergency measures continues to be on protecting tenants, the Scottish Government recognises that the ongoing impacts of the cost crisis may also be experienced by some landlords.

The Scottish Government is of the view that it would be proportionate to raise the rent cap in the private rented sector to allow within-tenancy rent increases of up to 3%. Alternatively, landlords will continue to be able to apply for an additional rent increase based on an increase in prescribed property costs within a defined period and the maximum increase on this basis will be raised to 6% of overall rent in these specific and limited circumstances. The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 (Amendment of Expiry Dates and Rent Cap Modification) Regulations 2023 reflect this proposal.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The decision as to whether a member of staff discloses that they have attended hospital is one for the individual member of staff, and there is no requirement for this information to be shared. SPS has a focus on supporting staff who may have been injured, and ensuring that any reasonable preventative measures can be put in place to ensure that the likelihood of a similar incident occurring is mitigated as much as possible.

At this time, there are no plans to change the current methods of recording, however SPS will always look at ways which we can ensure we provide the right support to our staff.

The facilities in place at the 357 fire stations in Scotland are an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. There are 14 stations that have been identified with defective roofing material requiring remedial action that are located in Crewe, Cumbernauld, Dalkeith, Galashiels, Hawick, Helensburgh, Huntly, Liberton, Livingston, Marionville, Milngavie, Portree, Stewarton and Tranent.

It is worth noting that the listed stations above were inherited legacy buildings which contribute to the Services capital backlog investment requirement.

There were 25 trainee doctors undertaking specialty training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 2013. In 2017, 23 trainees were in post in the same specialty.

The Scottish Government and the UK Government are working together to provide feedback to all those who submitted Green Freeport bids. That process is under way. In fact officials are meeting members of the Clyde Green Freeport bidding coalition today. Officials from both governments also stand ready to work with the unsuccessful bidding coalitions to consider whether and how it might be possible to build on aspects of their plans, outside the Green Freeports programme, to deliver jobs and growth in their respective regions.

As stated in the answer to S6W-13242 responsibility for the publication of costs on delayed discharges rests with Public Health Scotland, and future plans for publication of this information is currently being reviewed by PHS .

We have significantly increased access to digital mental health treatments, products and services since the first cCBT treatment was rolled out in 2017. We now have 27 different computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (cCBT) treatments available across all NHS Boards. In 2022 we launched Mind to Mind, a wellbeing site with short videos from advice from clinicians and people with lived experience of mental health services and links to support services. The majority of appointments using Near Me, the video conferencing service available across NHS Scotland, are for mental health and offer people access to support if they are unable or prefer not to attend in-person services.

This increase in cCBT treatments has been gradual, with products being piloted with a small number of Boards before national rollout. From 1 treatment in 2017 this increased to 12 in 2020 to reflect higher demand for digital support during lockdown. This increased to 21 treatments in 2021 including two new products that could be accessed by anyone in Scotland via a link, rather than requiring a referral from a GP or mental health professional. We continue to explore more options around self-referral and the role cCBT treatments play in offering mental health support that is accessible at any time.

It is for Police Scotland to collect and hold relevant information on their workforce and it would be for them to respond to any requests for information in relation to serving Police Officers with a criminal record. You may wish to view Police Scotland’s web site in regards to the provision of information by that organisation, link attached https://www.scotland.police.uk/access-to-information/ .

The research in question was based on archetypes rather than individual properties. As such, it is not possible to precisely identify the location of the 170,000 off-gas-grid households and the 40,000 households directly from the data outputs.

Before introducing any legislation for a minimum energy efficiency standard and prohibition on the use of direct emissions heating systems in homes, we will publish an Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) and Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) which will consider the impacts of our proposals on rural and island communities.

As the implementation of the City Centre Recovery Task Force report continues, the Scottish Government is supporting our cities to decide how best to prioritise their own recovery plans. This includes investing £2m in a Recovery Fund, with a focus on inclusive and sustainable growth.

Important progress to deliver the ambitions of the Town Centre Action Plan Review and the City Centre Recovery Task Force has been made by the recent approval of the National Planning Framework 4. This strengthens support for development in centres to be considered first, while limiting out-of-town retail development. In addition, we continue to roll out our Place Based Investment Programme which last year meant local authorities received £33m to invest in their town centres, 20-minute neighbourhoods, community wealth building and community-led regeneration programmes. £140m is allocated to Scotland’s local authorities over 5 years.