Seòmar agus comataidhean

This information is not held by The Scottish Government.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13597 on 19 January 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/written-questions-and-answers .

Many people who report that they have never worked are suffering from long-term sickness or disability, or are looking after family. Just because someone does not have a job does not mean they are not making a valuable contribution to our economy and society.

The Scottish Government’s devolved employment support service, Fair Start Scotland, helps people with disabilities, long term health conditions and other barriers to progress into sustainable employment.

Through our Fair Work policy we are supporting the development of a labour market that is open, inclusive and offers good quality and rewarding jobs for everyone.

We are committed to developing life-long skills training opportunities, which support people to enter the workforce and enjoy valuable and rewarding careers.

The published 2023-24 Stage 1 budget showed at level 4, a total investment of over £1.2 billion in Social Care support and NCS delivery. The £61.9m additional funding will help support a number of areas as noted in the response provided for S6W-13643 on 19 January 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/written-questions-and-answers

Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will ensure a higher percentage of glass sent for recycling. Analysis from Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) shows that presently only around 59% of mixed glass is recycled. DRS is expected to capture 80% of glass bottles in the first year of DRS, increasing to 90% thereafter, this will therefore increase the amount of overall glass sent for recycling.

ZWS supports local authorities to assess their recycling collection options to help align services with the Household Recycling Charter Code of Practice, as well as future proofing those services by understanding the impact of other measures such as DRS and Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility.

The Scottish Government began supporting efforts to implement online testing in 2020. Since then, we have provided over £0.5m for the development of a “once for Scotland” approach to STI home testing. This was rolled out in NHS Lothian in December, and work is underway to explore further roll-out. This service allows people to request a test online and perform home self-sampling, while providing clinicians with comprehensive, real-time data. We are aware that in addition to the work supported by the Scottish Government that a number of NHS Boards have also progressed work in this area. The Scottish Government does not directly collect data on the numbers of people who have directly accessed such services.

Since 2021, we have also provided funding to pilot the provision of at home HIV self-testing kits. Two methods of testing for HIV have been offered, encompassing HIV self-testing (in which the individual tests their own blood sample and interprets the results) and HIV self-sampling (in which a laboratory tests and processes the blood sample). The most current data from HIV Scotland shows that over 10,000 kits have been requested through this Scottish Government-funded project. This further breaks down to 8,545 self-testing kits and 1,752 self-sampling kits.

The Gateway Review was undertaken more than six months ago and has been superseded. A review carried out in October 2022 concluded that “the DRS Programme has gained increased momentum and is in a much improved position” and that go live in August 2023 is now “feasible”. This is testament to the efforts being made by industry, Circularity Scotland, and the Scottish Government, who are working together to ensure the scheme is implemented in full.

We are committed to a pragmatic approach to implementation. For example, in November 2022, we updated the return point exemptions guidance and in December the application forms to make it easier for retailers to apply for an exemption from acting as a return point, and streamlined the process for retailers and hospitality providers.

Also in December, I announced that we will bring forward amendments to the regulations so that initially only the largest grocery supermarkets will be obliged to provide an online takeback service; all other businesses will be exempt from online takeback obligations.

The Scottish Government’s aim is to support high quality, relevant, appropriate and accessible ESOL provision that meets learner need.

The Scottish Government’s ESOL funding is currently provided through colleges. Colleges are instructed to work with Community Planning Partnerships to determine the level of need for provision and agree with partners how this need can be met.

The Local Government Settlement provides a block grant to local authorities which they can then use to meet the learning needs of refugees and asylum seekers in their areas.

Grant funding awarded to third sector organisations has enabled ESOL providers to use asset based approaches to work with adult learners to plan and co-design their learning.

In 2020-21 colleges received £2,323,504 funding for digital inclusion. Community Learning and Development organisations received £250,000. Devices were distributed to best meet the needs of all learners, regardless of the type of learning or their legal status.

Our Adult Learning Strategy commits to continuing to increase access to digital devices and connectivity for adult learning. In 2022-3, £500,000 of Digital Inclusion funding has been made available to community learning providers through the Community Learning and Development Device Fund. The Fund is supporting over forty community-based projects throughout Scotland to acquire digital devices for learning. These projects support a range of learner groups including refugees and asylum seekers, with several specifically focusing on providing access to ESOL courses.

To tackle student digital poverty an allocation of £2.9 million has been distributed among the college sector by the Scottish Funding Council. Institutions manage these funds and applications for support at their own discretion to best support their learners. ESOL students can apply directly to their college for support with a digital device.

The breakdown of the 356.1 whole time equivalent posts recruited within GP practices by NHS Health Board is as follows;

The breakdown of the 958.9 whole time equivalent (WTE) posts by NHS Health Board is as follows;