Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Priority Action in the draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, ‘Continue effective species recovery, reintroduction and reinforcement programmes’, is one of several actions that supports the recovery and protection of vulnerable species in Scotland, and will help us to meet Goal A and Target 4 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

We are committed to continue protecting vulnerable species, and are determined to step up our ambition in taking action to support nature-friendly farming, fishing and forestry, and to expand, restore and connect existing protected areas, to ensure high quality landscapes for all species across Scotland to thrive, and adapt to our changing climate.

The consultation on the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan is currently open, and available for Aberdeen City Council and others to respond to. We will publish a list of organisations that responded in due course.

The Scottish Government collects information on temporary accommodation placements associated with homelessness applications through the HL3 data collection. This gathers information on date of entry and date of exit (where relevant) for each temporary accommodation placement. It is possible to combine durations of individual temporary accommodation placements associated with the same homelessness application.

The HL3 data collection does not gather information on all persons present in temporary accommodation placements. However, it is reasonable to assume there is at least one adult present. An additional question was added to the HL3 data collection in 2019 to ask how many children require accommodation in temporary accommodation placements, but not all local authorities have so far been able to provide this information.

An estimate of the presence of children in temporary accommodation placements can be derived by linking household records between the HL1 and HL3 data collections. The HL1 data collection is related to homelessness applications and gathers information on household composition. However, it is important to note that households may sometimes make alternative arrangements for children when entering temporary accommodation and therefore it is not always the case that children included in the HL1 return are present in associated temporary accommodation placements. It can also be the case that children are present for only part of the stay in temporary accommodation e.g. as part of shared custody arrangements.

A full set of HL3 data is available for all local authorities from 2017-18. However, this includes temporary accommodation placements which commenced prior to 2017-18. In addition, some local authorities have provided data prior to 2017-18, but the completeness of this is highly variable across local authorities.

Information at individual (person or household) level cannot be provided due to data confidentiality.

Information gathered through Scottish Government homelessness data collections can be found under the homelessness data provider information section of the homelessness statistics webpages. Within the annual Homelessness in Scotland publications, data tables are included for a) the average time spent in temporary accommodation for closed cases, by local authority and household type and b) the distribution of time spent in temporary accommodation for closed cases, by local authority for i) all households; ii) households with children; and iii) households without children.

The Scottish Government does not provide specific funding to local authorities to support breakfast and after school clubs which are struggling financially. Local authorities have flexibility to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities. In 2023-24 local authorities have autonomy to allocate over 93% - £12.5 billion – of the funding provided by the Scottish Government, plus all locally raised income.

The Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan is central to creating a future workforce that can support our transition to a net zero economy and ensure workers are equipped with the skills that employers will need in a green economy.

The Implementation Steering Group (ISG) for the Action Plan has an independent chair and is comprised of senior representatives from local government, public agencies, skills providers, and industry. The ISG currently has three sub-groups, including a transport sub-group which is exploring the skills required across the transport sector for the transition to net zero.

The ISG is not currently conducting a full assessment of seafarers and operators of ferry services in Scotland however could consider this as part of ongoing work.

We do not have plans to introduce legislation to establish an Older People’s Commissioner. There are existing commissions that protect the rights of older people. The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) and the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) already play a role in relation to the rights of older people in respect of age as a protected equality characteristic. In addition, we continue to work closely with the Older People’s Strategic Action Forum on a range of priorities for advancing age equality.

We are committed to promoting the rights of older people and ensuring that they benefit from all that we are doing to improve people’s lives. That is why we provide over £2.2million to support older people's organisations to tackle inequality and discrimination and support our aim to promote the rights of older people.

The following table details the precision medicines accepted by the Scottish Medicines Consortium where the companion diagnostic test is not yet offered by NHS Scotland laboratories, and the anticipated roll-out of the appropriate test.

Validation is required for every companion diagnostic test to ensure the accuracy of the test meets the indication required. A number of tests have completed validation and are currently awaiting implementation throughout the course of 2023. We continue to work with key partners, such as the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomics Medicine (SSNGM), to ensure there is capacity within laboratories for companion diagnostics tests.

*Olaparib (SMC2366) for the treatment of prostate cancer

**Olaparib (SMC2368) for the treatment of ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer requires two companion diagnostics tests in order for patients to access the treatment. One of the tests, BRCA, is available in NHS Scotland labs, however, the other, HRD, is not available due to its complexity. While testing isn’t available in NHS laboratories, it is available through an alternative provider ensuring patients can still access the medicine.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) classifies the overall condition of Scotland’s surface water environment (rivers, lochs, transitional waters, and coastal areas) at 64% in good or better condition. This is compared to England where its Environment Agency classifies only 16% of its surface water environment in good condition. For river and lochs, only, SEPA classifies that 84% are in good or better condition for water quality, 89% for flows and levels (hydrology), 89% for physical condition (morphology) and 88% for access for fish migration.

Avian influenza viruses remain predominantly a pathogen that affects birds with a small number of cases of mammals being infected worldwide. Evidence of mammal-to-mammal transmission in the wild remains very limited and the available genomic surveillance data reported by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in the UK does not suggest widespread mammalian adaption of the virus.

The infection of mammals with influenza of avian origin remains uncommon, including in humans. Public Health Scotland (PHS), who lead on public health responses, have established processes in place should a human case of avian influenza be reported in Scotland, in line with any other notifiable disease.

The Scottish Government are working closely with PHS, and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on avian flu. Work undertaken by PHS to date includes; contributing to, and adopting interim guidance on the management of contacts of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 and participating in the UKHSA national incident management team, and a 4 Nations Operational Avian Influenza Subgroup.

PHS are also part of the Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance (HAIRS) group. HAIRS is a multi-agency cross-government horizon scanning and risk assessment group, which acts as a forum to identify and discuss infections with potential for interspecies transfer (particularly zoonotic infections). PHS contribute to risk assessments on avian influenza led from there, including on the risk of avian influenza from mammals.

The Scottish Government recognises that an improved streamlined process for the implementation of new genetic tests linked to a Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) approved medicine is required. The SMC currently provides early information to National Services Division (NSD) on cancer medicines in clinical development that are expected to require a companion diagnostic through regular horizon scanning reports. To support financial and service planning, the SMC also provides Health Boards – in confidence - with information on medicines that may require a companion diagnostic through regular Forward Look reports, which include emerging new medicines, including Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs).

A key function of the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomics Medicine (SSNGM) is to horizon scan for new medicines to prevent delays for patients getting access to advanced therapies. To support this, the SSNGM has established Scottish Genomics Testing Assessment Groups (SGTAG) for cancer and rare disease. The SGTAG will work with the SMC and others to approve the availability of companion diagnostic tests in the genetic laboratories.