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25 of the 29 buildings we have contacted are from the 80 block 2021 Expressions of Interest group. Once we ascertain consent and key details, we will move to the contracting process.

We have contacted 29 buildings so far to offer the direct provision of fire engineers. Once we ascertain consent and details, we will move to the contracting process.

Evidence of works was required in order to claim funding from the Business Ventilation Fund. This included providing invoices and proof of payment such as a copy of a bank statement. It was the responsibility of local authorities to validate this evidence to satisfy themselves that funding was being provided for approved purposes. This included spot checks of some premises and asking for further details to be provided before funding was released.

The total number of deaths by suicide recorded by National Records of Scotland (NRS) from 2007 to 2020 are detailed in the following table. Finalised statistics for deaths by suicide in 2021 are not yet available. NRS plan to publish these on 2 August 2022.

Under the Redesign of Urgent Care (RUC) programme, NHS 24 is now available 24/7 and individuals or their carers who think they need to go to A&E but it is not an emergency can first call 111. Their symptoms will be assessed by trained professionals who will direct them to the most appropriate setting for their healthcare need.

Individuals may be directed to their local pharmacy, and they may also be offered a phone or video appointment with their GP or an A&E triage nurse, thereby avoiding a trip to hospital altogether. If A&E attendance is necessary an appointment time can be scheduled to reduce the time they need to spend in the department.

The RUC program aims to improve urgent care pathways for all, however it is potentially particularly beneficial for people with conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, who can find long waits in A&E particularly distressing.

The Scottish Government continues to co-fund Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Consultants in NHS Boards to provide expert advice on dementia care issues within acute, community and mental health hospital settings - as well as wider community locations including care homes.

They will support established principles and standards such as that systems are in place so that staff can easily identify someone with dementia and that hospitals have access to advice or assessment by a liaison service specialising in the diagnosis and management of dementia.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to introduce a Scottish carers card. Local authorities and integration authorities are responsible for carer support under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, and commission Third Sector organisations to provide much of that support on their behalf. This includes information and advice about a range topics, including carers rights and income maximisation. Much of this support is delivered through local carer centres and would include signposting to any local carer discount cards or schemes in place, for both adult and young carers.

To specifically support young carers, the Scottish Government works with Young Scot to provide tailored discounts and opportunities through the Young Carers Package. This package is available to all young carers aged 11 to 18 years of age, and the Scottish Government encourages the promotion of this scheme as widely as possible. Young carers can claim vouchers, tickets to events, prizes and discounts to help support their health and wellbeing.

We have begun the SBA delivery process for 15 buildings using our grant based approach, with an additional 29 contacted to offer directly commissioned assessments.

To ensure local authorities had the capacity and resources required to deliver any new policy commitments in the last two years, all new policy or changes to existing policy that had a financial cost for local government were approved through the formal financial governance process which required agreed recommendations from the joint Scottish Government and COSLA Officers’ Settlement and Distribution Group and political sign-off from Scottish Ministers and COSLA political Leaders.

The Scottish Government holds data on the number of long term empty homes that have been empty for 6 months or more, by local authority from 2005 to 2021. This can be accessed using the following link: Housing statistics: Empty properties and second homes - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

This data is sourced from Council Tax information. Caution should be applied when considering this data as improvements have been made to the data collection systems by several local authorities since 2005, with some local authorities reporting zero long-term empty properties up until 2013. In addition, local authorities gained discretionary power to remove the empty properties discount or set a council tax increase of 100% in 2013. The council tax changes have led to the reclassification of a number of properties.

The review, Improving the Management of Sexual Offence Cases , led by the Lord Justice Clerk, Lady Dorrian, developed proposals for an improved system to deal with serious sexual offence cases, including recommending consideration of a time-limited pilot of single judge rape trials. We have committed to give careful consideration to all of the Review’s recommendations.

We have established a Governance Group to further explore the recommendations on an individual and collective basis. The Group established a short-life working group to consider the specific issues involved in any potential pilot of single judge rape trials. In addition, we launched a consultation on 12 May to gather wider views on the recommendation and other proposals to improve victims’ experiences of the justice system. Decisions on whether to proceed with legislation to implement a pilot will be informed by the outcomes of the working group and the consultation.