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Over the last two and a half years, our NHS has suffered the biggest shock of its 74-year existence. Caring for large numbers of patients seriously unwell with COVID-19 has inevitably meant that planned care procedures have had to be delayed, and while we are working hard to recover and remobilise our NHS, this will not be done in a few weeks or even months. Throughout the pandemic, NHS Boards have ensured that urgent, maternity and vital cancer services continue as usual. Addressing the backlog of care, while continuing to meet the ongoing urgent health and care needs of the country, remains a priority for this Government.

We recognise the impact long waiting times can have on patients. That is why we have introduced a new set of ambitious targets for NHS Scotland to address the backlog of planned care. Key targets are to eliminate:

• Two-year waits for outpatients in most specialities by the end of August 2022
• 18-month waits for outpatients in most specialities by the end of December 2022
• One-year waits for outpatients in most specialities by the end of March 2023
• Two-year waits for inpatient / daycases in most specialities by the end of September 2022
• 18-month waits for inpatient / daycases in most specialities by the end of September 2023
• One-year waits for inpatient / daycases in most specialities by the end of September 2024

We are working with NHS Boards to maximise capacity to meet these targets and have increased the flexibility Health Boards and clinicians have to manage waiting lists, with a focus on eliminating long waits, as well as continuing to treat the most clinically urgent patients.

The latest Private Healthcare Information Network figures show Scotland has lower rates of self-pay admissions per head of population than England and Wales

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) has operational responsibility for our Modern Apprenticeship (MA) programme. Official MA statistics are published quarterly by SDS, including the number of starts, with a full year report available at the end of each financial year.

All MA starts are asked to complete an equality monitoring form. In terms of measuring and reporting on disabilities, SDS asks for participants’ self-reported information on impairment, health condition or learning difficulty. The number and proportion of MA starts self-identifying this from 2017-18 to 2021-22 is detailed in the following table:

The contract notice with Corporate Travel Management (North) Ltd, was published on 9 August 2022. The contract is to source and provide travel-related services for displaced people from Ukraine including accommodation in hotels and on the M/S Victoria I and M/S Ambition.

The full contract has a value of up to £100 million with a start date of 8 July 2022 and an end date of 12 December 2024. Both the M/S Victoria and the M/S Ambition have been initially chartered for a period of 6 months.

A refresh of the Equally Safe Delivery Plan outlining the joint commitment of the Scottish Government and COSLA to preventing and eradicating all forms of violence against women and girls, which includes stalking and sexual harassment, and tackling underpinning attitudes that perpetuate it, was published in June 2022. The Scottish Government also regularly monitors the effectiveness of legislation and the funding it provides to relevant support services, such as Action Against Stalking and the Scottish Women's Rights Centre.

It is for Glasgow City Council as the statutory housing and planning authority to set out local housing requirements. The Glasgow Local Housing Strategy 2017 sets a Housing Supply Target of 15,000 new homes over five years, including 7,500 new affordable homes. Scottish Government published new housebuilding statistics, based on private-led completions data provided by Glasgow City Council along with social sector housing association new build completions data from the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, and these show a total of 4,923 all-sector completions over the four year period 2017-18 to 2020-21, with more than half of these being social sector housing association homes.

The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown significantly impacted the construction sector across Scotland with associated delays to delivery of homes.

The cost crisis represents an unprecedented challenge to which the UK Government must respond.

The Scottish Government is taking action to prioritise support for Scotland, within the constraints of its limited budget and powers. On 7 September I wrote to the Finance and Public Administration Committee and I set out our progress to Parliament, including the savings taken to date. Here is a link to the Committee letter - Cost crisis: letter to Scottish Parliament committee .

The Scottish Government’s Emergency Budget Review is an ongoing budget process and I have committed to publishing its outcome within two weeks of the UK fiscal event planned for later this month.

The Scottish Government is working on a package of measures in relation to cladding that will provide direct support to homeowners and details will be published in the coming months. We are taking steps to ensure a potential scheme has the appropriate funding and delivery model to adapt to demand.

Scottish Government officials assess whether each bidding organisation to the Just Transition Fund is “headquartered, or demonstrate[s] a strong connection to at least one of Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City or Moray". Only proposals that meet this criteria are considered for funding.

Aberdeenshire Council, Moray Council and Aberdeen City Council were all able to bid into the fund. They can count as the partner that is based or has operations in the region, however that is not mandatory and any private organisation can be considered as the local partner organisation.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme report, published on 28 June, includes data from the Scottish Stroke Care Audit (SSCA). The SSCA measures quality of care of stroke services in each acute hospital, grouped by NHS board against the Scottish Stroke Care Standards.

The 2021-22 season has seen the UK’s largest outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to date, which has affected wild bird populations, including some internationally important seabird populations.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) carries out year-round highly pathogenic avian influenza surveillance of dead wild birds reported to Defra’s GB national helpline, which captures information on the general location and strains of avian influenza that are present in wild birds. To date, there have been no confirmed findings of avian influenza in European storm petrels in Scotland. More information on the programme and findings in wild birds is available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/avian-influenza-outbreaks/#wildbirds .

In addition to the GB Dead Wild Bird Surveillance Scheme, NatureScot and other relevant parties have been carrying out monitoring at key seabird colonies across Scotland to collect data on bird numbers and any mortality events. This surveillance and monitoring has not recorded any mortality of European storm petrels.

While the full extent of the impact of the current avian influenza outbreak on seabirds, is unknown, some colonies have clearly been affected. A Scottish Avian Influenza in Wild Birds Task Force has been established to co-ordinate activity to monitor and minimise the impact of avian influenza on wild bird populations in Scotland. This will involve identifying surveillance, monitoring and related research needs, which will allow a better understanding of the current and likely future impact of the disease on wild bird populations.

Furthermore, NatureScot will be collecting samples from European storm petrel nesting boxes in Mousa over the next few weeks, as part of the FluMap programme, to improve understanding of the transmission of avian influenza in wild birds. Colony surveys will also be undertaken during the 2023 breeding season to assess the status of seabird colonies potentially impacted by the current HPAI outbreak.