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The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting and growing our nursing and midwifery workforce. That is why student nurses and midwives entering Scottish Government funded degree programmes will increase by 8.7% in 2022-23, to a total recommended target intake of 4837 nursing and midwifery students.

Universities are continuing their recruitment for programmes commencing in the 2022-23 academic year. Final data on the number of placed applicants on nursing and midwifery programmes commencing in the 2022-23 academic year will not be available until January 2023.

Three Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDS) – formerly known as Early Cancer Diagnostic Centres (ECDC) – have been opened in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway and NHS Fife. An interim report on the rollout of RCDC's is expected shortly and are actively considering further rollout of Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services.

All Boards have recruited both medical and non-medical staff to manage the new referral pathway for patients with non-specific symptoms, including navigators who support patients from the point of referral.

Recruitment for clinical services is the responsibility of individual Boards and it is therefore for them to provide specific details.

Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDS) – formerly known as Early Cancer Diagnostic Centres (ECDC) – are fast-track diagnostic pathways taking patients from referral to diagnosis, not treatment.

Scotland’s first three RCDS are early adopters to help inform wider roll-out of an optimal model for patients with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer.

All three Services are using a nationally agreed minimum data-set, capturing consistent data from age, gender, symptoms at presentation etc. A sub-section of this data will be published by the three Boards in 2022.

Meanwhile, work is underway with Public Health Scotland to scope and progress national data collection as more sites are expected to be established.

NHS Boards received notification on the 11 August of their share of the £50 million investment which has been allocated in its entirety to support NHS Health Boards to improve A&E waits through a new National Collaborative for Urgent and Unscheduled Care.

Each board’s share of the £50 million fund is listed below:

Childcare providers in the private, third and childminding sectors who deliver funded early learning and childcare (ELC) receive a sustainable rate from their local authority for the delivery of these hours.

There is no standard payment and local authorities set sustainable rates for providers in their area in-line with the joint Scottish Government and COSLA guidance .

The Scottish Government is committed to collecting data annually on the sustainable rates set by each local authority. This includes information on any variations in the rates paid to children in different age groups.

We published data on sustainable rates for 2021-22 in ‘ Overview of local authority funding and support for early learning and childcare providers’. Data on sustainable rates for 2022-23 will be published in the Autumn.

The Scottish Government does not hold specific information of how many release sites for beaver translocations have been identified.

Following the Scottish Government’s announcement to actively support the expansion of the beaver population in November 2021 much work has been undertaken by NatureScot to support the policy. While there have been no licence applications made by public bodies to date, NatureScot have logged a number of expressions of interest and are liaising with RSPB Scotland and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority in relation to the consultation for beaver translocations in progress for Loch Lomond, and with Forestry and Land Scotland for the consultation in progress for Glen Affric.

Scotland’s Redress Scheme has been designed and developed to offer survivors support at every stage of the process. Trained case workers, working on behalf of the Scottish Government, are there to communicate with applicants throughout the application process and are available to answer questions about how to complete an application form, what documents applicants might need to provide and where to get further support. When additional support is required, case workers refer applicants to the Redress Support Service provided by the In-Care Survivors Alliance. The In-Care Survivors Alliance draws on its existing network of over 70 delivery partners to provide support.

The Redress Support Service can help applicants access the emotional, practical or access to records support they require. They currently have contracts with two delivery partners; Birthlink and Wellbeing Scotland, who provide additional support for applicants in accessing records.

The Scottish Government have awarded a grant to the ‘In Care Survivor Alliance’ to provide this Redress Support.

Decisions on non-domestic rates, including the poundage and any reliefs or supplements, are generally considered in the context of the Scottish Budget in line with other government priorities.

The Scottish Budget 2022-23 delivers the lowest poundage in the UK for the fourth year in a row, ensuring that over 95% of non-domestic properties continue to be liable for a lower property tax rate than anywhere else in the UK.

Scotland has a varied building stock, with many different ages and types of properties. Homes are built with various levels of insulation, with many having altered the building fabric since construction (for example by installing double glazing). This makes defining a ‘non-retrofitted home’ challenging. The most consistent approach to comparing the running cost of a heat pump to the running cost of a gas boiler is to compare the relative cost of heat from each system, taking into account their differing efficiencies.

Under the recently announced Energy Price Guarantee, the unit rate of gas for the average consumer is 10.3 p/kWh, compared to 34.0 p/kWh for electricity. While estimates of the energy efficiency of heat pumps vary, air source heat pumps are typically considered to be two to three times more efficient than gas boilers. Therefore, we estimate broadly that a home with the average heat demand would face an estimated annual cost of around £1,900 using a gas boiler, compared to around £2,000 using an air source heat pump. This estimate is illustrative and subject to uncertainty. It is based on average household demand for heat and varies in line with assumed levels of gas and electricity prices, as well as the assumed efficiencies of the respective heating systems.

The Heat in Buildings Strategy proposes to set minimum energy efficiency standards alongside heating system change, so that the energy efficiency of our housing stock will be improved ahead of, or in tandem with, a zero direct emissions heating system being installed. This approach will reduce the running cost of zero direct emissions heating systems, such as heat pumps. We therefore don’t expect that heat pumps will be installed in properties unless the energy efficiency is at an appropriate level, which is currently being developed through external research.

Electricity policy and regulation is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government is calling on the UK Government to take urgent action to rebalance gas and electricity prices such that the running costs of zero direct emission heating systems are more favourable compared with fossil fuel incumbents.

Priority is given to applicants who are aged 68 or over and to those who have a terminal illness.

Many applicants to Scotland’s Redress Scheme, for a variety of reasons, require additional support in relation to practical support to complete an application, sourcing of evidence and supporting information, and also in relation to the emotional impact going through the process can have. Support is available to applicants at all stages of the process.

When additional support is required, case workers refer applicants to the Redress Support Service provided by the In-Care Survivors Alliance. The In-Care Survivors Alliance draws on its existing network of over 70 delivery partners to provide support.

The Redress Support Service can help applicants access the emotional, practical or access to records support they require. They currently have contracts with two delivery partners; Birthlink and Wellbeing Scotland, who provide additional support for applicants in accessing records.

We understand that applying for redress may bring up difficult emotions. Applicants, and potential applicants, can call the Redress Emotional Support Helpline which can be contacted on 0800 211 8403. This service provides listening ear support to those who need it while applying, or thinking about applying for redress. Applicants do not need to go through a case worker to access the helpline which is in addition to other emotional support available.

Through the Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support Fund, the Scottish Government fund 29 organisations across Scotland. These organisations support people who have suffered child abuse. They are very experienced at offering confidential support tailored to the needs of the individual. Information on the organisations and their services can be found here Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support Fund: 2020-2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).