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Statistics relating to the progress of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme are published quarterly on the Scottish Government website. These figures relate to the number of approvals, site starts, and completions of homes, and can be accessed using the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-for-scotland-new-house-building/.

The published statistics for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme include the latest figures on affordable housing delivery to the end of March 2022, with the next set of quarterly affordable housing statistics covering the period April to June 2022 expected to be published in October.

Safety and security on our railways is reserved to UK Government and as such the British Transport Police (BTP) is responsible for the enforcement of the law on Scotland’s rail network. BTP can only investigate matters that are reported to them and not every incident reported to and recorded by ScotRail as the employer will be reported to BTP.

Therefore, ScotRail advised the following for how many assaults on ScotRail staff were reported since 2017, noting that 2017 is the last year that ScotRail holds data for:-

The Scottish Government is supporting communities who are impacted by water scarcity with an emergency scheme which is providing free bottled water. It is also funding a non means tested grant of up to £800 per household to fund improvements. Households whose Private Water Supply has run dry or who wish to secure grant for improvements should contact their Local Authorities to request assistance.

The Scottish Government is also undertaking five pilot projects to understand the complexities involved in the extension of existing water networks to allow households affected by water scarcity to connect. Results from these pilots are expected in the next few weeks and will inform future investment decisions

Endometriosis is covered in all Undergraduate medical curricula and as such all doctors will have an awareness of the condition.

Further postgraduate training is provided to those training in General Practice or Obstetrics and Gynaecology from Foundation Year 2 until Certificate of Completion. These core groups will receive further training and develop more in-depth knowledge and understanding of endometriosis. This includes an in-depth understanding of all symptoms and the treatment options available to patients, including surgical treatment. The training also recognises the psychological and social well-being impact on women and the need for GPs to acknowledge and manage this aspect.

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) also provide a Continuing Professional Development course on endometriosis which has a focus on possible symptoms, treatments and when referral to secondary care is necessary.

As part of our Women’s Health Plan, the Scottish Government is working to improve access for women to appropriate support, speedy diagnosis and best treatment for endometriosis.

Speed restrictions on the Scottish rail network are imposed by Network Rail, as the owners of the rail infrastructure.

ScotRail advised that for week beginning 18 July 2022 there were approximately 11 services with a 20 mph speed restriction and 4 of these were likely to be as a result of rainfall rather than heat. The majority of services (approximately 26) had either a 30 or 60 mph speed restriction imposed for similar period.

Network Rail and ScotRail Trains hold weather plans in the event of extreme weather and these are activated when required.

We continue to carefully consider the report and recommendations made by the previous Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee as regards regional marine planning and are working to finalise our formal response, which will be published this Autumn.

Information on the total cost of operating waste incinerators in Scotland in each year since 2007-08 is not held centrally. Most waste incineration facilities in Scotland are privately operated and the Scottish Government does not routinely collect or hold data on the operational costs of these facilities.

As committed to within our Heat in Buildings Strategy, work is currently underway to develop a new Heat in Buildings Public Engagement Strategy, to be published in early 2023.

This will build on the broader approach to public engagement on climate change that we published last year, and will aim to:

• Increase understanding of the changes we need to see in how we heat our homes and buildings, and why;
• Raise the profile of energy efficiency and net zero carbon heating options so that people are aware of the benefits and begin to see them as a positive choice; and
• Raise awareness of advice and support services to maximise uptake of the help available.

The strategy will to set out a range of activities for public engagement that will be implemented over the transition to zero emissions heating, including: national marketing campaigns; education initiatives; a social research programme; and public participation in policy and delivery programme design, to ensure the needs of different (domestic and non-domestic) groups are considered. This reflects our commitment to supporting a just and fair transition.

To inform development of the strategy, this autumn we will undertake a Call for Evidence. Alongside publication of the strategy, next year we will launch a national conversation and campaign on heat decarbonisation, working with a range of practitioners, consumer organisations and others across Scotland to increase awareness of the heat transition with different audiences over the coming months. Early focus will be on building readiness for change amongst a wide cross-section of society ahead of the introduction of proposed regulations. We will also launch a national marketing campaign this autumn to promote awareness of our free and impartial advice and support services – Home Energy Scotland and Warmer Homes Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information however the Scottish Legal Aid Board does record applications for legal aid in Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act (DASA) 2018 cases applied where Section 22(1)(dd) of the Legal Aid Act (Person accused of certain offences) applies.

This classification does not specify the circumstances of the grant, only that the grant was made. Therefore it cannot be determined from the data below what ratio of those applications came from court appointed solicitors. This designation under section 22(1)(dd) is also not exclusive to DASA cases but is also applicable to all cases where an accused cannot represent themselves i.e. cases involving sexual offences, child witnesses, vulnerable witnesses, Abuse Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016, and trials in absence.

The annual figures for all section 22 (1)(dd) cases are as follows:

The Scottish Government position is that pesticides should be authorised on a case by case basis where the available scientific evidence shows they do not pose unacceptable risks to human health, animals and the environment. An emergency authorisation for the use of the herbicide product Asulox has been approved for bracken control in 2022 in limited and controlled circumstances.

There is a need to move away from the use of emergency authorisations as the solution and look into more sustainable, long-term alternatives to Asulox. Officials have been instructed to begin talks with the other UK administrations and the Health and Safety Executive, to further engage stakeholders and those working on alternative solutions, to ensure we have more sustainable forms of bracken control going forward.