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We are aware of the global issues affecting construction which are impacting the pace of affordable housing delivery and we are working closely with the construction industry and housing partners to mitigate this where possible. Given these are global issues, largely outwith our control, it is impossible to quantify the extent of any current delays and when we may return to a more normal pace of delivery.

Despite these challenges and those caused by the global pandemic including necessary lockdowns, we are continuing to deliver affordable homes across Scotland, including accessible homes for social rent. Official statistics recently published show that we have now reached the previous 50,000 affordable homes target and have started on our ambitious plans to deliver a further 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, having already delivered 1,119 affordable homes towards this.

Scottish Government officials have spoken with people seeking asylum as part of ongoing engagement and our work to deliver the New Scots refugee integration strategy. However, this is not done on the basis of people’s nationality but their experience living in Scotland while seeking asylum, wherever they are from. We also regularly engage with partners who provide direct support to people seeking asylum. Officials have ongoing engagement with people relocating to Scotland from Hong Kong, as part of wider stakeholder engagement.

Mountain hares are now a protected species following the passage of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) Act in June 2020. The protection came into force on 1 March 2021, meaning that the species can no longer be taken for sporting or recreational purposes.

NatureScot is currently reviewing the guidance on the licensing process for mountain hare control and has been consulting stakeholders including Scottish Environment LINK and Rural Environment Land Management (RELM) in order to inform this review. NatureScot intend to publish revised guidance later this summer.

The Local Rail Development Fund projects are currently undergoing various stages of the appraisal process and will be considered on a case-by-case basis as per STAG guidelines. Projects will be considered subject to the Scottish Government’s investment priorities for the strategic transport network, a robust business case, affordability and other competing proposals.

The Scottish Government has no part to play in the recruitment of officers for British Transport Police.

The Scottish Government is seeking to commission independent research in relation to protests and vigils that take place outside of abortion clinics to collect evidence of both the scale and impact of protest and vigils. The research will provide meaningful insight into the effects of protests and vigils on those who choose to protest, and those who are affected. Whilst the research will not be completed in time for the launch of Gillian Mackay MSP’s Member’s Bill, it will help provide a robust evidence base going forward.

The Scottish Government acknowledges Alzheimer Scotland’s 2019 Fair Dementia Care report – referenced in the Chief Executive of Scottish Care’s article in the Herald - which claimed that people with dementia are paying care costs amounting to approximately £50m per annum, with approximately £49m of those care costs related to residential care charges.

Adults who have been assessed as requiring personal care do not pay for this service, regardless of their condition or means. Nursing care is also of course free at the point of delivery. The Local Authority normally pays the free personal and nursing care for self-funding care home residents assessed as needing them directly to the care home provider.

The Scottish Government has increased Free Personal and Nursing Care payments above inflation for the last two consecutive years to recognise the increasing cost of care. For 2022-23 these rates are set at £212.85 per week for personal care and £95.80 per week for nursing care.

The Scottish Government appreciates that the costs of residential care can be high. Everybody in a care home, whether publically funded or self-funded, will pay a contribution to the cost of their care. The amount that they pay will be based on their individual financial circumstances. If a person has capital over the upper capital limit they will be classed as self-funding their own care. When a person is self-funding their care the amount that they pay to the care home is a contractual matter between them and the care home provider. This agreement is protected by consumer protection laws.

We recognise that the Fair Dementia Care report also focusses on the quality of and access to appropriate healthcare. We are committed to improving outcomes for residents in care home including those with dementia and cognitive impairment. We are going to publish a Healthcare framework in June which will provide a series of recommendations that aim to transform healthcare by full integrating the health and social care system that wraps around care homes. Critical to this will be a multi-disciplinary work approach that is pro-active and coordinated. The framework is not confined to ‘clinical’ provision or ‘clinical’ models of care, as it is recognised the health and wellbeing of someone living in a care home is influenced by a wide range of factors including, friends, family and the local environment.

The framework is an important step to change as we transition towards the National Care Service.

There is no formal definition of an NDA. The Scottish Government does not keep a central record of all NDA’s currently in operation other than in the context of record-keeping of employment settlement agreements.

In an employment context, data in relation to settlement and the number of confidentiality clauses in Scottish Government and Public bodies, NHSScotland and Scottish Funding Council overseen bodies is held from 2014 and, since then, has been provided to parliament annually. Reports are published annually by the Scottish Parliament.

We currently do not have the data by IJB and the following table gives details by Local Authority area. Full details are contained in the Care home census for adults in Scotland Statistics for 2011 to 2021 ( Care home census for adults in Scotland - Statistics for 2011 to 2021 (full release) - Care home census for adults in Scotland - Publications - Public Health Scotland ) .

Estimated Average Gross Annual Charge (£) for Fully or Mainly Self-Funded Long Stay Residents (without nursing care) in Care Homes for Older People in Scotland, by Local Authority Area.

Information on the qualifications of teachers is not collected centrally by the Scottish Government. A report commissioned by the Scottish Government and carried out by the Scottish Sensory Centre in 2016 showed that there were 65 teachers working with visually impaired pupils reported as being qualified, with an additional 15 teachers working towards qualification.

The Scottish Government is committed to increase the capacity and expertise of school staff to support pupils with visual impairments. We fund the Scottish Sensory Centre to provide specialist training to school staff to support pupils with a sensory impairment.

Under the Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005, education authorities are responsible for ensuring that teachers employed to teach pupils who are visually impaired hold an appropriate qualification. We are also working with partners to update the existing qualifications guidance for teachers of deaf and visually impaired children and young persons to ensure staff have the latest advice on routes to professional qualification.