Seòmar agus comataidhean

Grants of legal assistance are recorded against a primary case category code and not by individual subject matters of a grant. SLAB have provided the information requested using category codes, which is the most accurate reflection of numbers of case types available.

Between January 2020 and November 2021, the number of entities submitting these types of intimation or application except where otherwise noted.

i) Claims against public authorities

{includes relevant cases of reparation, judicial review, interdict, breach of contract}

87 firms, 135 practitioners

2 CLAO offices, 1 CLAO practitioner

0 PDSO Offices

ii) Community Care

{includes cases at the Additional Support Needs Tribunal and assessment of need, eligibility / charging for services and direct payments}

13 firms, 23 practitioners

1 CLAO office, 1 CLAO practitioner

0 PDSO offices

iii) Discrimination,

24 firms, 37 practitioners.

0 CLAO offices

0 PDSO offices

iv) Education,

26 firms, 28 practitioners.

0 CLAO Offices

0 PDSO Offices

v) Housing and debt,

247 firms, 447 practitioners

3 CLAO offices, 15 CLAO practitioners

0 PDSO offices

vi) Immigration and asylum and

71 firms, 174 practitioners

1 CLAO office, 1 CLAO practitioner

0 PDSO offices

vii) Family

429 firms, 871 practitioners

3 CLAO offices, 10 CLAO practitioners

0 PDSO offices

The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) has provided data for the number of ‘active’ practitioners and firms. This includes criminal practitioners and firms in each year that submitted at least one application for criminal legal assistance (Advice and Assistance, Legal Aid or Advice by way of Representation (ABWOR)). SLAB has been able to provide relevant data from October 2014. Data older than this is destroyed as per its records disposal procedures which are in line with good records management.

Criminal Practitioners Practising

The carbon levy raised since 2018 is

2018-19 £33,837

2019-20 £40,534

2020 –21 £558

2021-22 Payment due by end March 2022.

The levy is collected by our travel provider and paid back annually. It is not broken down by Ministers and Officials.

The carbon emissions levy is applied to all journeys undertaken by air as follows:

? Domestic – £5 per journey

? European – £6 per journey

? International – £15 per journey

Ministerial travel details are routinely and proactively published here:-

Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government provides baseline funding to NHS Boards, which Boards use to best meet the healthcare needs of their resident population. In addition, the Scottish Government has ensured that additional Covid related costs reported by Health Boards and Integration Authorities have been met in full, including £862 million allocated to date in 2021-22. Further allocations will be made over the course of the year to ensure that our health and care services continue to receive the support required to address pressures relating to the pandemic.

Detail on how this funding has been used to specifically support protecting people with pre-existing respiratory illnesses, such as COPD, would require to be requested from NHS Boards.

The Scottish Government has provided the following funding to support Clean Air Day each year since it started in 2017. Clean Air Day is a UK wide annual clean air awareness campaign run by the environmental charity Global Action Plan. Since 2018 in Scotland, Clean Air Day is run jointly by Global Action Plan and Environmental Protection Scotland, also an environmental charity.

The Care Inspectorate’s most recent data showed that as of December 2019, 4,752 childminding services were operating. This is a decrease of 356 from 2018, reflecting a downward trend in recent years.

We are funding research by Ipsos MORI to explore the factors contributing to the decline in childminding numbers, and to identify actions to ensure there are sufficient childminders to meet demand for this unique form of childcare. The study will publish in early 2022.

Additionally, we continue to progress Our Commitment to Childminding Report, working alongside the Scottish Childminding Association and other partners to highlight childminding, not only as a choice to parents, but as a positive career opportunity.

The Scottish Government meets with representatives from NHS Boards, including NHS Lothian, on a regular basis to discuss a range of matters relating to drug and alcohol treatment. Most recently this has included a number of discussions about the additional funding being made available to support the widening of access to residential rehabilitation and the embedding of the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards.

As part of these discussions Scottish Government officials met with the General Manager of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital & Associated Services on the 24 November 2021.

I am pleased to confirm that, after due consideration, the Scottish Government will make an offer to Optometry Scotland regarding a 3% uplift to General Ophthalmic Services fees for the year 2021/22, backdated to 1 April 2021, as well as a commitment to continuing discussions with them regarding a process for future reviews of such fees.

Current guidance reflects the best scientific and clinical advice, as well as the current state of the pandemic and the anticipated trajectory of infections. The restrictions which limit non-essential visitors in schools and early learning and childcare settings, include attendance by parents for nativity plays and similar events. However, we know that many schools and settings plan to use other creative means to present these activities, such as streaming them online or holding them outdoors.

The Scottish Government has agreed to grant £1 million to the Climate Justice Resilience Fund to support their work to address the needs of communities suffering the most acute impacts of climate change and develop and test a framework for delivering loss & damage programming. We will be working with the Fund to develop further details on programming in the first quarter of 2022.

As in all Climate Justice Fund programming, the perspectives of communities will be central to the design and determination of priorities.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that all children and young people aged 12 to 17 years will be offered a second dose of the vaccine from 8 to 12 weeks after their first dose.

As of 30 November, those aged 16 and 17 are able to schedule second appointments using the booking portal on NHS Inform, phoning the national vaccination helpline on 0800 030 8013, or attending a drop-in clinic.

More information about second doses for young people aged 12 to 15 years will be available soon, and the JCVI has advised that a second dose for young people aged 12 to 15 years is advised no sooner than 12 weeks after the first dose.

However children and young people aged 12 to 17 who are at increased risk from coronavirus will be offered 2 doses of the vaccine, given 8 weeks apart. This includes those who are at increased risk from coronavirus due to underlying health conditions, live with someone with a severely weakened immune system, or are aged 16 or 17 years who are an unpaid carer or a frontline health or social care worker.

Some children and young people in these groups are eligible for a third primary dose and/or a booster dose.

Further information about second doses for children and young adults can be viewed at NHS Scotland at: Vaccinating children and young people aged 12 to 17 years | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot) .