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We are working hard to abolish excessively long waits that have undoubtedly been exacerbated by the impacts of the global pandemic and we offer our sincere sympathies to all patients waiting for treatment.

Pausing of non-urgent activity during the pandemic has inevitably led to a build-up of numbers waiting for treatment, and the emergence of Omicron and the BA.2 sub-variant in late 2021 has undoubtedly added to existing significant pressure. We are working closely with NHS Boards to get those waiting for treatment the care they need as quickly as possible.

In order to support a sustainable reduction in the backlog of planned care procedures in Scotland, the Scottish Government published an NHS Recovery Plan in August 2021. Backed by over £1 billion of funding, this sets out our plans for health and social are over the next 5 years.

The NHS Recovery plan can be accessed here: NHS recovery plan - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The total number of hours of social care provided each year by integration joint boards is not held centrally.

Public Health Scotland publish the Experimental Statistics publication: “Insights into Social Care: Statistics for Scotland” which includes some information on the number of hours of social care provided by different Health and Social Care Partnerships. This includes the number of hours of home care provided by Fife HSCP in each quarter since Q4 2017-18. This release is publicly available via the following link:

https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/insights-in-social-care-statistics-for-scotland/insights-in-social-care-statistics-for-scotland-support-provided-or-funded-by-health-and-social-care-partnerships-in-scotland-201920-202021/home-care/

In line with the Programme for Government, we are helping manufacturing businesses to make the transition to net zero and realise the opportunities of a low carbon economy

The recently launched Low Carbon Manufacturing Challenge Fund will provide research and development funding for projects that result in increased product circularity, reduced waste during the manufacturing process and reduced carbon. Innovative proposals will be supported with £3 million funding this year and a total of £26 million over five years.

We are also supporting supply chains through our supply chain development programme which has an initial focus on net zero and is providing significant public sector procurement to build resilient supply chains.

In accordance with waiting times guidance, cancellations resulting from hospital operational circumstances should not result in any detriment to the patient. The Scottish Government expects that NHS Boards will offer a rescheduled appointment as soon as possible to any patient within NHS Scotland who has had their operation cancelled.

Our office furniture contracts require suppliers to ensure that chairs meet all relevant standards in force at the time of purchase. We inspect chairs at regular intervals to ensure that they remain in safe condition and replace them when they reach end of life. If a member or member of staff feels that they require support for a particular health concern, they can contact the people and culture office—formerly human resources—for support. If necessary, a workplace assessment can be arranged with our occupational health provider.

ScotRail introduced a temporary timetable on 23 May to provide certainty to train passengers about the availability of ScotRail services, this was in response to train drivers choosing not to work overtime or rest days – as is their right. ScotRail could not, therefore, maintain a Service Level Commitment (SLC) as a result, however given that ASLEF have now moved to ballot their members in a referendum on the pay deal, it is hoped ScotRail will be able to return to normal rail services as soon as possible. ScotRail reviewed the temporary timetable on June 3 rd and as a result have reintroduced a number of services.

However, it is also clear that wider UK-wide industrial action between Network Rail and the RMT is going to impact on ScotRail services from the 21 st of June.

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the amount of time Scottish Carer’s Assistance is paid after the death of a cared for person, from the current eight weeks to 12 weeks, following discussions with carers and support organisations. We are also looking at how we can link carers to wider support which could help them at what will be a very difficult time.

We invited views on these proposals as part of the public consultation on Scottish Carers Assistance, which closed on 23 May 2022. We are considering the responses to this and will confirm the improvements we will make through our new benefit later this year.

To date, over £20.3 million of the Recycling Improvement Fund has been awarded to 13 local authorities. This funding has been profiled over several years, based on individual project requirements. In 2021-22 local authorities required £5,267,640 of available funding, due to the lead in time needed to establish projects and some delays due to procurement and supply chain issues. The remainder is being phased over subsequent years of the fund, based on the local projects’ spend profiles.

As outlined in the recent Outcome of the Targeted Review of the Capital Spending Review, funding that has not been allocated to date will be available to invest in remaining years of the Fund. The Scottish Government remains committed to investing £70 million through the Recycling Improvement Fund to improve the quantity and quality of recycling in Scotland.

We are putting in place robust plans to deliver our replacement for Winter Fuel Payment from winter 2024 and we will consult on the proposals for this replacement in due course. Our priority is taking on full responsibility for all the devolved benefits in a safe and secure transition so that people continue to receive support at the right time and right amount.

We have already introduced Child Winter Heating Assistance, which is intended to provide support to the families of over 19,000 of the most seriously disabled children and young people (including those living with a terminal illness), to help mitigate the additional cost of heating their homes in the winter months.

In addition, from this coming winter (2022-23) the Scottish Government’s new Low Income Winter Heating Assistance will guarantee an annual £50 payment to around 400,000 low-income households each winter. This is not dependent on age but will be targeted, reliable financial support to those most in need, including those in receipt of Pension Credit.

The Scottish Government has made no such estimate.

However, I understand the new plastic recycling plant based in Glenrothes is expected to recycle up to 15,000 tonnes per annum of low-grade post-consumer plastic. This follows an award to Fife Council of £470,000 from the Scottish Government’s Recycling Improvement Fund. Further information is available here: Yes Recycling Fife and Ecosheet , and the latest data on the amount of plastic waste generated and recycled is available at https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/waste/waste-data/waste-data-reporting/waste-data-for-scotland/ .