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Data from the Business Ventilation Fund has not yet been published. In line with all previous funds, the Scottish Government will publish data on the Business Ventilation Fund. This is planned for May.

Under the Equality Act 2010, individual public authorities are responsible for ensuring that they make reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of people with protected characteristics including disabled people. Responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 rests with individual authorities/organisations.

The Scottish Government expects all relevant organisations to comply with the requirements of the 2010 Act in relation to all protected characteristics. Responsibility for oversight of compliance with the 2010 Act, including compliance with the 2012 Regulations, rests with the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The Commission is independent and cannot be directed by Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government will invest £10 million over this parliamentary term as part of our commitment to increasing opportunities for disabled people. This funding will increase the number of changing places toilets across the country and support mobile changing places to allow people easier access to outdoor venues and events across Scotland.

Funding will commence in the financial year 2022-2023 and will be delivered in phases over the course of the parliamentary term.

We estimate that Child Winter Heating Assistance will provide assistance to over 19,000 children and young people who are in receipt of disability assistance in Scotland in 2021-22 at a cost of around £4 million. This type of assistance is not available anywhere else in the UK.

Through our £290 million Cost of Living support package, we will give 1.85 million (73%) of Scottish households £150 of extra support via the Council Tax. We have also allocated a further £10 million to continue our Fuel Insecurity Fund, which is aimed at those in greatest need.

The Fuel Insecurity Fund is delivered through trusted third sector partner organisations, providing direct support to people, including disabled people, who are at risk of severely self-rationing their energy use, or self-disconnecting entirely, due to the cost of their fuel bills. Assistance can be accessed by households on any tariff type and using any fuel source.

As outlined in my response on 22 February 2022, Crown Estate Scotland is responsible for the ScotWind leasing and selection process.

We expect Crown Estate Scotland to undertake appropriate due diligence on companies, including their human rights record, in line with the Guidance on due diligence: human rights. As the guidance states, “The detail of what is checked is ultimately a matter of judgement by whomever has initiated the relationship and/or responded to a proposition from a third party and will depend on the circumstances of each case.” The due diligence carried out by Crown Estate Scotland was outlined in my answer to question S6W-06064.

Nine projects were funded through the Chief Scientist Office Long-term effects of COVID-19 funding call Long Covid Call – Chief Scientist Office (scot.nhs.uk)

6 month progress reports have been received for all 9 projects. On 31 March 2022 the Chief Scientist Office hosted a virtual symposium at which the lead investigators of each of the 9 projects presented the results obtained to date.

In line with Chief Scientist Office policy final project reports will be published on the CSO website.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The Scottish Government and SPS are committed to continuing work on modernising and improving the prison estate which includes the construction of a new Women’s National Facility, 2 Community Custody Units and replacement prisons for HMP Barlinnie and HMP Inverness.

Since the commencement of the SPS Estates Development Programme, 75% of the prison estate has either been replaced or modernised. in line with relevant guidance and standards for building accessibility. The completion of these further major infrastructure investment projects will represent another significant step in improving accessibility across the prison estate.

SPS establishments also continue to work collaboratively with local NHS Health Boards to put in place care plans which may include utilising services and aids to improve accessibility, for individuals who require additional support.

NatureScot’s investment in Abernethy over the past 3 years has principally been support through the Peatland Action Fund that is delivering SG objectives to tackle the twin crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss. A further project supported a number of seasonal rangers, helping to ensure responsible use of the NNR. They have also provided support for RSPB staff posts for their work on Capercaillie.

The following tables below show the funding allocation from both NatureScot and the Forestry Grant Scheme to Abernethy National Nature Reserve, this funding may have been for a range of purposes, and funding may have been allocated indirectly via other partners so a complete breakdown is not available. It is important to note that the Capercaillie officer funding is mainly for the wider co-ordination of Capercaillie, and not specific to Abernethy.

NatureScot Abernethy Funding Allocation

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

As I outlined in my response to S6W-07615 on 25 April 2022, funding allocated to Abernethy is for a range of purposes and is our assessment that this has been of value for money despite the decline in capercaillie numbers.

While the status of the capercaillie population in Scotland remains vulnerable, without the investment that has been made to the likes of Abernethy it is likely that we would have lost capercaillie from Scotland.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government fund a core module in the long running Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, which includes questions on public attitudes to the health service. Fieldwork for the most recent survey was carried out from 21 October 2021 to end March 2022 and the final report will be published in late 2022. Due to COVID restrictions, the survey was not run in 2020. The last published findings are from 2019 ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-social-attitudes-2019-attitudes-government-political-engagement/ )

Changes in methodology necessitated by the COVID restrictions unfortunately mean that the 2021 data may not be directly comparable with previous years. The exact timing, methodology and content of the next iteration is currently being discussed.

The Scottish Household Survey (SHS) which runs annually asks participants how satisfied or dissatisfied they are with local health services, which contribute to understanding public attitudes to the NHS and social care specifically. Results from the most recent SHS were published in January 2022. As with the SSAS, due to the change to a telephone survey for 2021, the latest data may not be comparable with previous years:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-household-survey-2020-telephone-survey-key-findings/

SHS data collection is ongoing, with 2022 data currently being collected. 2021 data is being processed and is due to be published later in the year.