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In Scotland, all 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 free at the point of delivery.

For individuals self-funding their own care, the local authority will pay for these elements of residential care for all those assessed as needing them. The Scottish Government recently announced a 10% increase in the rates of these payments, taking rates to £212.85 for personal care and £95.80 for nursing care, from 1 April 2022. This will be the second consecutive year that these rates have increased above the rate of inflation in recognition of the increasing costs of providing these services.

The National Care Service consultation which ran between August and November 2021 contained questions relating to the future of charging for residential care, including for self-funders. We will consider the responses to these questions, alongside the impact of the recent above inflationary rises to payments for Free Personal and Nursing Care, prior to making decisions on future reforms.

Scottish Government officials have had initial discussions with the UK Government, and other administrations regarding continued support for the survivors of Thalidomide in Scotland. Officials also continue to engage with the Thalidomide Trust to discuss future funding, with a further meeting scheduled next month.

The most recent data for environment protection expenditure is published as part of the Country and regional analysis published by HM Treasury ( Country and regional analysis: 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ). The relevant information can be found in Table A-15 of the published tables.

Table 1 is taken from the publication and summarises expenditure per head for Scotland, England and Wales for 2020–21.

Table 1

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) annually publish the Higher Education Initial Participation Rate (HEIPR) which is an estimate of the probability that a 16 year old will participate in Higher Education by the age of 30.

In 2019-20, the HEIPR for 16-30 years olds in Scotland was 57.4%.

https://www.sfc.ac.uk/publications-statistics/statistical-publications/2021/SFCST032021.aspx

The closest comparison for England is the Higher Education Initial Participation (HEIP) measure published by the Department for Education (DfE) measuring participation rates for those aged 17-30. This publication shows in 2019-20 the HEIP in England was 53.4%.

Unlike the Scottish data, this measure contains higher education delivered at Alternative Providers in England. If these institutions are excluded, then the rate for England is 52.4%.

England does not include 16 year olds in their HEIP measure as very few 16 year olds in England participate in higher education.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/participation-measures-in-higher-education-2006-to-2020

No HEIPR is published for Wales for those aged 16-30.

From the 26 July to the 31 December 2021, there were 25 instances where a client submitted more than one application, accounting for 50 applications in total. Of these 50 applications, 20 have been withdrawn and five have been denied.

Social Security Scotland conducts an eligibility check with the submission of part 1 of the application, which checks if the child is already in receipt of a Disability Living Allowance for children award. At present, this information is not stored in a way that can be quantified.

There is not a single offence of modern slavery in Scotland. Several offences fall within the ambit of modern slavery. These offences are listed below.

On 31 May 2016, the Human Trafficking & Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 came into effect.

The 2015 Act introduced new offences and aggravations, which apply to conduct occurring on or after 31 May 2016.

Offences that were in effect prior to the implementation of the 2015 Act continue to apply to conduct occurring before 17 December 2016.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are able to provide statistical data from 2002/03 onwards. Table 1 details the number of accused persons reported to the Procurator Fiscal, for one or more of the offences listed below, in each financial year since 2002-03.

Table 1

The 2021 Fuel Poverty Strategy, states that the required level of capital expenditure to bring fuel poor households up to EPC C, including the replacement of existing fossil fuel heating systems, will be in the region of £6 billion. The Scottish Government have committed to investing at least £1.8 billion this parliamentary term to help kick-start growth in the market and support those least able to pay. Alongside public investment, we need innovative mechanisms to increase individual and private-sector investment into energy efficiency and zero emissions heating. The Scottish Government has established a Green Heat Finance Taskforce to recommend ways that the Scottish Government and private sector can collaborate to scale up investment. It will provide an interim report by March 2023 and final recommendations by September that year.

The breakdown of the additional funding provided to Health Boards for Breastfeeding Initiatives since 2018/19 is as follows:

The Scottish Government is grateful for the dedication and professionalism of the workforce across the entirety of the Test and Protect system for all they have done to manage the impacts of the pandemic.

As stated in the Test and Protect Transition Plan published on 15 March, the Test and Protect system will now move to a transition phase following which there will be a need to ensure the workforce reflects that required to provide a proportionate system for the future.

The Scottish Government and employers across Test and Protect are working tirelessly to ensure a fair and consistent approach which has all of the workforce at the forefront. The Scottish Government is actively working with employers to ensure every member of staff is supported to access available redeployment opportunities or to be signposted towards alternative opportunities in the broader public or private sectors. Employers are also utilising wider support available through partner agencies to maximise the individualised support given to staff who wish to seek employment opportunities elsewhere.