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Sextortion is sexual extortion and involves the threat of having sexual information, photos or videos shared with others. It is carried out to extort money or force a victim to do something against their will, control behaviour or obtain further images.

Where a reported sextortion-related crime involves the perpetrator making demands for money or other valuables, Police Scotland will record and investigate it under Threats and extortion. Table 1 shows the estimated volume of threats and extortion committed online, from 2019-20 to 2022-23. This is based on an annual review of crime records (commenced in 2019-20) which aims to estimate how many cyber-crimes are recorded in Scotland. It should be noted the figures below are based on a sample of police records (rather than all police records), so should be seen as providing a broad estimate of the volume of this type of crime, rather than an exact count.

Whilst not all online threats and extortion will necessarily have a ‘sextortion’ based element, it is very likely a high proportion (and certainly the majority) of the cases shown in Table 1 do. Figures for 2023-24 will be published in June 2024.

Where a reported sextortion-related crime involves a motive other than financial gain (for example a demand of a physical sexual nature or some other attempt to exert control over the victim), Police Scotland will record and investigate it under Threatening to disclose an intimate image. Table 2 below shows the number of these crimes recorded since the associated Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act was implemented on 3 July 2017. Again, figures for 2023-24 will be published in June 2024.

Table 1 - Estimated volume of threats and extortion committed online: 2019-20 to 2022-23

The Scottish Government is not proposing any change in requirements that landlords will have to comply with as part of proposed amendments to EPC regulations, and therefore is not aware of the need for any incentives to do so. It will remain a legal requirement for landlords advertising a property for rental to ensure that there is a valid EPC.

We have proposed reducing the validity period from 10 years to 5 years and so in these circumstances a landlord may have to update their EPC more frequently. As set out in our consultation on EPC reform in 2023, this will ensure the EPC provides a more up-to-date assessment for current and prospective tenants of a property.

As part of the wider reform of EPCs in Scotland, we are currently reviewing the EPC operational framework in Scotland. This includes a review of the current enforcement mechanisms in place.

The Scottish Government is currently considering responses to the consultation and as set out in our response to S6W-26036 we intend to publish our response to the EPC reform and Heat in Buildings Bill consultations at the same point later this year.

As set out in the Scottish Government’s consultation on the reform of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), we are now undertaking a full review of the operational arrangements for how the production of EPCs is overseen, and how the legislation is enforced in the property market. We are engaging with a wide-range of impacted stakeholders as part of this review process, and the findings of this review will inform our final decision on our approach to EPC reform.

The Scottish Government collects information on whether any member of a household making a homelessness application to a local authority slept rough:

(a) during the three months preceding and b) the night before the application.

This data is collected from all local authorities as part of the homelessness application (HL1) data collection. Annual totals of rough sleeping reported by applicant households, broken down by local authority, are published in the main tables supporting the main annual publication, available at .

The data collection defines rough sleeping as any member of the applicant household who has slept outside, in the open air (such as on the streets, or in doorways, parks or bus shelters) or slept in a building or other place not designed for habitation (such as barns, sheds, car parks, cars, derelict boats, stations etc.). As households making an application for homelessness assistance are not specifically asked to define what form of rough sleeping they experienced, no specific figures relating to numbers of people rough sleeping in cars are available.

Data is not gathered for any household or individual rough sleeping who does not make a homelessness application to a local authority in Scotland and for this reason the statistics do not necessarily cover the entire homeless population. Those people who are experiencing homelessness but who do not appear in official statistics are often referred to as ‘hidden’.

It is not currently possible to estimate the scale of hidden homelessness in Scotland because of known complexities in reaching this population group. We are collaborating with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) researchers who are carrying out research which has potential to improve data collection in Scotland and across the UK on hidden homelessness, information available at

The Scottish Government does not collect data on the number of people who have applied for a free personal care package, but have died before receiving it.

It is the local authority’s responsibility to assess each person and consider whether their needs call for the provision of social care services. Local authorities set their eligibility threshold based on local guidance, and it may not be consistent across local authorities. However, those at critical or substantial risk are more likely to receive them sooner, than those who are assessed as moderate or low risk.

The Scottish Government collects information on the property type that the main applicant making a homelessness application to a local authority became homeless from. This includes a category for those who have been ‘long-term sofa surfing’. This is defined as where an applicant has been moving between homes for a period of six months or more. Where only one or two different homes have been used for most of the period, another appropriate property type should be selected e.g. friends or relatives.

This data is collected from all local authorities as part of the homelessness application (HL1) data collection. Annual totals of long-term sofa surfing, reported by applicant households, are published in the data tables accompanying the main publication .

Data is not gathered for anyone with experience of sofa surfing who does not make a homelessness application to a local authority in Scotland and for this reason the statistics do not necessarily cover the entire homeless population. Those people who are experiencing homelessness but who do not appear in official statistics are often referred to as ‘hidden’.

It is not currently possible to estimate the scale of hidden homelessness in Scotland because of known complexities in reaching this population group. We are collaborating with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) researchers who are carrying out research which has potential to improve data collection in Scotland and across the UK on hidden homelessness, information available at .

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Health Boards are responsible for delivering health services and deciding on the best means of accommodating staff including nurses, and GPs if necessary.

The Scottish Police Authority and the Chief Constable have responsibility for police housing as outlined in the Police Scotland Housing Strategy (Estates), 2022.

The Scottish Government provided a total of £2.1 million between Care and Repair (£1.1 million) and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (£1 million) during 2021-22 to support those in greatest need or at greatest risk of fire, to meet the new standard.

An announcement was made on 22 January 2022 about the original funding for Care and Repair being doubled to just over £1.1 million to meet demand. All the money has been allocated and spent.