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The expansion programme has been governed through the Joint Delivery Board (‘the Board’). More information on the role of the Board can be found here: .

Information on roll-out is covered in the data collection produced and published by the Improvement Service as ‘ELC Delivery Progress Reports’. These include the number of eligible two-year-olds accessing funded ELC as reported by local authorities. Links to each Delivery Progress Report can be found at the link above. Overall, our assessment is that we have made significant progress in delivering a major expansion of funded early learning and childcare.

As the member is aware, mainland Health Boards have postponed some of their non-urgent elective activity to ensure they can continue to protect urgent activity, including vital cancer treatments, and to cope with staffing and other pressures they are currently experiencing. As such, decisions are taken on an individual Health Board basis dependent on the particular circumstances and pressures they are facing each week. It is not possible to indicate how long such postponements will last.

However, the Scottish Government are monitoring Health Boards’ elective activity through daily and weekly Health Board returns and are providing support where it is required.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the public, private and third sectors on economic policy developments, including Fair Work, and our upcoming National Strategy for Economic Transformation. Fair Work is a key driver for sustainable and inclusive economic growth; it sits at the heart of our wellbeing economy ambitions and is central to economic recovery and renewal. A key strand of our Fair Work Action Plan is creating more diverse and inclusive workplaces, and our Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan contains a commitment to work with employers to support the development of mentally flourishing workplaces and also to develop pathways that enable those seeking to enter or remain in work to access appropriate and timely mental health and employability support.

As I highlighted in the Sustainable Procurement and Fair Work debate on 2 November 2021, we have launched a public consultation on the action needed to ensure Scotland becomes a Fair Work Nation. The consultation has been informed by discussions with key stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors and workshops are being held to gather wider views. I encourage you and members to promote this consultation to employers and workers across their constituencies.

The Scottish Government routinely publishes official labour market statistics for disabled people and analysis of how their labour market barriers and outcomes are changing over time.

We know the disability employment gap - the difference between the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people - narrowed over the latest year to July 2020 – June 2021 by 1.5 percentage points in Scotland, to 32.0 percentage points. This was a larger narrowing of the disability employment gap than in the UK, where it narrowed by 0.6 percentage points. Scotland’s disability employment gap was also smaller than the disability employment gap in both Wales and Northern Ireland in the latest year.

We remain on course to reach our ambition to at least halve the disability employment gap in Scotland by 2038, however, we know there is much more work to do. For example, we continue to work closely with our partners in Disabled People’s Organisations to hear directly from disabled people themselves what changes they are experiencing in the labour market. This includes their representation on our Short Life Working Group for the refresh of our employment action plan, ensuring disabled people’s lived experiences are shaping this work.

Latest data and analysis are published at:

Scottish Government officials met with representatives from the National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland on 14 October to discuss the shortage of available student accommodation this academic year. The matter was also discussed at the meetings of the Covid Recovery Group and the Purpose Built Student Accommodation Steering Group on 20 October, and at the Student Accommodation Group meeting on 4 November. The issue of housing capacity was highlighted in these meetings, and proposals for dedicated meetings with universities and accommodation providers from areas experiencing particular problems in this academic period were explored, and will be taken forward.

The Scottish Government has no direct role in the provision of student residential accommodation whether the accommodation is managed by universities or private sector organisations. However, we remain committed to working further with universities and student associations to develop solutions to the present shortfall in renting opportunities for students.

Our Programme for Government commitment to review Purpose Built Student Accommodation and our 100 days commitment to establish the next stage of this, is already underway and will be taken forward in parallel with work to ensure rent affordability and improving standards across the private rented sector.

The community alarm/telecare charging amounts are set out below by Local Authority. The rate of charging varies depending on a range of factors including what technology offering they receive. This can be a standard community alarm package to more advanced technologies such as sensors to prevent a fall and other adaptations depending on individual circumstances. Figures are regularly collated by COSLA but charging rates do change in some areas quite regularly and are often means tested. Some Local Authorities will charge more than the figures stated based on any additional offering provided.

The Scottish Government has no view regarding how GP services are provided outwith Scotland.

Patients treated by general practices in Scotland should be treated by GPs who are on their local Health Board's performers list whether the appointment is remote or face to face.

The Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund asks social landlords to provide evidence of tenant engagement as part of the funding application process and encourages consultation with tenants before any work begins.

The fund, which will support the social housing sector over the next 5 years, reopened this August and welcomes applications from social landlords who want to upgrade their existing housing stock. The fund remains open throughout the year. Applications can be submitted at any time and are assessed on a quarterly basis.

Zero Waste Scotland’s report The Carbon Footprint of Scotland's Household Waste summarises the carbon impacts of Scotland’s household waste using the latest Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) published waste data. This report provides information on the relative carbon and weight-based impacts of Scotland’s waste generated and managed. The most recent data shows that in 2019 the carbon impacts of Scotland’s household waste fell to the lowest on record, 16% below 2011 levels. Further information is available at .

Data on local authority household recycling rates is published by SEPA and available at .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04485 on 29 November 2021 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers