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The Scottish Government published the British Sign Language (BSL) Progress Report on 27th October 2021, which outlines progress being made towards implementing the BSL National Plan. It outlines progress on a range of fronts, including education, BSL/English interpreting, and public life. The report outlines how Scottish Government has funded BSL Partnership organisations to engage and support public bodies with their BSL plans, and notes important developments such as the decision that Scotland’s next census, in 2022, will ask 'can you use BSL?' for the first time.

Significant progress has been made towards making our country more inclusive and supportive of BSL users. The language enjoys a higher profile than ever before in public life, and is ever more visible in media and communications. For example, during the COVID-19 crisis, BSL/English interpreters were present at the daily Scottish Government Coronavirus briefings. This work was recognised by the British Deaf Association and the European Union of the Deaf.

The fleets that are currently leased by Abellio ScotRail are noted within the Franchise Agreement (APPENDIX 1 TO SCHEDULE 1.1 - The Train Fleet - Table 1).

The new operator, ScotRail Trains Ltd, is currently engaging with fleet owners to secure the rolling stock needed to maintain service provision.

The Scottish Government criminal proceedings database does not hold information based on Police Scotland operational divisions.

The latest available information on the number of people convicted for ‘driving under the influence’ is published in the ‘’ statistical bulletin, table 4(b).  A breakdown of the various crime types that make up this category is provided in the following table, please note that we are unable to separate alcohol related offences from drug related offences in some crime groups.  

People convicted of offences related to driving under the influence¹, by crime type, 2018-19 to 2019-20

1. Where main charge.

Source: Scottish Government criminal proceedings database

Information on the number of people convicted for ‘causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink/drugs’ can be found under the 'Supporting documents' to the aforementioned bulletin at this link .

The proposed May 2022 timetable, which is subject to review of consultation responses, would provide more seats on every day of the week compared to the current timetable.

Figures for December 2019, current capacity and the proposed May 2022 timetable are shown below.

The proposed May 2022 timetable will (a) result in approximately 26,000 tonnes less CO2 emissions from ScotRail’s fleet per year than the pre-pandemic December 2019 timetable, representing a 12.5% reduction.

The proposed timetable will (b) provide around 593,000 seats per weekday and has been designed to accommodate more than 100 million passenger journeys per year. For context, when the current franchise began, the timetable provided 505,000 seats per weekday and 93.8 million passenger journeys were carried.

ScotRail has confirmed that, (c) as a business, it is currently sized to operate the planned Fit for the Future timetable. As with all businesses, it will need to manage the challenges of a post-pandemic economy, and ScotRail will ensure sufficient staff will be available to meet the Fit for the Future timetable, which will see more trains operating than now.

Last year, the Scottish Government commissioned Dr Nadine Cossette, a liaison psychiatrist, to examine the mental health needs of people hospitalised due to COVID-19. Dr Cossette’s report was published on Friday 2 October and is available .

Work is well underway to implement the recommendations from Dr Cossette’s report. Funding of £4.5 million has been approved to enable Health Boards to set up local networks of mental health clinicians across Scotland, supported by a national strategic advisory group offering clinical expertise and guidance. These local networks will proactively contact all patients who have been hospitalised as a result of COVID-19. At this stage it is anticipated that roughly 3,000 people will benefit directly from treatment.

We are also working to implement our ‘Framework on recovery and rehabilitation from COVID-19’, which puts in place clear principles, priorities and objectives to support planning to meet increasing demand and provide high quality person-centred rehabilitation in different settings. We will develop and implement a rehabilitation pathway that will ensure everyone who requires rehabilitation will be able to access it.

An evaluation of the Scottish Government shared equity schemes (Help to Buy, Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE) and New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE)) was published in June 2020. The evaluation can be found on the Scottish Government website at

The evaluation estimated that 64% of Help to Buy purchasers, 71% of NSSE purchasers and 95% of OMSE purchasers were first time buyers. All households supported by the First Home Fund include at least one first time buyer.

The annual number of households supported by the shared equity schemes since 2007, broken down by local authority, can be found on the Scottish Government website at:

OMSE and NSSE

Affordable Housing Supply Programme out-turn reports

Help to Buy

First Home Fund

This year the Scottish Government has made available £12 million to support the wellbeing of the health and social care workforce. This includes £8 million from the NHS Recovery Plan to provide ongoing wellbeing support alongside an additional £4 million for practical, emotional and evidence-based psychological support to help staff as they respond to winter pressures.

The Scottish Government’s national resources are available to support the mental wellbeing of paramedics. These include the 24/7 National Wellbeing Helpline, the National Wellbeing Hub, Coaching for Wellbeing, the Workforce Specialist Service and additional funding for psychological interventions and therapies specifically for the workforce.

On 21 September 2021 the Cabinet Secretary announced additional funding of £20 million specifically for the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) to help improve response times, alleviate pressures and improve staff wellbeing. Some £500,000 of this funding is being used to provide additional welfare for crews and a range of wellbeing initiatives, such as personal resilience packages and a dedicated wellbeing team.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The information requested is not held centrally. Whilst the Scottish Government supports the use of Choice and Partnership Approach (CAPA), there is no requirement for NHS Boards to use it.