Since being established in the winter of 2020, as part of the wider Winter Support Fund, a total of £33.595 million in support has been distributed from the Fuel Insecurity Fund (FIF) through our third sector delivery partners, namely Advice Direct Scotland, the Fuel Bank Foundation and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations. This includes the full £20 million budgeted for in 2022-23, all of which has been drawn down by delivery partners.

We have agreed an approach to monitoring and evaluation of support provided by delivery partners which seeks to avoid excessive demands for data gathering and reporting, in order to ensure the FIF can be distributed to those most in need. As such, the Scottish Government does not hold this information, although we are aware of the unprecedented demand for support from the Fuel Insecurity Fund, which our partners are providing to households. Based on evaluation reports received to date and ongoing monitoring, we estimate over 100,000 households will have received some form of support.

Further information, including FIF partner publications and evaluations, can be accessed directly on their respective websites linked to below.

The Fuel Bank Foundation - Fuel-Bank-Fuel-Crisis-Report-2023.pdf (fuelbankfoundation.org)

Scottish Federation of Housing Associations – 92717.pdf (sfha.co.uk)

Advice Direct Scotland - Publications – Advice Direct Scotland

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Provision of school libraries, which deliver a wide range of benefits and access to learning materials and resources for pupils, is a matter for local decision making in each local authority area.

We support the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) to deliver the School Library Improvement Fund and support Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools – A National Strategy for School Libraries in Scotland 2018-23 .

Scottish Government expenditure is allocated across portfolios to various sectors, including the third sector, to improve a wide range of outcomes. Spending is not all specifically classified as to whether or not it is allocated to third-sector organisations to deliver services. Consequently the figures requested are not available.

The Scottish Government receives quarterly financial reporting from IJBs which includes information on IJB reserves. The reports consolidate information already in the public domain as published by individual IJBs, and are published on the Scottish Government website. This exercise began in 2018 and no data collection was performed by the Scottish Government in respect of IJB reserves prior to this.

The reserve figures taken from the IJB reports provided have been collated in the following table. Any information regarding IJB reserves prior to 2018/19, and any additional information related to IJB reserves can be found in the IJB annual accounts published by individual IJBs.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) total net expenditure and the percentage of total net NHS Board expenditure spent on CAMHS is published on Public Health Scotland’s website Scottish health service costs under data files mental health expenditure Excel workbook in table 1.

This information is available for financial years 2011-12 to 2021-22 for each NHS Board in Scotland. Please note, figures presented for years 2011-12 to 2018-19 may differ from those included in the original response to question S5W-26493 on 11 February 2021 due to NHS Boards updating their expenditure figures post-publication.

The other part of this request relates to the percentage of total net NHS Board mental health expenditure spent on CAMHS – this information is presented in the following table for financial years 2019-20 to 2021-22 for each NHS Board in Scotland.

Table: Percentage of total net NHS Board mental health expenditure spent on CAMHS in financial years 2019/-0 to 2021-22.

CHAS received £6m pa from 2016/17 – 2020/21. This was followed by a Programme for Government commitment in 2021/22 to “ensure provision of high-quality child palliative care, regardless of location, supported by sustainable funding of at least £7m per year through Children’s Hospices Across Scotland”.

Scotland’s Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, outlines our ambitious programme that reflects the scale and the size of the challenge to reduce emissions from our buildings. Our commitment to allocate at least £1.8bn over this parliament will help kick-start growth in the market and support those least able to pay. This includes:

• At least £465m to support those least able to pay, delivered through our Warmer Homes Scotland and Area Based schemes.
• £300m for Scotland’s Heat Network Fund.
• £200m Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, investing in a sector already leading the way in the heat transition.
• £200m Scottish Green Public Sector Estate Scheme, supporting leadership for energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation right across the public sector.

Of the £1.8bn allocated as part of the strategy , £154.8m has been spent to the end of January 2023.

The delivery of the Heat in Buildings Strategy will require a combination of both regulation and support. Our investment in support will be enhanced and gain momentum as we develop our package of regulation through our Heat in Buildings Bill and policy and as we work towards a dedicated Public Energy Agency in 2025.

Work is continuing on the different categories of support for the allocation of £366 million of funding in the for 2023/24 financial year. However, the broad expectation is that around 60% of this will be allocated to our schemes to deliver energy efficiency and zero emissions heating to homes with households at most risk of fuel poverty. The remaining 40% would be targeted at larger investment schemes that improve energy efficiency or installation of zero emissions heating in public sector buildings, social housing homes and towards installation and development of heat networks.

A number of steps have been taken to aid in the delivery aims of the HiBs’ programme. We are in the process of finalising the procurement of the successor to the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme, with a potential spend over the next 7 years of £700 million. This is a significant component of the overall spend in the next 3 years. The continued development of robust Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies will help all stakeholders have greater insight to the likely deployment of different heat and energy efficiency solutions across different parts of Scotland. We are also making an increased investment in feasibility, advice and pre-capital support that will help to drive the implementation of projects at scale (e.g. public sector and heat network projects), which will see further acceleration in 2023. Finally, we are investing in raising public awareness of the heat transition and our schemes and we are committed to developing the Agency that will help accelerate take up in part through creating stronger, clearer identity and improving cross industry co-ordination. The Agency has already been set up in virtual form and now has resourcing in place to help start to create the momentum needed.

The HiBs' programme regularly publish reports to the Scottish Government website detailing projects that have completed or are underway within a number of the funded programmes. Reports have recently been published for the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme , Central Government Energy Efficiency Grant Fund and Social Housing Net Zero Fund .

The SG has no plans to change the funding arrangements for adult hospices.

It is the responsibility of Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) under the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 to plan and commission services for their area using the integrated budget under their control, including palliative and end of life care services.

I replied to a similar question from the member on 3 November 2022 (S6W-11386) providing details from 1999-2000 to 2021-2022. I have included in the following table the information for 2022-2023 following the Spring Budget Revision.

The Scottish Government recommends the Eatwell Guide as the main UK consumer facing resource which shows the types and proportions of foods and drinks that are required for a healthy balanced diet and reflects a translation of the population level dietary goals for Scotland.

The Eatwell Guide illustrates that animal-based products, such as meat and dairy, can be included as part of a healthy balanced diet, but in much smaller proportions than that of plant based foods. The sustainability of the Eatwell Guide was assessed by the Carbon trust and they concluded that moving from our current diet towards the Eatwell Guide would be a more sustainable way of eating, with a 32% lower environmental footprint than our current diet.

Within the context of the Eatwell Guide , sector-specific guidance that considers nutrition and sustainable food provision is also in place for (a) schools, (b) hospitals and (c) nursing homes, as follows:

Schools

All food and drink served in schools must comply with the school food and drink Regulations. The associated Healthy Eating in Schools guidance supports provision of a balanced and nutritious diet which includes plant based foods such as fruit and vegetables alongside a wide range of other food and drinks rich in a variety of key nutrients.

Hospitals

Food provision in NHS Scotland must be compliant with the Healthcare Improvement Scotland Food Fluid and Nutritional care standards as well as the Food in Hospitals: National Catering and Nutrition Specification - both of which have a robust evidence base. Food in Hospitals recognises that meat free options can be valuable and can contribute to overall menu content however the menu structure outlined within Food in Hospitals must recognise the differing needs of those are nutritionally well and those who are nutritionally vulnerable and as such, menus for patients must be sufficiently varied to ensure that the needs of both those groups are met.

Care homes

While there is no specific guidance around plant-based foods for care homes, the Health and Social Care Standards , which all social care services must adhere to, include standards on food and nutrition, emphasising the importance of healthy meals and snacks.

To support care homes in meeting people’s food and fluid needs, the Care Inspectorate has produced a guide for older people and adult care homes - Eating and drinking well in care: good practice guidance for older people .

In addition, My Health, My Care, My Home - healthcare framework for adults living in care homes - provides a series of recommendations aiming to transform the healthcare for people living in care homes, and include a recommendation that “Religious and philosophical beliefs in relation to food and diet should be enquired about and catered for.”