 Felly, rydw i'n mynd i'n cael ei fod yn f Close in that face masks to be worn while moving around the chamber or across the Holyrood campus. The first item of business is portfolio questions and the first portfolio is health and social care. I would ask any member who wishes to ask a supplementary to press the request-to-speak button or place an arm a chat function during the relevant question. I would advise the chamber that there is quite a lot of profits and demand i genediadau. I hope that that provides the time for a link to a question that answers will be provided. To ask the Scottish Government in light of the role that clinical research has played in leading the country out of the Covid-19 pandemic how it will support clinical research in the NHS to improve the care and treatment of patients with non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease and stroke. The Scottish Government, through the Chief Scientist Office and the NHS Research Scotland continues to invest in research infrastructure to support health boards to host and participate in a wide range of clinical research. That includes research relating to non-communicable diseases and over the pandemic studies to understand Covid-19 and trials of Covid-19 treatments and vaccines. Support for research in specific clinical areas is provided by clinical research networks and speciality groups, including for cardiovascular disease and stroke, as well as for other non-communicable diseases. Sue Webber. Thank you, Minister, for her answer. Funding for the Chief Scientist Office has not increased since 2011, and compared to the UK Government funding for the National Institute for Health Research provides less than two thirds of the funding for clinical research than in England per capita. Without funding, Scotland risks losing talented clinical researchers and reducing access to valuable new treatments. Will the Scottish Government commit to increasing its funding to the Chief Scientist Office to make sure that the NHS services in Scotland are not left behind? We can certainly review the funding, but I would have to say that the research infrastructure in Scotland is absolutely excellent. Given the number of leading universities that we have, the joined-up NHS, the unique CHI number, which follows patients through that joined-up process that they go to, makes it an absolutely excellent place to conduct research. We continue to attract a great deal of scientific research in Scotland. The infrastructure, the level of investment of about £40 million per annum, includes £4 million per annum for 26 clinical research networks and specialty groups that provide support for research in specific clinical areas, and of that £69,000 supports the cardiovascular disease research specialty group, £641,000 supports the stroke research network. There is a great deal of work going on. There are real challenges at the moment to research in Scotland, given the course of the pandemic and the situation that we are facing currently, but it is actually a pretty healthy situation. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of GP numbers and surgery provision in the north-east. The Scottish Government is fully committed to ensuring that all communities in Scotland receive safe, reliable and sustainable healthcare services, statutory responsibility for ensuring primary medical services, of course, rest locally with health boards and health and social care partnerships for each board to put in place those services that best meet the needs of their patient population through consultation and engagement with the local community. At latest figures published today show that we now have a record 5195 GPs working in Scotland, an increase of 74 from last year. We remain on track to deliver a commitment to increase the numbers of GPs working in Scotland by at least 800 by 2027. Liam Kerr. Thank you, cabinet secretary, for the answer. Last week, Cardin Medical Centre announced its imminent closure due to inability to recruit GPs, displacing nearly 9,000 patients. A proposed merger was abandoned due to continued reduction in permanent GPs across the city. This Government's failure to carry out workforce planning to train and recruit GPs is a disgrace. Who will take responsibility for this? What planning has been done to reverse that trend? When will the north-east have enough GPs to run the services that the people of Aberdeen need and deserve? The Government has an impeccable record when it comes to staffing. We have the highest record number of staff in our NHS. That follows nine years of consecutive growth. What I would say about the decision that was made was one that was made by local partners, the Aberdeen City health and social partnership. My understanding is that they are working for a smooth transition for all patients that are affected by the closure of Cardin Medical Centre. My understanding is that patients will be automatically registered to a new practice and that there are nine practices within a mild radius of Cardin Medical Centre. I would hope that those patients who are affected by that disruption would be minimised. However, in terms of the Government's record on staffing our NHS, what I would say is that the NHS was a central issue in the election just what six months ago. Of course, our party has been re-elected for a false term. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. We all know that GPs are under enormous strain and pressure as a result of the pandemic. However, in some cases in Eastershire, there have been significant issues in terms of decisions being communicated by practices to local residents, leading to many not being able to even book appointments or discuss treatment plans. Can the minister advise what the Scottish Government can do to ensure that residents in Eastershire receive the best possible GP services and receive such services in a timely manner? I can say to Ms Mockenshire that she was right to reference the fact that we know GPs are under incredible amounts of pressure as they are all NHS and social care staff in the course of the pandemic. I want to put on record my thanks to GPs for the hard work that they have done. We have provided GPs with additional funding, even prior to my winter announcement, but certainly as part of the winter package that I announced in this chamber a couple of months ago. I, of course, will take on board what Ms Mockenshire has said and see if we can reach out to partners in Eastershire. To ask the Scottish Government whether the emergence of the Omicron variant implements its discussions with the UK Government regarding the four-nation approach to vaccine procurement, particularly in relation to the Balneva vaccine, and any potential need to deploy different vaccine formulations both domestically and internationally? The information about the protection that is offered by vaccines in relation to Omicron is still obviously emerging. However, we know that boosters will maximise protection. The Scottish Government will continue to be guided by the expert advice of the GCVI and, indeed, our clinical advisers on the most effective approach to vaccine deployment in the face of the Omicron variant, including of vaccine types. The UK vaccine task force procures vaccine on behalf of all four nations, and we continue to work in that framework. However, the member may be aware that I met with Balneva this week, alongside the Minister for Business, Tourism, Trade and Enterprise, to explore how the Scottish Government can continue to support its work at Livingston. I would put on record that that support for Balneva's investment at Livingston is of paramount importance to this Government. The vaccine developed by Balneva can be transported and stored at room temperature. In contrast to other vaccines that target the spike protein of the Covid virus, the Balneva vaccine, which is yet to be approved but has had positive day 3 results, targets the whole Covid virus envelope. Does the cabinet secretary agree that when we have variants spreading rapidly globally and we need to have a global and not just a national strong vaccination process, that these factors may become a premium? Will he raise those points in vaccine order discussions with the UK Government? Yes, I absolutely will raise those points with the Secretary of State and the other health ministers than I meet on a regular basis. Mrs Loughfawr and Mrs Loughf is absolutely right to reference the very unique characteristics of the Balneva vaccine. She is also right to say that it is still pending MHRA approval when we look forward to seeing what the results of that approval are. I would also say that, as well as looking for vaccine for domestic uses, Scotland prides itself, and I know that this is something that Fiona Hyslop understands well, prides itself on being a good global citizen. Therefore, we have also got to look at what else we can do with vaccine supplies, particularly to the global south. We know far too much of the population remains unvaccinated. I repeat the point that I made in my opening answer to Fiona Hyslop's question. I, as health secretary, but the entire Government remains supportive of the site in Livingston and Balneva's investment in it. I thank the Government for taking up our policy of mass vaccination centres. I ask the minister how many centres the Government is seeking to establish, how many sites have been identified, how many contracts or releases have been signed, and by what date will all mass vaccination centres be open and administering jabs into people's arms? Cabinet Secretary, that is not directly relevant to the initial question, but if there is anything that you can usefully add, I will invite you to do so. I would say that, if Craig Hoy was made of chocolate, I am not sure that there would be a crumb of them left that he would have eaten himself if he had. That is not a response. I ask the Scottish Government what the latest open with care guidance is for care homes considering the emergence of the Omicron variant. Information about Omicron is still emerging. However, it is vital that visiting continues to be supported so that people living in care homes, which is first and foremost their home, can maintain contact with loved ones, which is important for mental health and wellbeing. That will be increasingly important as Christmas approaches so that people and their friends and family can spend time with one another. In recognition of the importance of visiting, the First Minister in her statement on 14 December about further protective measures for the general population indicated that we will continue to support people to connect with their loved ones. However, it is now recommended that visits should be limited to two households per resident at a time and that all protective measures such as testing, handwashing, physical distancing and face masks are utilised to prevent transmission. The protective measures in place for care homes, which are greater than those in community settings, continue to be an important way to safeguard against the spread of Covid-19, including the new variant Omicron. I fully expect care homes to be supporting visits and we will keep everything under review as knowledge of Omicron continues to emerge. I thank the minister for his answer. I have been in discussions with Care Home Relative Scotland who have been advising me in interpretation of the guidelines within care homes are wide-ranging. Some care homes are bringing in tighter restrictions already. Are there interim measures prior to Ann's law that the Scottish Government can take to ensure that no one is denied a visit to a loved one this Christmas as long as it is within the Scottish Government guidelines? Let me make it quite clear that we expect care homes to continue to support visits with all the necessary protective measures in place. However, as I said, it is an extra precaution. We now recommend that no more than two households should meet with each resident at any one time. That is in line with the guidance for the general population. We are also asking everyone to test before they visit and will be issuing guidance for care homes asking them to do everything possible to accommodate visits. For care homes that have managed outbreaks, they should support a named visitor to visit. It is vital that everyone works together to enable people to see each other in the lead-up to and over the Christmas period so that everyone can spend time with one another safely and with confidence. I reiterate that we expect care homes to continue to support visits. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out in the NHS Lanarkshire area. Of course, our Auto Winter vaccination programme, our booster programme, is leading the way for the rest of the UK. We are leading the rest of the UK in first, second, third and booster doses and we are accelerating that programme. We will continue to recruit more vaccinators and bring on board more clinics. Yes, that includes more mass vaccination clinics and also for the attention of Craig Hoy, some of those coming on board later this week. NHS Lanarkshire has made good progress with the Auto Winter campaign, with a peak output of almost 6,000 Covid boosters per day. That has resulted in 77 per cent of the older over 50 population having had a booster. NHS Lanarkshire has delivered 43.8 per cent of boosters or third doses to those over the age of 12. I will continue to report to Parliament on a regular basis on the booster programme across Scotland. I thank the health secretary for that answer. For everyone in our NHS and volunteers who are delivering the fastest vaccine roll-out in the UK, it is even more important with the new Omicron threat. Can the health secretary advise what health boards can do to deliver booster vaccines at home as fast as possible for those who need them, as he will know from my correspondence that some of my constituents have not been able to make appointments as quickly as others locally? Yes, I completely understand the point that Neil Gray is making. We know that sometimes it can take longer to get to housebound patients. Naturally, of course, understanding that housebound patients do take longer to get to in terms of a cohort, we cannot get through them as quickly as we would like to, but Neil Gray has done the right thing to write to me and correspond with me. I will, of course, in turn correspond with the local health board to ensure that we can get those individuals often who are very vulnerable, therefore, who are not able to be as mobile as the rest of the population, so that they get their boosters as quickly as the rest of the population do. I would associate myself with the comments about our fantastic vaccination staff, but I have spoken to constituents who had an appointment last night for their booster at the central mosque in Glasgow at 1.5 plus 7, but were turned away, being told upon arrival that nobody would be vaccinated after 1.5 plus 7 whether they had an appointment or not. We know that many people are scheduling appointments in the evening because of childcare or work commitments, and, given the speed that we require with Omicron, it is imperative that all appointments are fulfilled. Will the cabinet secretary look at that instance urgently and explain how capacity is going to be increased across board areas? Of course, I will. I should say that Glasgow has increased the number of vaccinators by about 200 in the space of a fortnight, so more and more appointments are coming online. Those issues are unfortunate, and I always regret that when people are turned away that shouldn't be happening, so I will look at the issue that Paul O'Kane mentions, but, of course, he recognised in his question that the Scottish vaccination programme is a huge success, but we need to ramp up and accelerate it over the coming weeks. I will certainly look at the case that he references and feedback to Paul O'Kane directly. I am briefly Stephanie Callaghan, who joins us remotely. Thank you, Presiding Officer. NHS Lanarkshire recently urged the public to familiarise themselves with the wide range of local NHS services. Again, as 10 per cent of those attending A&E are still sent home with self-care advice and have referred to other services. Can the cabinet secretary ask what further steps the Scottish Government can take to encourage people to access other services and minimise the pressures on A&E? Is it briefly as possible, cabinet secretary? A supplementary question to the earlier Neil Gray question. Forgive me, Presiding Officer. I thought that it was next question. I think that we may need to write to Stephanie Callaghan. Yes, I will write to Stephanie Callaghan to give me Stephanie Callaghan. Question number six, co-cab stewart, who again joins us remotely. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I would like to ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking, including any that may be funded through its budget, that will help to deliver free dental care during the current parliamentary session. As the first step to delivering our manifesto commitment to remove dental charges in this Parliament, we abolished charges for all young people under the age of 26 from August 2021. We are also determined to support the profession and ensure that dentists remain in practice following disruptions to services during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our budget for 2022-23 delivers an unprecedented 9 per cent increase for general dental services, which will support the continued recovery of NHS dental services while we begin on the delivery of significant reforms with the manifesto commitment as the centrepiece. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response, having been contacted by my constituents in Glasgow Kelvin with regard to their concerns of limitations on accessing emergency dental provision in the face of Omicron. I ask what discussion and actions the Scottish Government are undertaking to safeguard access to emergency dental provision in the face of challenges by Omicron and any other variants. I thank the member for that wee promotion. Although I am not sure that I would thank them right now, we have written to the profession to update them regarding providing access to care over the winter period. Urgent patients will continue to be seen by their local dentist where it is safe to do so using the PPE that continues to be provided by the Scottish Government at no cost to the sector. We have also instructed health boards to ensure that they have sufficient capacity to see emergency cases if local practices are unable to do so. Those measures will both support patient access to critical care in the coming months. Dentist with 30-year experience contacted me to explain how NHS Dentistry is not paying the bills despite current levels of Covid funding. He sees 25 patients a day and is booked out until March next year. He has had to take on two additional part-time jobs to make ends meet. It is not an isolated case. For many dental practices, NHS Dentistry is not viable with a 30% cut in taxable income for principals and associates since 2008-09. The BDA estimates that it will increase dental tariffs as an interim measure. Will the cabinet secretary be willing to increase the tariffs by 30% to sustain services at this critical time? This is an unprecedented level of increase that the dental profession is receiving this year. It has been an extremely difficult situation for dentists at the moment while their capacity is constrained by infection protection control measures. However, we have supported them throughout the pandemic, and we are continuing to support them in order to recover NHS dental services. It is absolutely essential that we focus on recovery before reform, but we are willing to look at reform and quite eager and keen to look at reform. We will have further discussions with the dental profession. Dentists tell me that there is a two-year treatment backlog, and I am glad that the minister is willing to look at reform because many of them are seeing patients privately, such as the demand. What is the Scottish Government doing to stop this privatisation by the back door? Will the minister agree to meet me and representatives of the Scottish Dental Association to respond to their proposal for a review of the value and reimbursement structure for the whole Dental Street Team? I can confirm that in recent months we have seen a substantial increase in the level of activity, so the number of patients being seen in NHS dental settings. I think that the situation is improving, although the recent turn of events with the pandemic is undoubtedly going to cause further challenge. I very much welcome that improvement. Dental activity has been monitored very closely on a month-by-month basis. As I have set out many times in this chamber, we have given a great deal of financial support to the sector. I am always happy to meet Jackie Baillie in order to navigate our way through this challenging time and to consider how we respond to the needs of the sector and our ambitions for NHS dental care in Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it can offer to people that health and social care services are being supported during the on-going pandemic. The First Minister launched the NHS recovery plan in August in response to pressures on NHS services caused by the pandemic over the past 18 months. The plan set out key headline ambitions and actions to be developed and delivered now and over the next five years. The plan is backed by more than £1 billion of investment over the next five years, of which £80 million this year alone has already been invested to support NHS boards to target the backlog of treatment and care. While it is important to stress that recovery is the immediate task, the plan is fundamentally about ensuring that the recovery process delivers long-term sustainability and alternative pathways of care that allow people to be treated more quickly closer to home. I thank the minister for that answer. Social care services across Stirling and Scotland are working hard to deliver quality care for some of our most vulnerable citizens. However, it is clear that the continual effects of the pandemic and Brexit are weighing heavily on staffing levels. That has resulted in many key stakeholders expressing interests in the Scottish Government's proposals for national care services. Can the minister share what next steps will take place to progress this important work? I agree with Evelyn Tweed that the pandemic and Brexit are having a major effect on staffing in many parts of the country and in some parts of the country. The cause of staff loss because of Brexit is great—40 per cent—one service has told me that it has lost in terms of its staffing. On the question about the next steps in the national care service, I thank everyone who took part in the national care service consultation. Around 3,000 people took part in more than 100 engagement meetings during that consultation. We received around 1,300 written responses. The responses are now being analysed and we will publish that analysis in the new year. We will then carefully consider all the views that are expressed through the consultation to develop and prepare a programme road map to share with Parliament stakeholders and citizens. We are fully committed to co-design of a future national care service with people with lived and lived experience at the heart of that design. Question 8, Emma Roddick, who joins us remotely. Pass the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that healthcare services in rural areas are working for the people that they serve? We aim to ensure that we have equitable, high-quality health services available to everyone in Scotland, including those who live in remote and rural areas. We continue to evolve health and care services through new treatments and technologies to meet demand and deliver the best patient outcomes. That includes our commitment to create a centre of excellence for rural and remote medicine in social care. Our health and social care partnerships across Scotland play a key role in supporting NHS boards to work with communities and stakeholders designing services according to the needs of local populations. I thank the cabinet secretary for his detailed answer. Could he advise whether the Scottish Government is encouraging and supporting the Scottish Ambulance Services patient transport service to make use of alternative types of vehicles such as SUVs for patients with lower mobility needs in rural areas in order to free up ambulances for those who need them? Yes, in short, it was part of the announcement of package of measures that I announced earlier in the year for Scottish Ambulance Service. She will know that the patient transport service has two components, the blue light vehicle fleet and the patient transport fleet. When patients qualify for transportation to a healthcare setting, they are allocated a seat on a patient transport vehicle that is designed for use by people with mobility needs. The services patient needs assessment will determine the requirement for support if the patient requires mobility and clinical support. That will be managed by the Ambulance Service, however, if it is deemed that it is only transport that is available, the service will signpost to one of its agreed alternative transport providers or, indeed, Travelling Scotland. For those with low incomes, health boards can also provide financial reimbursement for taxed journeys to appointments. Cabinet Secretary, a large number of constituents have contacted me saying that they still have not received the Covid-19 booster shot despite being over 75 years of age. There is also a clear lack of availability in appointments in my region, with many unable to book online for their flu shot 2. Many of my constituents in Lodians want to celebrate Christmas with their families safely. What extra provision is the Scottish Government taking to ensure that everyone, especially in rural areas, who is entitled to a shot gets a shot? What I can say is that our booster vaccination programme is going extremely, extremely well, where there are any anomalies, particularly where there are older people who we know are at higher risk, for example, of severe illness with Covid and, indeed, higher risk in terms of flu. If there are instances where they are not able to get an appointment, as Mr Traudery has referenced, then I am happy for him to write to me with the details, and I will raise that with a local health board. Thank you very much. I am sorry to Karen Adam, who I was not able to call in portfolio questions, but we need to now move on to the next set of portfolios, which is social justice, housing and local government. I will have a brief pause while the front bench has changed. Can I remind colleagues who wish to ask a supplementary on any of the questions to press the request speak buttons or place an R in the chat function during the relevant question? To ask the Scottish Government what is its response to the latest trust food bank statistics in relation to Scotland. The statistics show that Scotland is the only area of the UK to see a marked reduction in the number of emergency food parcels with a 25 per cent reduction between April and September compared to 2019. However, no one should have to rely on charitable food provision, which is why we are currently consulting on a national plan to end the need for food banks as a primary response. The Government's human rights approach means that we promote a cash first response to hardship. As we have seen in our budget, we are focused on boosting the incomes of low-income households as a key to decreasing the need for food banks. Scotland is the only area in the UK that has seen a marked decrease in the number of emergency food parcels in the past six months, as you have just noted. However, that has been credited to the Scottish child payment, which has been introduced by the Scottish Government, with a damning report released yesterday by the new economics foundation that says that the poorest half of families are worst off since Boris Johnson came into power while the richest have seen their income boom. Does the cabinet secretary think that it shows a tale of two Governments that, while the Scottish Government doubles the Scottish child payment, the UK Government cuts universal credit by £20 to those that really need it the most? I think that Siobhan Brown makes an important point. UK Government welfare cuts are driving hardship and pushing people to food banks. The punitive approach takes money out of the pockets of those who can least afford it, including the deeply concerning cut to universal credit, which represented the biggest single cut to welfare in 70 years. Of course, our Scottish Government's doubling of the Scottish child payment to £20 from April 2022 is among the ways in which we have shown leadership that the UK Government simply has not, and it is time that it matched our ambition in tackling child poverty. I would like to thank you for your patience in my arriving slightly late to this session. I would like to ask the Scottish Government what further support it will make available to help Perth and Kinross Council improve the availability of social and affordable housing in the Perthshire, South and Kinross constituency. Since 2007, we have delivered over 105,000 affordable homes, including 2,343 in Perth and Kinross, as part of our commitment to deliver a further 110,000 affordable homes by 2032. Last week's budget confirmed an increase in the affordable housing programme by a further £174 million in 2022-23. Over the last five years, Perth and Kinross received more than £77 million in grant support from the affordable housing supply programme, helping the delivery of 963 affordable homes. During this Parliament, Perth and Kinross will benefit from investment of more than £86 million towards the delivery of more good-quality affordable homes. Thank you for that answer. As you have just stated, there have been a number of significant developments and refurbishing in my constituency, including those areas in Hunting Tower and Newhouse Road, through various partnerships and projects through local council housing associations and, of course, the Scottish Government. However, does the cabinet secretary agree with me that the biggest boost to council housing building that the country has seen this millennium has been the reversal of the Tory policy from the 80s, which started the selling off of the best council housing stock with no provision at all for rebuilding houses or for cancelling the housing debt? Yes, I would agree with that. Scotland has led the way in the delivery of affordable housing across the UK. In 2009, we reintroduced grant funding for council house building, which has supported the delivery of more than 16,000 council homes across Scotland. By ending the right to buy, we have also protected existing social rented homes and prevented the sale of up to 15,500 houses over a 10-year period. The allocation of funding for affordable housing projects has not been equal. For example, Edinburgh received 7.3 per cent of the total budget, with 8.8 per cent of the whole population. I am afraid, Mr Briggs, that this is a question in relation to Perthshire South and Cunrothshire constituency. Unless it is relevant to that, I think that you are going to struggle to make this. With regard to affordable housing budgets? Complete the question, but I think that this is straying a little far from... We will give him the differentiation that we have seen within those budgets. Can I ask the cabinet secretary whether she believes that the cut in the housing budget will impact as well? There is no cut in the housing budget. The housing budget is going up and Edinburgh will be receiving more money through that affordable housing supply programme than it has in previous years. That is surely something that should be welcomed by everybody across the chamber. Thank you very much to ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to allowing registered social landlords to purchase properties from home owners who are likely to remain in their homes but become social housing tenants. I am actively considering the implications of enabling support to be provided through the affordable housing supply programme to facilitate such purchases where social landlords wish to do so. There are a number of considerations to be taken into account to ensure that any funding offered does not impact on other support that might be available for owners. For home owners who are having financial difficulty, I would encourage them to seek advice as soon as possible, as there is support available that they may be able to access, including our Home Owners Support Fund. The cabinet secretary will be aware that I have written to her about the Inverclyde acquisition programme, as Ardysel and my constituency have asked for the existing policy, which not only allows them to purchase properties in the open market to be amended. If there was an option for a property to be transferred from private ownership to social housing and the owner-occupier moved to become a tenant, relieving them of the maintenance burden but still letting them continue to live in that home, that could help Ardysel's to bring properties with maintenance challenges up to standards, making it beneficial for both Ardysel's and their prospective new tenants. Can the cabinet secretary confirm whether she has engaged with Ardysel's and Inverclyde on the issue and provide details of any plans to bring the change of a policy forward? We have agreed an acquisition programme with the council and Ardysel's and Inverclyde, which will make around £1.35 million available in the current financial year to enable the purchase of up to 50 properties for sale on the open market. I am aware of the situation that the member highlights. As I have just mentioned, implications of the suggested change on other policy areas are being examined, including those that provide support to home owners. Local authorities can assist home owners who need to carry out repairs through the scheme of assistance, but I am happy to keep the member informed. Ministers have previously said that they look to develop plans with local authorities to help purchase empty homes, so I wanted to ask how many of them have now been completed. The empty homes option is a good one. There have been a number of empty homes purchased and brought back into use through repairs. I can make the member aware of the figure. I cannot find it to hand just now, but I am happy to write to Miles Briggs to make him aware. There is more that we can do around empty homes. Of course, we fund them so that local authorities can look at the opportunities in their area to bring more empty homes back into circulation, but I am happy to provide the figure to Miles Briggs in due course. To ask the Scottish Government how it works with Argyllun Bute Council to support the delivery of local government services across the area's islands and remote peninsulas. Minister Ben Macpherson joins us remotely. Ministers and officials regularly meet representatives of all Scottish local authorities, including Argyllun Bute Council. Our island local authority partners are key stakeholders in how we develop and deliver islands policy. We regularly engage through the island strategic group and national islands plan delivery group to identify and collaborate on issues facing our island communities. I thank the minister for that answer. Employment is integral to supporting the delivery of local government services across Argyllun Bute. Can the minister please provide an update on the work of the Campbelltown Economic Summit, which was convened following the closure of the wind towers factory in Towns Creamery? Certainly, work has continued with partners on the Contire Action Plan, led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise following the last Campbelltown Economic Summit, which was to identify and support new business and employment opportunities, including in the space, hydrogen and whisky sectors. Future options for the CS Wind facility are being considered with the Administration of CS Wind UK, and the pending outcome of the administration process and further stakeholder meetings will be scheduled in early 2022. We continue to support and diversify the region's economy and have committed to investing up to £25 million in the Argyllun Bute growth deal to deliver a range of strategic projects that will create jobs and maximise the region's future economic potential, with a focus on agriculture and tourism. We hope to sign the full deal for Argyllun Bute next year. To ask the Scottish Government how many tenants in the west of Scotland have used the tenant grant fund and tenant hardship loan fund. Thank you. A specific regional breakdown for the west of Scotland is not information that we hold. However, as of mid November 233, tenant hardship loans have been awarded, totaling £615,614, and a further 12 loans offered with a potential award value of £38,608. However, the tenant grant fund councils are administering this, and they will report progress to the Scottish Government on a quarterly basis. The first such report is due by the end of this month, and that will set out the number and level of grants that are issued, whether that paid their rears in full or partially, and how many tenancies were sustained at the time. I thank the minister for that answer. In light of the Government's refusal to continue the ban on evictions and, indeed, the ramifications of that, which we are seeing as predicted by many on those benches and many in the housing sector, and with the removal of any financial support for people in trouble with arrears and, indeed, with the pandemic and the effects clearly very far from over, what is the Government's plan to support people who are in arrears to stay in warm, safe and affordable homes? The member will be aware of the range of work that we are taking forward, including through the coronavirus legislation, to extend some of the measures that were brought in during the pandemic, as well as the work that I will be saying more about next week on the rented sector strategy, including the commitment to act on winter evictions. I hope that that is an agenda that he is supportive of, and he will also be very well aware that the grant and loan funds are not the only action in terms of funding. In fact, I could mention the wider £38 million package of support that was brought in during the pandemic, the discretionary housing payments worth £82 million this year and a great deal else besides. I really hope that the member will engage constructively with that agenda. Can the minister outline how the new Scottish budget will help to prevent homelessness? Yes, indeed. There is a great deal in the Scottish budget that will be taking forward work, including the £23.5 million homelessness support fund to local authorities, the £10 million that is available from the Ending Homelessness Together fund. That will build on significant progress that was made in the past year. It is part of an overall £100 million investment during the course of this Parliament, as well as substantial investment in the provision of new affordable homes and, indeed, the work that is being funded that I mentioned before to develop and later implement the rented sector strategy and £80 million available for discretionary housing payments. Question 7 Donald Cameron, who joins us remotely. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government how its housing strategy is supporting action to prevent fuel poverty in households in rural and remote areas. Our ambition is that everyone has access to a safe, warm, affordable home and we provide support to fuel poor households through our heat and buildings programme and are determined to address the higher levels of extreme fuel poverty found in many of Scotland's remote and rural areas. By the end of 2021, we will have allocated over £1 billion since 2009 to tackle fuel poverty and improve energy efficiency, and since 2013, over 150,000 homes throughout Scotland have benefited from our home energy efficiency programmes. We will continue to fund home energy Scotland to provide free and impartial advice on how to make homes warmer and cheaper to heat, and we will publish our fuel poverty strategy later this month. 43 per cent of homes in the Western Isles are estimated to be in fuel poverty, which is almost double that of the national average. A crisis exacerbated following the recent loss of two metre readers, meaning that more household bills are worked out by higher price estimates. Given that the Government has set a target to reduce the number of homes in fuel poverty nationally to 5 per cent by 2040, how will it specifically support island communities, such as the Western Isles, to meet the target? I recognise some of the challenges that Donald Cameron has mentioned. We are incorporating adjustments to the UK minimum income standard element of the fuel poverty definition to take account of the generally higher costs of living in Scotland's remote, rural and island communities. Through our energy efficiency schemes, we are already spending more per head on energy efficiency in remote and rural areas, where we know that installation and labour costs are higher, for example. Our warmer homes Scotland scheme has introduced additional renewable and enabling measures, including ground-source heat pumps, micro-wind and micro-hydro systems, that will be of particular benefit to households living off of the gas grid. We recognise those challenges, and it will be covered in the forthcoming fuel poverty strategy. Given that the Scottish Government has committed to a remote, rural and island action plan, backed up by £50 million fund, can I ask the cabinet secretary in what ways the Government is drawing on learning from previous programmes, specifically what worked and what didn't, and in what ways housing enablers and community trust with lived experience can feed into the development of the remote, rural and island action plan? The role of community trust is important, and the role of local authorities and councils serving remote and rural island communities can now provide grant and aid worth up to £14,000 for those in extreme fuel poverty and up from the previous maximum of £9,000, and those councils can also apply for a higher maximum of grant and aid for zero low-carbon heating measures of £8,000. However, I will write to the member with more details on her question. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with COSLA. The Scottish Government engages regularly with COSLA representatives to discuss a wide range of issues as part of our shared commitment to work in partnership with local government to improve the outcomes for the people of Scotland. I last met COSLA on 18 November to discuss social security with Councillor Kerry Palley, and I'm meeting with the COSLA presidential team tomorrow, 16 December. I thank the minister for the answer. As COSLA has noted, the SNP will cut its allocation to Scottish councils by £280 million in real terms next year, as this Government's assault on local government finances intensifies. What would the minister advise town halls to do next April, slash services or hike council tax? I think that it may be helpful for Mr Hoy and I note his services as a councillor, with Grace Wonder, if he wants to point that out. I also wish to point out to him that I think that it would be helpful for Parliament to note that table 5.16 of the Scottish budget includes additional funding of over £1.3 billion currently held within other Scottish Government portfolios, which will be added to the local government settlement in the year. Taken together with the funding included in table 5.13 in the budget document, the total funding package for £22.23 is over £12.5 billion and provides an additional £917.9 million, or a real-terms increase of 5.1 per cent. Following last week's budget statement, Douglas Lums in MSP said that local government should be, and I quote, properly funded, Tory concern is touching, given the financially eviscerated council budgets in England over the last decade. However, will the minister advise if the Tories are said at any time how much proper funding of local government should be and whether resources should come from to meet their demands, or are you expected to just guess? Mr Gibson makes an extremely important point that the Conservatives are keen to criticise budget decisions from the Scottish Government, but are very rare in coming up with any solutions whether that be with regard to changing spending priorities, taxation changes or pressing their colleagues in Westminster for action at a UK level with the vast amount of powers and tax that the UK Government of course has that the Scottish Government does not. It is important to point out the comparison that local authorities in Scotland have largely been protected from the savage budget cuts that counterparts in England and Wales have seen, although local government funding is not wholly comparable. As I said, there will be a real-terms increase to local authority budgets in real terms for the coming year of 5.1 per cent, and I refer to my supplementary answer to Mr Hoy. Thank you, minister. I have said it before. I'll say it again. It's pretty futile heckling a person on a screen, but that draws to the conclusion portfolio questions. It'll be time to point of order, Craig Hoy. If I, in my enthusiasm to ask the minister a question, I admitted to refer to my register of interests, which drew attention to my position as a councillor in East Lothian. Thank you. Thank you. That is now on the record, Mr Hoy. We now move on to the next item of business. I think that the French Benches are almost in position. I'll pause briefly to allow any transfers to be made.