Chamber and committees

Scotland’s first Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDSs) – established within existing NHS infrastructure – are operational in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Fife, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Borders. The Services provide primary care with access to a new referral pathway for patients with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer, which is often the case for myeloma cancer presentations.

A new Detect Cancer Earlier campaign – Be The Early Bird - launched on 06 March 2023 and ran for four weeks, aiming to reduce fear of cancer and empower those with possible symptoms to act early. The campaign was developed with primary and secondary care clinical input. Following independent evaluation, the campaign will re-run in September 2023 to continue to raise awareness of the benefits of seeking help early.

Scottish Government grant making is allocated across portfolios to various parts of the third sector to improve a wide range of outcomes. Some Scottish Government funding will also be issued through independent grant makers or intermediary organisations. General guidance is available for grant makers across Scottish Government but each grant funding programme will have its own specific application criteria related to desired policy outcomes. This information is not centrally collated.

Public Health Scotland continue to monitor all COVID-19 variants in Scotland and publish this regularly within the “National respiratory infection and COVID-19 statistics” report available at Publications - Public Health Scotland . The latest report was published on 14 September and included a section dedicated to EG.5.1.

The World Health Organization (WHO) published an initial Risk Evaluation for EG.5 and EG.5.1 on 9 August 2023 and has assessed the risk to global public health as low. 320 cases of EG.5 (or “Eris”) and its descendant lineages have been detected in Scotland as of 11 September 2023. The current risk in Scotland is low, we continue to advise, to prevent the spread of coronavirus, to try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you have symptoms of a respiratory infection. Vaccination remains the best way to protect ourselves and we encourage all those eligible to take up their invitation when they are offered.

The Government will continue to work closely with Public Health Scotland and other partners to monitor, assess and be ready to respond to any new outbreaks of COVID-19.

Local authorities have powers to award discretionary local relief under section 3A of the Local Government (Financial Provisions etc.) (Scotland) Act 1962, as inserted by the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. Table 1 shows relief awarded under these powers by local authority.

Table 1: Local relief awards by council area, 2016-17 to 2022-23, £000

Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to ensure that their schools are safe for pupils, staff and their users. Those local authorities affected have now published a list of any schools where RAAC has been identified, and it would be for those individual local authorities to decide if they publish the projected cost to remedy any issues within their school estate.

In addition, the First Minister has been clear, while we do not have contingencies within Scottish Government to spend on RAAC.

The UK Government’s Chancellor of the Exchequer recently committed to spend what was necessary, and we would expect to see new funding made available. Continual UK Government cuts to capital budgets make responses across the public sector more difficult.

This is an issue we have been alive to for some time. On 16 th August, the Deputy First Minister wrote to the UK Government’s Treasury seeking clarity on new capital funding to deal with RAAC. Then, on 3 rd September, I wrote to the Secretary of State for Education seeking clarity on funding. Thus far, neither letter has received a response.

The Scottish Government’s Fair Work Action Plan sets out actions to promote fair and inclusive workplaces across Scotland. We are committed to using all levers at our disposal to extend Fair Work conditionality with clear standards and minimum requirements to cover all forms of Scottish Government support within the limits of devolved competence.

The action to consider including the use of reliefs and licensing powers is an investigatory action, and not a definitive position on if and how these can be used. Officials will explore the scope of this action in due course and following the principles of the New Deal for Business. In the meantime we will continue to monitor implementation of Fair Work conditions to ensure the approach remains fair and proportionate.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20927 on 19 September 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

NHS Inform is Scotland’s national health information service. Its aim is to provide the people of Scotland with accurate and relevant information to help them make informed decisions about their own health and the health of the people they care for.

NHS Inform has a dedicated long COVID microsite for people with ongoing symptoms after Coronavirus, setting out key information and sources of support for people impacted by long COVID.

This information is publicly accessible at www.nhsinform.scot/long-covid and comes in a variety of different languages and accessible formats to provide clear and accessible guidance to people living with long COVID on managing their symptoms.

The Scottish Government is committed to doubling the land area devoted to organic farming by 2026 and supporting the growth of organic food production in Scotland, in recognition of the benefits of nature-friendly farming practices. The Scottish Government is also committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting the transition to Net Zero.

Organic farming is a holistic approach and is not mutually exclusive with other practices such as agroforestry, for example. Several practices that may be undertaken through an organic approach can lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as reduced use of synthetic fertilisers.

The Scottish Government commissioned research in 2022, ‘The Potential for an Agroecological Approach in Scotland’, which included an exploration of organic practices. This linked these practices to a potential reduction in GHG emissions at farm-level. Evidence gaps remain on the impact on overall emissions, as these practices are likely to result in lower yields while increasing farm resilience and contributing to yield stability.

The study notes that any impacts of organic farming practices on greenhouse gas emissions and Scotland’s reliance on food imports are highly reliant on factors such as geographical location, the farming system, and the time since the transition from conventional to organic production. Therefore, the impact on emissions and food imports is influenced by several factors. We have commissioned further research on this issue to explore it in greater depth.

The Scottish Government is making available funding of £3 million over this financial year to support NHS Boards to increase the capacity of existing services providing support to people with long COVID, develop these in to more clearly defined pathways and to provide a more co-ordinated experience for those accessing support.

The individual delivery models being utilised and progressed by NHS Boards will vary, as they are tailored to local circumstances and needs. For example, some NHS Boards have developed single points of access for assessment and co-ordinated support from services including physiotherapy and occupational therapy. In other areas, the co-ordination role will be fulfilled by the primary care team based in the person’s local GP surgery.