Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government have not undertaken any assessment on the effects of inflation specifically within the medicines homecare service. Like a number of sectors, homecare providers have experienced challenges in recruitment and retention of staff, which has been one of the drivers of the service problems.

Delivery of a permanent and resilient solution to the landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful is a priority and we continue to seek ways to achieve that as quickly as possible, noting that all of the options require complex civil engineering.

Transport Scotland continues to take forward the necessary design and assessment work at pace with a view to announcing a preferred route option this Spring. Following this further detailed design and assessment work on the preferred option, including an Environmental Impact Assessment, is required before we can complete the necessary statutory planning process to allow any land to be acquired and the project constructed.

Delivery of the long-term solution can only commence if it is approved under the relevant statutory planning process and thereafter a timetable for its progress can be set. We will continue to progress the necessary design work as a priority with a view to commencing work on the ground during the current parliamentary term subject to timely completion of the statutory process.

We are dutybound to properly follow the correct statutory planning process which rightly includes consultation with communities, landowners and others with a direct interest in the scheme. However, Transport Scotland continues to explore methods to reduce the timescales of each stage of the project, where possible, and progress work at pace on this essential project.

NHS National Procurement in partnership with the Health Boards are responsible for the provision of medicine homecare services and have met with affected providers on a weekly basis over a 12 month period to address services provision and monitor return to good service levels.

When service problems arise, through performance management arrangements linked to service level agreement and contracts, there is work with providers to agree an action plan and then closely monitoring delivery of performance improvements against that plan until service levels return to agreed standards.

The average time to onboard a patient to a homecare service varies by homecare provider. Within the Service Level Agreements with the homecare providers, a minimum of 5 business days is required between the provider receiving the registration documents and prescription for the patient and first delivery. Delivery may take slightly longer to areas of the Highlands and Islands due to the remoteness of the locations, although this varies by homecare provider. If treatment is required to be started more urgently than the homecare provider can deliver, then initial supplies can be made locally to patients through hospital pharmacies before the homecare service is set up.

Scottish Water publishes an annual update to its Urban Waters Route Map and the most recent update from December 2022 is available on its website at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/-/media/ScottishWater/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Urban-Water-Improvements/141222IUW22AnnualUpdateV22.pdf

In its December 2022 update, Scottish Water confirmed that 54 projects have been initiated to develop solutions and support delivery of all high priority discharges by 2027. Following discussions with SEPA, some initially identified needs have been removed/downgraded. Scottish Water intends to target investment towards a revised list of 104 high priority CSO discharges (detailed on its website at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/-/media/ScottishWater/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Urban-Water-Improvements/110522HighPriorityUIDs.pdf ); this includes 24 storm overflows which have been assessed as potentially impacting water quality. Scottish Water has also initiated projects and is scrutinising options to enable improvement works to be delivered at 39 identified waste water treatment works.

Scottish Water’s capital investment projects involve a significant period of development work, including identifying options, determining costs and completing all land, planning and permitting activities in advance of delivering any scheme on site. The projects identified in the routemap will develop over the next two years, in line with Scottish Water’s capital investment process, to the point where clear timescales for improvements can be agreed. It is anticipated that the majority of improvements will be in place closer to the 2027 target timeframe, but Scottish Water will review all opportunities to deliver improvements in the shortest possible timeframe, where possible. Scottish Water will continue to provide annual updates on its website to outline progress being made in delivering commitments under its Improving Urban Waters Route Map.

As referenced in the answer to S6W-15157 on 13 March 2023, in its annual update to its routemap, Scottish Water confirmed that priority locations have been identified for the 1,000 spill monitors, with installation programmed over 2023 and 2024. Over the past year, Scottish Water has invested significant time in developing a prioritisation approach for monitoring locations, based on amenity levels and predicted spill frequencies, and agreed this with SEPA. This has been published on Scottish Water’s website at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/-/media/ScottishWater/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Urban-Water-Improvements/EDMmethodology.pdf . Scottish Water has also made considerable effort to review the marketplace to determine the most appropriate monitors to deliver maximum value for customers. A priority list of locations will soon be available on Scottish Water’s website and Scottish Water has committed to providing an annual update on its website to outline progress being made in delivering commitments under its Improving Urban Waters Route Map.

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

Details of transfrontier shipments of waste are not published or held by Scottish Government, but are held by SEPA.

Information on exports to other UK countries is not available for the years requested.

Due to the cyber attack suffered by SEPA in 2020, data for that year is unavailable. The 2021 data is expected to be available from 28 March 2023, following publication of official statistics on Waste from All Sources. SEPA does not yet have a complete dataset for 2022, as returns are still being processed.

SEPA’s Waste from All Sources Discover Tool is available here: Waste (from all sources) (sepa.org.uk)

That information is not available for the years requested.

Due to the cyber attack suffered by SEPA in 2020, data for that year is unavailable. The 2021 data is expected to be available from 28 March 2023, following publication of official statistics on Waste from All Sources. SEPA does not yet have a complete dataset for 2022, as returns are still being processed.

SEPA’s Waste from All Sources Discover Tool is available here: Waste (from all sources) (sepa.org.uk)

Details of transfrontier shipments of waste are not published or held by Scottish Government, but are held by SEPA.

Information on exports to other UK countries is not available for the years requested.

Due to the cyber attack suffered by SEPA in 2020, data for that year is unavailable. The 2021 data is expected to be available from 28 March 2023, following publication of official statistics on Waste from All Sources. SEPA does not yet have a complete dataset for 2022, as returns are still being processed.

SEPA’s Waste from All Sources Discover Tool is available here: Waste (from all sources) (sepa.org.uk)

The Scottish Government has been following the process for excluding the deposit return scheme regulations from the Internal Market Act 2020 and we expect a decision from the UK Government as soon as possible.