Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to undertake a consultation on the introduction or piloting of bans or other restrictions on Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) over 7.5t in weight from overtaking on Scottish trunk roads.

The Scottish Government operates 3 Marine Protection Vessels (MPVs) and 2 inshore protection craft. These are tasked on a risk basis within Scottish waters, and monitor compliance with relevant marine legislation including Marine Protected Areas.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11199 on 4 October 2022. 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

The Scottish Government has regular and ongoing engagement with COSLA which includes discussing housing needs for Ukrainian displaced people in Scotland and funding support.

Most recently a meeting with senior leaders and officials from Scottish Government, COSLA and partners took place on 30 September to discuss next steps on our review of the Super Sponsor scheme.

The latest information held by the Scottish Government on these type of payments relates to 31 March 2021. The impact of the current inflation rate will be reflected within our next annual data update exercises which are planned to be undertaken later in the year.

The latest payment information relating to Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) contracts is available from the Scottish Government website by way of the following link www.gov.scot under ‘NPD/hub programme’ and ‘NPD projects pre-November 2010’. The majority of the NPD/hub programme payments, including those relating to original construction costs and financing costs, are not indexed linked, making them less sensitive to increased inflation rates.

In some of the earlier PFI contracts, especially within the health sector, up to 100% of the annual payment was indexed linked meaning that payments therefore can increase with inflation each year. The latest payment information collated by the Scottish Government relating to PFI contracts as at 31 March 2021 has not yet been published by HM Treasury. The associated information relating to this from 2023-24 onwards is however included within the following tables.

Estimated PFI Unitary Charge Payments 2023-24 to 2027-28

The Women’s Health Plan recognises that it is important all women know about the menopause, including perimenopause, and have access to consistent information and care when they seek help with menopause symptoms.

The Scottish Government launched a menopause resource on the NHS Inform Women’s Health Platform in October 2021 to ensure women have access to information on menopause, including the signs and symptoms of perimenopause. The resource includes 11 videos including common myths around the menopause, and personal stories. The resource is accessible in five language translations and an Easy Read version of the content. A British Sign Language translation will be available very shortly.

In addition, a series of webinars on menopause have been taking place in partnership with the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland. Webinars aimed at women and people who experience menopause have been held on menopause myth busting and menopause and the workplace with a third planned for October on menopause and sexual wellbeing. In August 2022, a webinar on menopause and the workplace aimed at employers was also held by Close the Gap, an organisation which seeks to address the causes of women's inequality at work.

One of the key aims in the Women’s Health Plan is to ensure that all women will have access to a healthcare professional with an interest in menopause through primary care, and that in the longer term, we build a basic understanding of menopause, including perimenopause, amongst all healthcare professionals.

The Scottish Government has recently commissioned NHS Education for Scotland to create a bespoke training package and framework focussed on menopause, including perimenopause, and menstrual health for GPs and others working in Primary Care.

The National Records of Scotland published the latest life expectancy statistics on 22 September 2022. The report shows that COVID-19 deaths accounted for the vast majority of the fall in life expectancy in 2020 and 2021, in both men and women. However, there were also some increases in other causes of death, including drug related deaths and deaths due to circulatory problems in men.

The Scottish Government expresses its deepest sympathies to everyone who has lost a loved one as a result of the pandemic.

Following the emergency budget review announced by the First Minister on 11 August 2022, the Scottish Government took the difficult decision not to provide funding for the Scotland’s Winter Festivals Fund in the 2022-23 season. This decision was considered carefully and taken based on the need to focus the Scottish Government’s finite resources in order to mitigate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, where possible.

Round 46 of Event Scotland’s National Events Programme is providing approximately £280,000 for 29 events taking place from September to December 2022 (inclusive). Additionally, over £600,000 has been provided to support 21 events to take place during 2022 through the Year of Stories 2022 Open Events Fund, with 181 community events supported by over £700,000 through the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund, which is funded by the Scottish Government, National Lottery Heritage Fund and Museum Galleries Scotland.

The programme board overseeing delivery of the forthcoming ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste by 2025 is chaired by senior Scottish Government officials and comprises representatives from SEPA, Cosla, Solace and Zero Waste Scotland. Scottish Ministers do not attend meetings of the board, though are regularly updated on its progress.

The programme board has met five times since its inception, on the following dates: 17 March 2021, 08 July 2021, 05 November 2021, 01 June 2022 and 06 September 2022.

There are no Scottish Government staff working within our international offices, who are also employed by the UK Government.

Scottish Government international offices are staffed by Civil Servants and Country Based Staff.

Civil Servants are appointed to represent Scotland in our international offices by a recruitment panel which includes the posts’ line manager. Appointees are recruited from existing Scottish Government roles or from wider UK Government departments.

Country Based Staff are recruited using the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office recruitment processes in each country and are paid for by the Scottish Government. There are currently 17 Country Based Staff employed within our Scottish Government international offices. It is common practice with the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive to recruit country based staff for their overseas offices in the same way.