Chamber and committees

The evidence review of muirburn being carried out by SAC is currently going through NatureScot’s Quality Assurance Process and they will publish the final review shortly once this process has been completed.

Both the work on developing the Islands Bond, and undertaking the Islands Bond consultation process were led by the Scottish Government’s Islands Team as part of their overall work to support our islands.

Additional input was sought from other policy areas as needed.

We welcome the industry-led, UK-wide Hospitality Rising recruitment campaign as an important initiative to help attract more people into the sector.

The Scottish Government recognises the acute challenges for the sector posed by the current labour shortages which have been exacerbated by a combination of Brexit and the pandemic.

Hospitality is vital to Scotland's economy and people are key to its success. While there is no action planned to support this specific campaign, we are committed to working with the sector to find solutions.

To date this has included funding for a campaign to encourage more people to consider a career in tourism and hospitality branded ‘do what you love’, in partnership with industry in 2021. We are considering how to build on this initiative, alongside the continuation of longer-term work to improve conditions and promote fair work to make it more attractive to potential employees. We continue to work with the sector cooperatively, to address these challenges.

We are greatly concerned by reports of children and under-age young people obtaining vaping products.

There is an increase in reports from schools, stakeholders and the media of young people vaping. Initial findings from the Growing Up in Scotland study for 2019-20 when participants were 14 years old suggest that 21.5% had vaped, which is of concern.

The Scottish Government has a precautionary approach to vapes. Vapes and other nicotine products are part of a range of cessation tools available to existing smokers to help stop tobacco use. They should not be used by non-smokers, in particular by children and young people. They should not been used or promoted as a lifestyle accessory.

Our recent Vaping consultation, which closed at the end of April, sought views on tightening rules on advertising and promoting vaping products. The results of this consultation will be published soon and will inform our Tobacco Action Plan refresh.

We are working with a range of stakeholders to ensure that our Tobacco Action Plan discourages and reduces the use and visibility of vaping products by all non-smokers, including children and young people.

The Scottish Government does not hold the details of ScotRail expenditure broken down by the categories you have requested.

The Scottish Government budget for Rail Passenger Services, which covers both ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper, has been published as :

2016  £266m

2017  £311m

2018  £183m

2019  £150m

2020  £239m

2021  £370m

2022  £407m

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10385 on 20 September 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 does not hold information on the reasons why people are reportedly using private healthcare.

However, we recognise that addressing the effects of the pandemic has inevitably disrupted the NHS’s ability to carry out routine procedures, meaning longer waits for many patients. We are resuming services as quickly and as safely as possible, while patients who need urgent care, including cancer treatment, are being prioritised.

We recognise the impact long waiting times can have on patients. That is why we have introduced a new set of ambitious targets for NHS Scotland to address the backlog of planned care. Key targets are to eliminate:

• Two-year waits for outpatients in most specialities by the end of August 2022
• 18-month waits for outpatients in most specialities by the end of December 2022
• One-year waits for outpatients in most specialities by the end of March 2023
• Two-year waits for inpatient / daycases in most specialities by the end of September 2022
• 18-month waits for inpatient / daycases in most specialities by the end of September 2023
• One-year waits for inpatient / daycases in most specialities by the end of September 2024

We are working with NHS Boards to maximise capacity to meet these targets and have increased the flexibility Health Boards and clinicians have to manage waiting lists, with a focus on eliminating long waits, as well as continuing to treat the most clinically urgent patients.

The Scottish Government remain absolutely committed to keeping our NHS true to its founding principles – publicly-owned, publicly-operated, and free at the point of need.

The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) is scheduled for completion and publication later this year.

The cost of the analysis was £18,240.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07387 on 30 March 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

This includes the funding provided to the Home Energy Scotland Advice Service in each year of operation. In each of the years listed Home Energy Scotland has fully used the allocated budget. Please note spend covers the main Home Energy Scotland funding relating to advice delivery cost.

A Home Energy Scotland advisor supporting an inbound enquiry from a new “unique” household will result in multiple separate advice interactions with that enquirer. Advisors also field calls from multiple different types of clients, including potentially fuel-poor clients. It is not feasible therefore to split the cost of delivering advice into the separate parameters requested.