Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government believes that the independent contractor model of general practice is the model preferred by most GPs and is committed to maintaining it to ensure general practice remains an attractive profession (the BMA’s “The future of general practice” survey 2015 found that 82% of GPs supported maintaining the status quo).

It is for Health Boards to decide who to contract with to provide primary medical services, making use of such resources as the Health and Care Experience Survey which provides an indication of satisfaction rates across a range of local services, including GP practices, in Scotland as they do so.

There are two principal types of carbon in marine carbon habitats: organic carbon (can be digested by microbes and hence converted back to CO ₂ - approximately 15%), and inorganic carbon (microbially indigestible and chemically stable shell and coral - approximately 85%).

Estimates of carbon stored in the marine environment have large uncertainties due to incomplete mapping of habitats, sparse direct measurements and assumptions used in predictive modelling. The uncertainties result in estimated values being updated as new data becomes available meaning there are no definitive values, only best current estimates.

The current best estimate of carbon stored in Scotland’s marine environment is 5,616,100,000 tonnes CO ₂ -eq..

Details are set out in the following table:

Current estimates of carbon stored / sequestered in Scotland’s marine environment

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12095 on
‎ 24 November 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

CMAL previously advised that achieving the deadweight as per the contract was a risk. However Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow now has a better weight prediction for the vessels. Speed prediction was measured at model tests and sea trials are planned for April 2023. Fuel consumption was measured at the engine factory acceptance test and according to specification.

An interim inclining test of MV Glen Sannox is planned for late January 2023, with the full inclining test and sea trials scheduled for April 2023. Inclining tests for hull 802 will take place in 2023 with sea trials scheduled for early 2024. The test results are part of the handover documentation to verify compliance.

The right to peaceful assembly and protest is a right that we all have and the Scottish Government wants to encourage the exercise of that right wherever possible. While it is not an absolute right - and conditions and prohibitions can be imposed where required and in the interests of a democratic society - the Scottish Government is clear that it should not be dependent on the ability to pay.

For each march or parade, local authorities and their partners, including Police Scotland and Transport Scotland (where the event is to take place on a trunk road), will consider traffic management issues and the various powers available to the agencies involved to regulate traffic, including Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs).

In their report, published on 2 November 2022, the Independent Short-Life Working Group on Facilitating Peaceful Assembly in Scotland has made a range of recommendations including on traffic management issues as they relate to assembly. The Scottish Government will work with partners to consider these recommendations, including those on costs, in due course.

Due to issues with global supply chains Ministers are advised the process may take of the order of 36 weeks.

Ministers are seeking urgent options on the next steps and expect all possible measures to be taken to deliver the vessel to serve islanders as soon as possible.

Officials will continue to engage with Ferguson Marine as they assess the full impact of this with partners, including any financial implications which Ferguson Marine will share with both the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament once this has been confirmed. This engagement is ongoing.

As I stated in Parliament in May, community hospitals form an integral part of local health-care delivery systems, providing care closer to people’s homes which is personalised, holistic and patient-centred.

In April 2020, following the emergence of the COVID Pandemic all areas developed surge plans. As part of this surge planning Dumfries and Galloway command and control took the decision to temporarily close 4 cottage hospital in-patients facilities to allow for surge. It also allowed the partnership to support more people at home, which we knew was the safest place for their care. Additionally, the partnership opened 18 intermediate care beds in Mountainhall Treatment Centre.

Following the pandemic it is essential that services continue to evolve and develop new ways of working that can keep people safe at home, or in a homely setting for as long as possible. However, decisions regarding the future of local services are best done at a local level, in consultation with the local population who use them.

A clinical refresh of the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer was completed in 2018 with revised clinical guidance published January 2019. The guidelines support primary care clinicians in ensuring those with symptoms suspicious of cancer are put on the right pathway at the right time.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with primary care clinicians across NHS Scotland, including the Scottish Primary Care Cancer Group, to raise awareness of symptoms and best referral practice for all cancer types.

Scotland’s first three Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services are live, providing primary care with a new referral pathway for patients with non-specific symptoms i.e. fatigue, nausea, weight loss – this can often include patients with Haematological cancers. A suite of tests, including blood tests, are undertaken in primary care at the point of referral. The Scottish Government is committed to working towards equitable access to a RCDS across Scotland, for eligible patients.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on emergency presentations.

We are committed to reducing emergency diagnoses for cancer and have established three Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDS) across NHS Scotland, with a further two sites announced by the First Minister on 10 October 2022.

RCDS provide primary care with access to a new referral pathway for patients with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer. The Clinical Leads for two of the Services are Haematologists, reflecting the role that this new model can play in diagnosing blood cancers including leukaemia earlier.

In addition, the Scottish Government will continue to work closely with primary care clinicians, including the Scottish Primary Care Cancer Group, to identify possible symptoms as early as possible and support appropriate referral via the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer.

Work is underway to develop a new earlier diagnosis vision in Scotland - this will form part of the new cancer strategy, due to publish Spring 2023. Measurements such as emergency presentation data, to track progress and improvements, are being considered.