Chamber and committees

The average public sector spending on transport in Scotland is estimated to have been £682 per person in 2019-20 compared to £487 in England and £398 in Wales. This is based on HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis 2021 and ONS Mid-Year Population Estimates for 2020.

In terms of personal spending on transport, average weekly household expenditure in Scotland on transport and vehicles in 2018-20 was £75.30. This compares to £84.00 in England and £78.10 in Wales. This is based on ONS data on household expenditure by country and region.

This information is currently not held by Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government welcomes the work of the European Stroke Organisation and agree that it is vital to ensure improvements are made to stroke pathways and services, including prevention, treatment and care.

Through our Programme for Government commitments and the Stroke Improvement Plan, we are already reflecting the aims of the European Stroke Organisation’s appeal targets.

We are supporting the National Advisory Committee on Stroke to develop a progressive stroke pathway document which will set out the vision of what stroke services across Scotland should deliver across the whole patient pathway, including access to stroke rehabilitation, and access to support for people who have experienced a stroke. However, at this time, the Scottish Government does not have plans to use the tracker. The Scottish Stroke Care Audit will continue to track our progress against the Scottish stroke care standards.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07181 on 24 March 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The Scottish Government works in partnership with the Care Inspectorate, which maintains information on the operating status of social care services including day services. Decisions regarding access to day services are made at a local level by the relevant Health and Social Care Partnership, in line with Covid-19 Guidance issued by the Scottish Government. Services should undertake a risk assessment prior to re-opening, involving the Local Authority, Health Protection Support Teams and the Care Inspectorate. The Scottish Government is in regular contact with HSCPs and Local Authorities and encourages them to open services in line with Covid-19 Guidance where possible.

The Scotland’s Census 2022 contact centre experienced high volumes of calls in its first few days of operation and we are aware that some callers have experienced longer than average wait times at peak points during the day. National Records of Scotland apologise for any frustration this may have caused.

Callers to the Freephone helpline (0800 030 8308) are advised at the start of the call of current wait times and therefore have the opportunity to phone back at a less busy time. An automated option (option 1) is also provided for those wishing to order a paper form. This involves no wait time.

Additional resources have been placed into the contact centre to deal with periods of peak activity. Contact can also be made with the census team via web chat, e-mail or physical correspondence. Contact details can be found here: Contact us | Scotland's Census 2022 . Help and advice on a range of topics is also provided at www.census.gov.scot .

These changes continue to have had a positive impact, with general reductions in the average wait times in week 2 and beyond. There is ongoing active monitoring and management of the position to ensure that those that need help are able to speak to an agent.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07181 on 24 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 .

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Team have reported on a 12 hour Standard for brain imaging since the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme National Report (2020). Prior to this, the standard had been within 24 hours. This change in Stroke Standard was in response to a change in the evidence base, with some new treatment regimes being shown to improve outcome when initiated within 12 hours of stroke onset.

Some cases of stroke are time critical emergencies and should be scanned immediately, for instance those patients requiring hyperacute interventions such as thrombolysis and thrombectomy. These specific cases have their own stroke standards on door-to-needle times which ensure that processes are audited and service improvement packages are put in place.

Despite the promised £290 million from the UK Government not turning out to be net additional funding, given the offsetting reductions they applied to their prior funding estimates, the Scottish Government during the Budget Bill Stage 3 debate on 10 February, detailed additional support worth around £290 million for our cost of living response. £150 is being provided to everyone in receipt of Council Tax Reduction, and to everyone in council tax bands A to D, as well as certain households exempt from council tax. This is worth around £280 million, plus £10 million to continue our Fuel Insecurity Fund.

The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 provides local authorities with a discretionary power to set up workplace parking licensing (WPL) schemes. It will be for local authorities to decide whether to implement a WPL scheme in their local area, and to make decisions on how their local scheme will operate.

If implemented by local authorities, the WPL charge will be levied on employers and it will be a matter for employers, including the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament to decide whether they pass the cost of schemes onto employees. However, no specific workplace parking licensing schemes have yet been proposed.