Chamber and committees

The cost to purchase Hassockrigg Ecopark in Shotts was £4,920,000.

Openness and transparency of vaccination programmes is essential to building trust with the public and easy access to uptake data is an important aspect of this.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) will release the first COVID-19 and Seasonal Flu Vaccination public uptake data on 24 October 2024 via PHS Vaccination Surveillance (shinyapps.io). It will provide uptake for Covid-19, adult flu and child flu, as well as total uptake by Health Board for each of the eligible cohorts (in line with eligibility recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI)).

Uptake data will be updated every Thursday, until December, at which point reporting will move to monthly. The shift to monthly data is because the vast majority of vaccinations will be completed before the festive break and historically the numbers vaccinated in January, February and March are negligible and therefore do not require weekly updates. At a later point in the winter, uptake data broken down by ethnicity, SIMD and urban/rural will also become available.

The Scottish Government understands that some members of the public may require support in order to attend a vaccine appointment. The Scottish Government funds the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) for mobile vaccination units to reach remote and rural communities, recognising the challenge some may experience in traveling to clinics. Health Boards have been asked to plan their vaccine clinics with their local communities in mind, making them as accessible as possible. It is for Boards to decide where they deploy the SAS offer within their own area, utilising their own local knowledge and data. Information on local travel support available can be found here.

Management of the NHS clinical waste contract is a matter for Health Boards, and management of the NHS’s relationship with the clinical waste contractor is a matter for NHS National Services Scotland’s National Procurement and Logistics Service. According to information published by NHS National Services Scotland, around 3000 to 4000 tonnes of clinical waste were shipped to England / Wales annually between 2018-19 and 2021-22. This publication is available at: https://www.nss.nhs.scot/publications/foi-000270-clinical-medical-waste-shipped-to-england-and-europe/foi-000270-clinical-medical-waste-shipped-to-england-and-europe-html/

In 2023/24, Health Boards reported 7,833 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) of greenhouse gas emissions from waste disposal (both general and clinical waste). This made up 1.4% of total NHS reported emissions. This information is published through the Annual NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability Report - Annual NHS Scotland Climate Emergency & Sustainability Report 2024 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy 2022-2026 sets out the Scottish Government’s plans to help reduce carbon emissions from clinical waste in NHS Scotland. This publication is available at: NHS Scotland climate emergency and sustainability strategy: 2022-2026 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Specifically, the strategy sets out that each Health Board should set appropriate targets for reducing the volume of clinical waste it produces through measures including; greater use of reusable items, improvements to waste segregation and increased recycling of recyclable materials. The Scottish Government will review the need for a national target for clinical waste reduction.

In addition, the strategy requires that Health Board waste management officers ensure that arrangements are in place for the safe treatment and disposal of all waste streams. The Scottish Government supports Health Boards with their net zero commitments and monitors progress towards these targets.

This is a matter for NHS National Services Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government is working with Public Health Scotland to review options in relation to collecting data on secondary breast cancer in Scotland. This includes consideration of the NHS England audit, data available in Scotland, clinical time required, other cancer data priorities and how it can be used to improve services. We are aiming to agree the best method of data collection by the end of the current Cancer Action Plan in March 2026.

Hassockrigg Ecopark is currently not operating as a waste processing plant. NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) are carrying out essential works on the site to allow the site to operate as an NHS Scotland waste resilience plant. The site has a license and NSS are currently in a process of application for the license to be transferred under the control of NSS.

Yellow Stream Waste, which makes up less than 20% of clinical waste in Scotland, requires High Temperature Incineration (HTI). There are no healthcare waste HTI disposal facilities in Scotland.

These projects have been classed as referral projects in the Strategic Investment Model process and have been referred to their local enterprise agency to continue discussions on ways in which the projects can be supported. Full details about the route forward for each of the project categories are available online: Full SIM Stage 2 List published | Offshore Wind Scotland.

While the Scottish Government supports the industry-led Strategic Investment Model, the decision to prioritise projects for investment through the Strategic Investment Model was made by industry – not the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government does not currently hold overall figures relating to employment outcomes or job creation as a result of our funded programmes. We are currently commissioning an independent evaluation which will help to determine this and the impact of the Fund to date, in due course.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials regularly meet with industry stakeholders, including OEUK to discuss their ongoing employment and training initiatives. The First Minister and I met with David Whitehouse, CEO of OEUK on 30 September 2024. The Scottish Government is working with the energy sector to plan for a multi-skilled workforce to ensure a fair and just transition for Scotland’s highly skilled offshore workers.