Chamber and committees

Transport Scotland officials meet regularly with Freightliner and have spoken recently to Freightliner’s CEO who has confirmed that Freightliner does not have plans to close the Coatbridge rail freight terminal. Whilst there has been no formal discussion on this topic with Genesee & Wyoming Inc, Transport Scotland officials have also spoken with the RMT to listen to their concerns.

Rail services are vital to achieve our emissions reductions targets and freight model shift to rail has significant and sustainable environmental benefits. For these reasons we continue to invest in Scotland’s railways, will soon publish our rail decarbonisation action plan, have retained capital and revenue freight modal shift grants in Scotland, and have a dedicated £25 million Scottish Strategic Rail Freight Fund. One of the projects the Fund will support is infrastructure enhancements to allow longer trains at the Coatbridge rail freight terminal .

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-27158 on 20 February 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The Scottish Government’s £25 million Scottish Strategic Rail Freight Fund complements our wider spend on rail and is helping to unlock opportunities for rail freight across the country. One of the projects the Fund will support is infrastructure enhancements to allow longer trains at the Coatbridge rail freight terminal .

Transport Scotland officials meet regularly with Freightliner and have spoken recently to Freightliner’s CEO who has advised that Freightliner has no plans to close the Coatbridge rail freight terminal.

Our approach to supporting rail freight is outlined in our rail freight strategy of 2016, strengthened by new Network Rail targets to grow rail freight and backed by past and current investment including a £25 million Scottish Strategic Rail Freight Fund and our mode shift grant schemes. Considerable partnership activity taken forward since 2016 has produced tangible results with new rail freight projects across Scotland.

Throughout the development of the Draft Respiratory Care Action Plan (Plan) for Scotland, we have engaged with stakeholders across the respiratory community and third sector, including the British Lung Foundation and Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, to ensure that the patient voice was heard.

The draft Plan sets out our commitments for driving improvements in the diagnosis, care, treatment and support of people living with respiratory conditions, including those living with asthma in Scotland.

We want to hear experiences, good and bad, and learn more about what we could do differently, and what we must do better to make the difference people need which us why we will continue to engage with stakeholders throughout the consultation period. We would encourage as many people as possible to respond. in order to help develop and shape the final Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office (CSO) provides funding opportunities for applied health and social care research in Scotland, which includes research on gender differences in asthma, through CSO’s open competitive grant schemes and similar schemes run by the National Institute for Health Research. The quality of applications to these schemes is assessed through independent expert peer review with funding recommendations made by independent expert committees. CSO also funds the NHS Research Scotland Respiratory Research Specialty Group, which facilitates the set up and conduct of clinical studies on respiratory diseases such as asthma.

CSO has funded one study through its grant schemes relating to asthma effects in women. This was a systematic review of the scientific evidence on the role of sex steroid hormones for the prevention of asthma and allergy in women. A summary of this study is at: https://www.cso.scot.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/Focus-on-Research-CZH-4-1083.pdf .

We would encourage as many people as possible to take part in the consultation on our draft Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland. We want to ensure that there is wide support for our commitments to drive improvement in care of respiratory conditions such as asthma and encourage as many people as possible to respond to the consultation in order that they can share their views. The consultation also affords an opportunity to seek views on whether there is an imbalance in the number of women and men affected.

We want to hear experiences, good and bad, and learn about what we could do differently, and what we must do better to make the difference people need.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the best possible care and support is in place for everyone living with a respiratory condition regardless of gender and this includes asthma.

Over the past few years we have co-funded work with Asthma UK as part of a joint call to explore innovative applications of digital and technology in asthma treatment. Through the Chief Scientist Office, we have approximately £3.8 million of funding currently committed for research into respiratory diseases, including asthma.

The CSO has funded a study through its grant schemes relating to asthma effects in women. This was a systematic review of the scientific evidence on the role of sex steroid hormones for the prevention of asthma and allergy in women. A summary of this study is at: https://www.cso.scot.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/Focus-on-Research-CZH-4-1083.pdf .

However, we know more can be done to make sure that everyone living with a respiratory condition is able to access the care and support they need, which is why we are currently seeking views on our new Respiratory Care Action Plan (Plan) for Scotland.

The draft Plan sets out our commitments for driving improvements in the diagnosis, care, treatment and support of people living with respiratory conditions, including those living with asthma in Scotland. We want to ensure that there is wide support for our commitments to drive improvement in care of respiratory conditions such as asthma and encourage as many people as possible to respond to the consultation in order that they can share their views. The consultation also affords an opportunity to seek views on whether there is an imbalance in the number of women and men affected.

We want to hear experiences, good and bad, and learn about what we could do differently, and what we must do better to make the difference people need.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the best possible care and support is in place for everyone living with a respiratory condition regardless of gender and this includes asthma.

Over the past few years we have co-funded work with Asthma UK as part of a joint call to explore innovative applications of digital and technology in asthma treatment. Through the Chief Scientist Office, we have approximately £3.8 million of funding currently committed for research into respiratory diseases, including asthma.

The CSO has funded a study through its grant schemes relating to asthma effects in women. This was a systematic review of the scientific evidence on the role of sex steroid hormones for the prevention of asthma and allergy in women. A summary of this study is at: https://www.cso.scot.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/Focus-on-Research-CZH-4-1083.pdf .

However, we know more can be done to make sure that everyone living with a respiratory condition is able to access the care and support they need, which is why we are currently seeking views on our new Respiratory Care Action Plan (Plan) for Scotland (the Plan).

The draft Plan sets out our commitments for driving improvements in the diagnosis, care, treatment and support of people living with respiratory conditions, including those living with asthma in Scotland. We want to ensure that there is wide support for our commitments to drive improvement in care of respiratory conditions such as asthma and encourage as many people as possible to respond to the consultation in order that they can share their views. The consultation also affords an opportunity to seek views on whether there is an imbalance in the number of women and men affected.

We want to hear experiences, good and bad, and learn about what we could do differently, and what we must do better to make the difference people need .