Chamber and committees

Scottish Government guidance, which has been in place since 2011 to assist public bodies in complying with their statutory climate change duties under the Climate Change Scotland Act 2009, says that business travel policies can lead to a reduction in emissions and that public bodies should seek to put in place a travel plan for business travel, travel by staff to and from work, and travel by visitors to and from the service provided and to reduce emissions associated with staff travel by using more sustainable modes of transport and travelling less frequently. The guidance has a specific section on transport with suggestions on how public bodies can reduce their operational emissions or influence wider emissions reduction from the transport sector.

Agencies set their own travel policy for undertaking domestic and international air travel.

All core Scottish Government staff must follow the sustainable travel policy to choose the most efficient form of transport.

The following guidance is published on the Scottish Government’s internal intranet page:-

Domestic flights

Air travel within the mainland United Kingdom should only be made with Director level (or above) approval.

Last minute bookings should be avoided. In exceptional circumstances, or where the Director is not available, retrospective Director level approval can be sought. However, before bookings are made you should discuss it with your line manager and inform your Director’s office of your intentions.

Travel to London

Sustainable Scotland’s “Doing their Duty” report published in 2013 states that Public Bodies should put in place robust travel policies that rule out air travel, except in exceptional circumstances, for travel between the Scottish Central Belt and London.

Therefore, the presumed method of travel for staff going to London on official business is rail. Staff who intend to fly to London must obtain Director level authorisation. The journey time from central Edinburgh or Glasgow to central London by train is around 4 hours 40 minutes which is comparable with the equivalent journey by air. The SG’s Travel Agent can provide more detailed information on fares and ticket types.

The Scottish Government has not issued guidance to its agencies on offsetting air travel emissions.

Offsetting and the use of established carbon market mechanisms are one way of mobilising private finance towards much needed investment in natural assets such as forestry and peatland restoration.

The Scottish Government’s position on offsetting is that it can be an important means of mobilising private investment into projects as long as offsetting projects for carbon credits are in addition to action to reduce emissions, rather than instead of it. Any offsetting projects should also use credits verified according to the highest available standard (the Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code).

The following guidance is published on the Scottish Government’s internal intranet page:-

Carbon emissions levy

The carbon emissions levy aims to compensate for the carbon that our business travel generates. It raises funds that are put into projects that will remove the same amount of carbon from the atmosphere. Typical examples might be forestry or alternative power generation, either overseas or within Scotland.

The carbon emissions levy is applied to all journeys undertaken by air as follows:

Domestic – £5 per journey

European – £6 per journey

International – £15 per journey

The Scottish Government has not issued guidance to its agencies on the use by officials of business or first-class travel for international flights.

Agencies set their own policy on the use of business or first-class travel for international flights.

The following guidance is published on the Scottish Government’s internal intranet page:-

Class of Travel

The class of air travel is governed by the airline’s fare structures on the various routes, the level of the officer travelling, and the duration of the flight. The table below sets out entitlements. Countersigning Officers may however exercise discretion.

The Scottish Government has not issued guidance to its agencies on the use of air travel loyalty schemes by officials engaged in frequent air travel.

Agencies set their own policy on the use of air travel loyalty schemes.

The following guidance is published on the Scottish Government’s internal intranet page:-

Frequent flier schemes

These schemes offer benefits to regular travellers, e.g. the use of special lounges. However, they should be used sparingly and not for personal gain. Air miles may be donated to a charity of the travel operator's choice.

The total spend to date on vessels 801 and 802 is approximately £112 million. This includes the direct costs of designing and building the vessels as well as the costs associated with nationalising Ferguson Marine.

With regards to estimated cost to completion, we await a revised schedule and cost which takes into account the impact of Covid-19.

The Scottish Government does not centrally collect information or data relating to the use of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) forms.

As with all other clinical treatments, decisions about CPR should be based on the individual clinical circumstances and wishes of the patient, recorded appropriately and updated when medical circumstances change. This recording is done in hard copy on a DNACPR form, the existence of which is then recorded on an individual’s Key Information Summary. Such information is only shared for the purposes of direct care and is therefore not centrally collected.

Public Health Scotland advise that this data is not available retrospectively as requested. Public Health Scotland has started development work to link the delayed discharge and testing datasets, which will provide this information from March 2020 onwards, for the small cohort of patients who experience a delay.

Public Health Scotland is also working towards improving data on the discharge destination of all future hospital discharges.

Mobile Testing Units have been made available in Helensburgh on 27 & 28 July and Port Glasgow ( 5.5 miles away from Dumbarton) – 27 July to 2 August. Alternatively, Home test kits are available through the UK Expanded Testing Programme and can be booked via the UK online digital portal, and are an option where people seeking a test are unable to attend a fixed drive-through centre or mobile testing unit.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-30803 on 5 August 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 can confirm that the position of turnaround director at Ferguson Marine has not changed.