Chamber and committees

Work on an electrification strategy that sets out our assessment of priorities for a continuation of the rolling programme of electrification from 2019 and beyond is currently on-going. The outcome of this work, including details of plans to electrify the route between Aberdeen and Edinburgh will be announced in due course. The Scottish Government remains committed to a substantial rolling programme of electrification that will bring significant economic, social and environmental benefits, providing Scotland with a sustainable world-class transport system.

The government ensures regular assessments are made by Scottish Futures Trust across all aspects of the Schools for the Future programme to ensure it is delivering high quality, well designed, sustainable schools that deliver value of money for the people of Scotland. By the time the programme is complete in March 2020, approximately 60,000 children and young people will have benefitted from being taught in an improved learning environment.

The Scottish Government is currently working with colleagues in NHS Dumfries and Galloway on their exciting, world leading research in to self-sampling for the HPV virus. That research will be published soon and will form part of our analysis of introducing HPV testing as a first line test in the cervical screening programme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-26096 on 23 June 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Responsibility for uptake within the Scottish Cervical Screening Programme rests with individual health boards. However, the Scottish Government encourages all boards to utilise the information materials available to them in discussing cervical screening with women who have learning difficulties. In particular, the two easy read leaflets in NHS Health Scotland’s ‘Keep Yourself Healthy’ series which deal with cervical screening.

We have also highlighted to board screening co-ordinators the excellent new resources produced by Jo’s Cervical Trust to assist women with learning disabilities in making an informed decision on taking up their invitation to screening.

The Scottish Government is not aware of any particular difficulties regarding the enforcement of orders in Scotland in relation to areas such as financial provision on divorce or dissolution or financial provision after cohabitation comes to an end. If the member wishes to raise any specific concerns, the Scottish Government would be happy to consider the matter further.

Legal aid may be available if a person needs to raise a court action on enforcement. The Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers provides information on the enforcement of civil orders on its website: http://www.smaso.org/images/Information_leaflet_A5.pdf. The Accountancy in Bankruptcy website also has information on debt enforcement:

http://www.aib.gov.uk/debt/owed-money-creditors

Court actions in areas such as financial provision on divorce or dissolution or financial provision after cohabitation comes to an end are private actions between the parties. It is not for the Scottish Government to enforce orders in these areas.

This consultation is by the Law Commission for England and Wales and relates to the law in England and Wales. As a result, the Scottish Government has not made a submission to the consultation. The Scottish Government will write to the Law Commission for England and Wales asking to be kept in touch on any proposals which might impact on Scotland.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to providing the people of Scotland with the NHS Services which meet their needs and maintain high standards of care. It expects all NHS Scotland boards to have the right person in place at the right time to ensure they can provide safe, effective and high quality care for their patients.

Similarly it falls to each NHS Scotland board, including NHS Grampian, to ensure sufficient numbers of the right staff are providing high quality services to their communities by applying effective, consistent and enlightened recruitment policies which apply to local circumstances.

Where there are indications that medical services are likely to be affected by any change in local circumstances, it also falls to each individual NHS board to take such action as is necessary to preserve sustainability of services, within the available budget.