Chamber and committees

There is not now and nor ever has been any specific budgetary provision for restoration of open cast coal sites.

I established a cross-party taskforce to address the situation and also helped to create the Scottish Mines Restorations Trust, an independent charitable trust to assist local authorities in the restoration of these sites. Plans for the restoration of sites are a matter for agreement between the local authority and the operator. The councils are ‘calling’ the outstanding bonds to drive the programme of restoration forward; steady progress is being made in every council area affected and restoration is underway in Dumfries and Galloway, Fife, South Lanarkshire and East Ayrshire. Restoration takes time, the sites are complex and all parties are working together constructively to move sites forward on a case by case basis often producing fresh and innovative approaches to the restoration of sites. I wrote to the UK Government on 17 September 2013 and again on 20 November 2013 requesting that over £15 million royalties collected by the UK Coal Authority for coal produced in Scotland be made available now to help fund the restoration of legacy open cast sites across Scotland. No substantive reply has yet been received. We are continuing to pursue this line of enquiry with the UK Government.

The analysis in Scotland’s Future assumed that Scottish GDP in 2016-17, including a geographical share of North Sea output, was between £170 billion and £175 billion in cash terms. This was estimated by separately projecting forward Scottish onshore and offshore GDP.

Updated projections of Scottish GDP were incorporated into the Scottish Government report ‘Outlook for Scotland’s public finances and the opportunities of independence’ to reflect the latest outturn figures for Scottish GDP, analysis in the May 2014 Oil and Gas Analytical Bulletin and the improved economic outlook since the publication of Scotland’s Future.

Clinical genetic services and diagnostic genetic testing for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency are available through the regional genetic centres in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. There is equitable access to these services, and they are quality assured and monitored nationally.

Treatment for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency in children resident in Scotland is commissioned nationally by the National Services Division of NHS National Services Scotland, from the three UK specialist centres for specialist paediatric liver disease in London, Birmingham and Leeds; and for adults from the Royal Free Hospital in London. These are all recognised as the specialist centres for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. There is equitable access to these services, which are funded nationally and they are quality assured through the NSD specialist commissioning team.

Information on Scottish access to these services by NHS board is not held centrally as the total number of referrals for treatment each year is less than 10 and the numbers for individual boards is two or less.

In Scotland highly specialised health services are commissioned through the National Services Division of NHS National Services Scotland. Highly specialised services needed by residents of Scotland are provided in Scotland or England and in very rare cases, abroad.

Applications for designation to become a nationally commissioned service in Scotland are considered by the National Specialist Services Committee (NSSC) which is currently chaired by the chair of the NHS board chief executive group and which comprises representatives of each territorial NHS board in Scotland.

NSSC’s decisions are informed through a robust advisory structure, co-ordinated by the National Professional Patient and Public Reference Group which draws on expertise from existing professional, patient and public groups.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-21181 on 2 June 2014. 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

There is no national or NHS board data gathered on the number of people with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.

Information has been gathered by National Services Scotland through the Practice Team Information programme which can provide estimates of the conditions recorded as the focus of a GP consultation. However, estimates from this programme for conditions where incident rates are known to be small are considered to be unreliable and are therefore not published.

This government is committed to consult with others to develop options for a fairer and more progressive local tax later in this Parliament. All potential alternative approaches that met this criteria will be considered as this work is progressed.

This Government is committed to consult with others to develop options for a fairer and more progressive local tax, based on the ability to pay, later in this Parliament. All potential alternative proposals that meet the criteria will be considered.

The Scottish Government will consult with others to produce a fairer local tax based on ability to pay later in this Parliament.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20904 on 8 May 2014. 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.