Chamber and committees

There is weekly dialogue with Serco NorthLink Ferries (SNF) and Transport Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, including full discussions when there are concerns on Covid-19 operational issues or guidance has changed.

Due to Maritime Law SNF capture passenger details and engage with relevant health authorities to assist in the track and trace process. This robust protocol is not unique to Covid-19, but has been used with other health related issues in the past.

All SNF staff have been encouraged, as have our passengers to download the NHS Scotland Protect App. Regular briefings reinforce both FACTS message and the benefit to society of using the track, trace and isolate protocols. Risk Assessments for all staff are regularly reviewed and Covid-19 specific communication chains are in place both on board and ashore.

To date the Scottish Government has provided additional funding of £7.5m to Serco NorthLink Ferries in order to enable the operator to respond to the financial pressures arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

This additional funding allows Serco NorthLink Ferries to cover costs in the face of depressed passenger revenues as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions and reduced capacity on their lifeline services.

There is no further forecast impact on the yearly contractual subsidy levels in (a) 2012-20 and (b) current contract for Northern Isles Ferry Services.

Since the Aluminium Smelter at Kinlochleven ceased production in June 2000, Kinlochleven Hydro Power Station has supplied all its electrical generation output to the National Grid. Kinlochleven Hydro Power Station does not supply power directly to the Lochaber Aluminium Smelter at Fort William, which has its own separate hydro-electric power station and grid connection.

We do not believe the long-term lease agreement between Simec Lochaber Hydropower (part of the GFG Alliance) and Equitix has any bearing on the Lochaber Aluminium Smelter given the separation between the two facilities.

Scottish Government Directorates do not routinely record separately how much staff time and resources they have allocated to individual tasks, and it is therefore not possible to accurately calculate the cost of dealing with Pentland Ferries’ complaints in the way the member has requested.

The European Commission has confirmed that it does not require the Scottish Government to provide any further information in relation to the complaint.

The Scottish Government is in regular dialogue with the UK Government on a range of matters relating to Brexit, including the future application of procurement and State aid rules. However, at this time, despite the fact that the EU Withdrawal Transition period ends on 31 st December 2020 and despite repeated requests for certainty, there is still no clarity as to what the future State Aid environment will look like in 2021 and beyond.

Clearly, we will need to assess the extent to which the Teckal exemption and State aid rules will apply to the case for a potential direct award to an in-house operator when it is clear what State Aid regime will apply. As the member will also be aware, we also have grave concerns regarding the UK Government’s Internal Market Bill and its implications for devolved competencies, including in respect of State Aid related matters.

Transport Scotland expenditure over £25,000 is published on a monthly basis and can be accessed on the Transport Scotland website.

During the period of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, for the delivery of essential ferry services particularly for support of patient in vehicle ambulance transfers, £196,212 has been paid to Pentland Ferries (for services between Gills Bay and St Margaret’s Hope) and £214,492 has been paid to Western Ferries (Clyde) Limited (for services between Gourock and Dunoon).

The European Commission has confirmed that it does not consider the public subsidy for the Northern Isles Ferry Services to constitute unlawful State aid. The Commission has also confirmed that it does not require the Scottish Government to provide any further information in relation to the complaint.

The Commission’s view accords with that of the Scottish Courts when the matter was considered under Judicial Review.

As State aid complaints are a confidential matter between the European Commission and the complainant, the Scottish Government would breach that confidentiality by disclosing any correspondence it may hold on Pentland Ferries’ State aid complaint.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-32968 on 11 November 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 provides policies, frameworks and resources to NHS Boards so they can deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations. Within this context, NHS Boards plan, budget for and deliver the services required to meet the assessed needs of their resident populations.

The Programme for Government 2020/21 commits to developing and improving the current Scottish Model for Chronic Pain, and to publish a new Framework for Chronic Pain Service Delivery in 2021. This will include building on work that was underway prior to the COVID pandemic to understand the career pathways, workforce needs and planning for pain clinics.

The Framework will also take forward a number of the recommendations of the Scottish Access Collaborative report on chronic pain. As recognised in the report, there is a need to address workforce resourcing and training to ensure a sustainable supply and retention of healthcare professionals in chronic pain services in Scotland.

On 24 September the Scottish Government published a Recovery Framework for Pain Management which set out clearly that pain management services should be considered essential in NHS Health Board remobilisation planning. The Scottish Government has consistently made clear that we will provide the necessary funding across health and care services to recognise the additional costs of responding to COVID-19 and to ensure that patient safety remains the top priority at all times. On 29 September the Scottish Government confirmed additional funding of £1.1 billion across NHS Boards and Social Care Partnerships to help them meet COVID-19 related costs and remobilisation of services.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has set up a Short Life Working Group to consider the evidence surrounding the efficacy of “air cleaning” devices. They had their first meeting at the end of October 2020, but at this point there is no indication as to how long it will take them to arrive at any conclusions or to decide if they can be used in a healthcare setting.