Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-15737 on‎ 10 May 2018. 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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-15737 on ‎10 May 2018. 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 .

Apologies for the delay in responding. I have responded to all seven questions within this response.

The Scottish Government recognises that performance against the four hour A&E target at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh is unacceptable - long delays are not acceptable when not clinically justified. In addition to winter pressures over the last few months, the hospital has and continues to experience unacceptable levels of delayed discharges, which significantly impacts on performance. NHS Lothian has the highest rate of delayed discharges of any mainland health board in Scotland, with Edinburgh City alone having one of the highest rates.

I have made clear to the Board and Integration Authorities that action needs to be taking to avoid on-going delays for patients anywhere in the health system and we are liaising with the Board and partnerships on a regular basis to address this. The Partnership has also recently appointed a new Chief Officer and Deputy so I expect to see improvements soon.

To support improved waiting times for patients attending A&E the health board is putting in place a number of actions, including the redesign of the A&E department to develop a GP assessment unit and ambulatory care unit – the Board will also introduce an observation area for patients expected to stay no longer than eight hours. We will monitor progress against these actions very closely.

As you know, Professor Derek Bell has been carrying out a review of NHS Lothian's A&E departments on behalf of the Academy of Royal Colleges, this followed concerns around the misreporting of A&E statistics at St John's Hospital at the end of last year. Professor Bell has now completed his review and will now present his findings to NHS Lothian. Scottish Government will work closely with the Academy and NHS Lothian to prepare an action plan in response to the review. The review and the agreed action plan will be published in due course. There will be a robust implementation plan put in place, which will be supported by the Scottish Government and the review team, to ensure waiting times performance in the A&E departments improves on a sustainable basis. In terms of additional resources, including funding, this will be determined once the action plan has been agreed.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-15737 on‎ 10 May 2018. 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 is always keen to welcome people to Scotland. As with all our major events, Euro 2020 provides an excellent opportunity to showcase our warm hospitality and inclusive outlook. Planning for the event will ensure that all of our visitors can enjoy both the sport and their time in Scotland in a safe and friendly environment.

Our welcoming approach is supported by Scotland Is Now, our new collaboration with VisitScotland, Scottish Development International and Universities Scotland, which I was pleased to help launch recently. Scotland Is Now will build a unified brand to market Scotland internationally, encouraging people to live, work, study, visit and invest here.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-15424 on 18 April 2018. The Scottish Government is working with the UK Government to understand the impact on households across the income distribution of the combined income tax and UC policies before deciding what action, if any, is taken. 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 UK Government has confirmed that Carer’s Allowance Supplement will be taxable.

As set out in our responses to S5W-14498 and S5W-15050 on 23 March 2018, the legal definition of income for tax purposes remains reserved to the UK Government and legislation related to this is a matter for the UK Government. This was agreed by the Smith Commission and is set out at paragraphs 75-77 of the Smith Commission report. 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 .

HMRC are responsible for operating Scottish income tax which includes the collection of data of Scottish taxpayers. We are in discussions with HMRC regarding this data. However, work by Scottish Government analysts indicates that only a small number of people who will receive Carer’s Allowance Supplement would be taxed on their income.

This analysis, using Family Resources Survey (FRS) data, suggests it is unlikely that Carer’s Allowance recipients in employment would be subject to tax because of the earnings threshold which applies to Carer’s Allowance. With the increase through Carer’s Allowance Supplement, a carer would have to have weekly taxable income (in addition to Carer’s Allowance) of £154 before they had to begin paying income tax – and the earnings threshold for Carer’s Allowance is set at £120 per week for 2018-19.

It also indicates that individuals required to pay income tax while in receipt of Carer's Allowance may be those with non-work income, such as an occupational pension, or those who give up employment part way through a year to take on a caring role.

I enclose a list of the grant awards for the Sexual Health and Bloodborne Virus Framework Third Sector Funding Programme, payable over the financial years 2018-19 to 2020-21 . The list has been published on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Health/Services/Sexual-Health/SHBBV-Grants .

As a general principle, home owners are responsible for the costs of on-going work needed to protect and preserve their own property. As with other housing standards, it will be the responsibility of the homeowner, or landlord if the property is rented, to meet the new fire and smoke alarm standard. Local authorities have broad discretionary powers to provide advice and assistance to home owners with work needed to look after their homes.