Chamber and committees

The investigation and prosecution of crime are operational matters for Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service respectively.

In any given case, sentencing is a matter for the court within the overall legal framework.

The law in relation to careless driving and dangerous driving is not devolved to Scotland and the UK Government has recently published a consultation seeking views on enhancing the powers of the court when sentencing for serious driving offences.

The Scottish Sentencing Council has included within its recently published business plan their intention to consider dangerous driving. The Council's business plan period runs until October 2018.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that Edinburgh and its region plays in the national economy and that the A720 plays in the strategic transport network. Transport Scotland is continuing to invest in work to identify how best to mitigate congestion on the A720.

I refer the Member to the answers provided for S5W-03082 and S5W-03084 on 6 October 2016 for further information on Transport Scotland’s on-going investment in localised improvements on this route in 2016/17.

Transport Scotland maintain a range of traffic forecasts on all trunk roads in Scotland using the national transport model, the Transport Model for Scotland. It has a base year of 2014 and produces forecasts for a number of future years through to 2037. Future forecasts of demand are based upon a range of assumptions including population growth, fuel prices, economic activity and land-use changes. There is uncertainty associated with these assumptions which increases over time.As levels of uncertainty are greater than typical annual growth (see Scottish Transport Statistics Table 5.7(b)), forecasts are created at five yearly intervals.

Details of forecast traffic flows on the A720 Edinburgh Bypass are shown in the following table. As flows vary considerably around the bypass, the forecasts provided are for the west of Dreghorn junction which was selected to match the location of observed data reported in Scottish Transport Statistics Tables 5.7(a) and (b).

Transport Scotland is continuing with work to identify how best to mitigate congestion on the A720, and how a potential increase in capacity would contribute. As the work is currently underway it would not be appropriate to prejudge the outcome.

I refer the member to the answers provided for S5W-03082 on 6 October 2016 and S5W-03084 on 4 October 2016 for further information on Transport Scotland’s on-going investment in localised improvements on this route in 2016-17, and work being undertaken to determine requirements in future.

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 in partnership with boards is constantly evaluating current national and local systems to ensure they are still fit for purpose and resilient. For example in 2016 there has been a board level gap analysis of the critical controls needed to mitigate cyber-attacks.

Details of specific operating systems covered on a board by board bases are not held centrally and it would be the responsibility of individual health boards to provide this information.

There is no national oral cancer screening programme in NHS Scotland or centrally held data on average waits for oral cancer screening.

However, validated data for Cancer Waiting Times Standards are published by NHS ISD quarterly. Data for median waits from referral to treatment and decision to treat to treatment for head and neck cancers (including oral cancers) can be accessed through the ISD website: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Waiting-Times/Publications/index.asp

The Local Government Financial Return (LFR3) collects information on income from client contributions for adults under 65 receiving Social Care services. This information is published in tables 4A and 4B of spreadsheet for the “Expenditure on Adult Social Care Services,

Scotland, 2003-04 to 2013-14” publication which can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/03/5885/downloads.

There is no national screening programme for oral cancer and no centrally held data on how many oral cancer screenings that have taken place in NHS Scotland.

In January 2016, the UK National Screening Committee, which advises Ministers and the NHS about all aspects of screening policy recommended not to introduce national screening for oral cancer because a reliable test has not yet been identified and there is not enough evidence to determine how well existing tests would perform in a national programme.

In 2015-16 just over three million adults received an NHS dental check-up in Scotland. Dentists examining the mouth look for any oral abnormality, including oral cancer. NHS dental check-ups are free in Scotland.

The average age of Mental Health Nurses working in NHSScotland as at 30 September 2016 is 45.

Mental Health Officer (MHO) status, which allows members of the NHS Pension Scheme to retire with an unreduced pension from age 55 onwards (where the member has the necessary MHO service and is working as an MHO immediately before retiring) was discontinued for new members of the NHS Pension Scheme from 1 April 1995. Staff with MHO status at that point have the right to retain it, providing they do not have a break in NHS pensionable employment of five years or more and continue to work in an employment which attracts MHO status. It cannot be presumed, however, that all staff with MHO status who reach the age of 55 will retire at that point, as retirement is discretionary.

Under this Government, the number of Mental Health Nurses working in NHSScotland have increased by 2,158.5 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE), or 29.8 per cent, to 9,404.3 WTE. We have committed to introducing a national and regional workforce planning system across NHSScotland which will help deliver the vision set out in the National Clinical Strategy.