Chamber and committees

As at 30 April 2024, through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) 198 connections have been successfully delivered so far across Dumfries and Galloway, 36 are currently planned, and a further 3 have been requested. There are no unsuccessful applications.

The National Cancer Medicines Advisory Group (NCMAG) will review the use of Anastrozole, Tamoxifen and Raloxifene as a preventative treatments for post-menopausal women at a moderate or high risk of breast cancer at a rescheduled meeting in Autumn 2024.

In anticipation of potential NCMAG advice, Scottish Government is considering how these drugs may fit in to a chemoprevention care pathway within NHS Scotland, including patient identification and monitoring.

There are currently 10 suppliers who are registered to deliver services through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme that may be able to provide a service within the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area, which includes the Mid Galloway and Wigtown West council ward. These are suppliers who have existing commercial customers within Dumfries and Galloway.

Anyone can search for a supplier by local authority or the technology that they offer using the filters available here:

Find a supplier | Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband

The Scottish Government provides guidance for local authorities to support the preparation of Local Housing Strategies including the provision of accessible and specialist housing. Separate guidance requiring local authorities to set all-tenure wheelchair accessible housing targets as part of their Local Housing Strategy has also been provided.

Where local authorities identify a strategic requirement for a particular type of home, including wheelchair accessible housing, projects to support delivery of these homes are expected to be included in Local Authority Strategic Housing Investment Plans for delivery through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

The circumstances for the use of the direction-making powers in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 are not set out in legislation, nor are they a matter of convention. In deciding whether or not to use these powers, Ministers would consider a range of factors, including carbon reduction goals and capacity needs, and would also take into account SEPA’s role and statutory functions as Scotland’s independent environmental regulator.

The recording of non-crime hate incidents is an operational matter for Police Scotland.

Under legal professional privilege the Scottish Government does not disclose the content or source of any legal advice it has received on any topic or whether it has received any legal advice.

While the Scottish Government recognises the need to ensure that we have effective infrastructure and technologies to enable the increased recovery of critical minerals, we acknowledge the complexities of critical mineral markets. Data is often not readily available, markets can be volatile, and supply chains are fraught with environmental, social and governance issues.

Better data availability is in all our interests to support well-functioning markets and responsible, traceable supply chains, to help de-risk investments and development of new projects. We are working with the UK, Welsh and Northern Irish governments and regulators to implement a UK-wide mandatory digital waste tracking service. The digital waste tracking service will improve the quality of waste data and make it easier to identify opportunities to keep materials in use for as long as possible and ensure nothing is wasted.

While not in direct response to the report, between 28 December 2023 and 7 March 2024, the Scottish Government, along with the UK, Welsh and Northern Irish governments, held a consultation on reforming the producer responsibility system for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). This consultation sought views on a number of policy reforms, including the introduction of a producer financed household collection system for small and large items of WEEE, enhancing retailer obligations to provide a free collection on delivery service for large appliances, extending obligations to online marketplaces, creating a category for vapes to ensure that treatment and collection costs are borne by vapes producers, and establishing a new WEEE scheme administrator.

Between 28 December 2023 and 7 March 2024, the Scottish Government, along with the UK, Welsh and Northern Irish governments, held a consultation on reforming the producer responsibility system for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). This consultation sought views on a number of policy reforms, including the introduction of a producer financed household collection system for small and large items of WEEE, enhancing retailer obligations to provide a free collection on delivery service for large appliances, extending obligations to online marketplaces, creating a category for vapes to ensure that treatment and collection costs are borne by vapes producers, and establishing a new WEEE scheme administrator.

While we do not have Scotland-specific data on the scale of e-waste, it was calculated as part of our impact assessments that an estimated 155kt of WEEE is disposed of in household residual waste collections in the UK annually, which is then sent to landfill and energy from waste. This is equivalent to 5.3kg per household per year.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-27757 on‎ 7 June 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .