Chamber and committees

Four of the six key provisions in the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 have been implemented to date.

The prohibition on supply to children came into effect on 10 October 2022 alongside the aggravation of offences for emergency workers. New offences relating to pyrotechnic articles in public places and at designated venues and events came into force on 6 June 2023, and firework control zones provisions commenced on 22 June 2023. For the remaining measures:

• Our ambition is to have the firework licensing scheme operational ahead of Bonfire Night next year. A specific date has not yet been identified for this.
• The implementation of the restricted days of supply and use provisions is paused to a future financial year. This includes the compensation regulation making power, which is attached specifically to restricted days of supply.

Police Scotland are the lead delivery partner for Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) and are responsible for planning and milestone management. DESC roll out is currently expected to start in early 2024.

The full implementation cost for Digital Evidence Sharing Capability is £33 Million over a 10-year period which is detailed in the full business case. This figure includes supplier costs, storage, and resources from justice partners. DESC will deliver considerable savings of time and cost in the way that evidence is managed and used.

As noted in the answer to S6W-21903, ferry operators are responsible for crewing arrangements whilst complying with the appropriate employment legislation and standards. Shipping safety and seafarer welfare and employment conditions are matters reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government does not have powers over employment conditions for seafarers.

The Scottish Government expects the highest shipping safety and crew welfare and employment conditions to be observed by those vessels and for those crew working in Scottish waters. International ferry services can often have skilled crew from around the world, and not domiciled in the UK. However the UK Seafarers Act ensures crew will be entitled to National Minimum Wage equivalent whilst working in Scottish waters.

The City of Edinburgh Council formed a part of the Firework Control Zones Working Group, which co-developed the Guidance for Local Authorities.

Representatives from City of Edinburgh Council attended information sharing sessions for local authorities held by the Scottish Government, in partnership with the Scottish Community Safety Network.

Formal representations have been made by the City of Edinburgh Council to the Scottish Government to express interest in availing themselves of the funding for firework control zones.

The independent research which aims to examine the impact and scale of vigils and protests which take place outside of healthcare settings providing abortion services is ongoing.

The research was commissioned by the former Ministerial-led working group on safe access zones in 2022, and a final report is due in 2024. In the interim the Scottish Government will publish a literature review, which has been prepared as part of this research, before the end of 2023. In addition to this, a year 1 report which outlines the work that has been undertaken to date will be submitted to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee as part of the call for evidence for the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill.

There have been no disciplinary cases against Scottish Government employees as a result of a failure to ensure that the records for which they are responsible are complete and accurate.

Breathing Space is operated by NHS24 to provide free and confidential support for people experiencing low mood, depression and anxiety. The phone line operates between 6pm-2am on weekday evenings and from 6pm Friday to 6am Monday. The web chat is available Monday to Friday from 6pm to 2am and on Saturday and Sunday from 4pm to 12 midnight. Around 9,500 people are supported by Breathing Space each month, which is typically split between around 95% accessing the helpline and 5% using the web chat function.

The technical issues affecting the Breathing Space web chat function over the last few weeks have now been fully resolved, and NHS24 has assured Scottish Government that if has robust monitoring plans in place to ensure any future issues are identified, and resolved, quickly.

During the period of disruption to the web chat service, the Breathing Space phone lines were unaffected; users were advised via the Breathing Space website that the telephone service remained available. Those with pressing mental health issues also continued to have 24/7 access to the Mental Health Hub through NHS24’s 111 service.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is collaborating with the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) on a joint multiple technology appraisal (MTA) of cystic fibrosis (CF) medicines, including Kaftrio®. The NICE recommendations that were published on 3 November are draft and could change following the current consultation period.

Existing patients and new patients who are started on a CF medicine while the MTA is ongoing will continue to have access to the medicine after NICE and the SMC issue their final recommendations, irrespective of the outcome.

In addition, this week the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) extended the licence for Kaftrio and Kalydeco to include children aged two to five years old. This extension helps address the unmet needs of younger children with cystic fibrosis.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22728 on 21 November 2023. 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 .