Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has not held any meetings with the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland since May 2021.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19714 on 12 July 2023 for details of the programme for the £5 million pledge for the loss and damage funding.

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

Our thoughts remain with the family of the person who died in a collision with a heavy goods vehicle on the A85 between Crianlarich and Lix Toll on 23 August 2021.

Each year Transport Scotland, through its Operating Companies, undertakes a review of collisions on the trunk road network to identify cluster sites, or routes with recorded collisions that may be worthwhile of further investigation. This evidence led approach ensures that resources can be targeted at locations where the greatest potential for casualty reduction is available.

The most recent screening process did not identify the A85 between Glen Ogle and Crianlarich as a priority site for further investigation for safer active travel provision. The fatal accident referred to above was the only accident involving a pedal cyclist on this part of the A85 since 2014, which does not indicate a trend of injury accidents. Transport Scotland will continue to monitor road safety at this location.

The programme will be delivered via a grant-funded partner. The initial funding will be used for global consultation on selection criteria and methodology with the aim of presenting it in draft at COP28. Grants will then be disbursed on the basis of these criteria to global communities most in need. Officials will also seek to leverage matched finance from other sources to increase the impact and value of this funding. This approach was tested with global stakeholders at an event in March to ensure that it upholds the principles identified at SG’s loss and damage conference last year, demonstrates best practice and ensures the maximum contribution of equitable funding goes to global communities most in need. Parliament will be updated accordingly when a decision has been reached on a grant-funded partner, in advance of a public announcement.

The Scottish Government is considering the income threshold for access to the Part-Time Fee Grant in light of the current changing financial landscape and the issues relating to individual earnings. This will form part of a wider review of student support for part-time learners, highlighted in the Initial Priorities paper of the Purpose and Principles for Post-School Education, Research and Skills, published on the 28 June.

Scotland’s climate change obligations include emissions from domestic and international aviation. ‘Scottish greenhouse gas statistics 2021’, published in June 2023, show that emissions from international aviation dropped by 23% between 2020 and 2021. Domestic aviation emissions increased by 12% in the same period, but are 59% below 1990 levels.

Work is ongoing across government to develop a Scottish Government aviation strategy. The public consultation on developing the strategy covered a range of topics including the transition to low and zero-emission aviation. This transition is also relevant to preparation of the Government’s 2023 Climate Change Plan and Just Transition Plan, and it is essential that this work be fully joined up.

The Bathing Water (Scotland) Regulations 2008 require at the end of the bathing water season each year that the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) assesses each bathing water on the basis of samples collected during the season, plus the preceding 3 bathing seasons, and classifies the bathing waters for the coming season. SEPA must advise Scottish Ministers of the classifications and SEPA also publishes the classification results on its website at https://www2.sepa.org.uk/bathingwaters/Classifications.aspx . SEPA is required to monitor water quality at each bathing water during the bathing season and the first water quality sample at each designated bathing waters must be taken shortly before the start of the season, usually, around 15 May and SEPA publishes the results on its website.

Public Health Scotland recently published guidance with information on the risks and the steps the public can take to wild swim as safely as possible, available at https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/wild-swimming-how-to-swim-safely-in-scotlands-outdoor-water/ .

Freshwater rivers and lochs that are not designated as bathing waters are managed for the purpose of protecting fish and wildlife. SEPA publishes its water quality classification for each water body online at https://www.sepa.org.uk/data-visualisation/water-classification-hub/ .

SEPA classifies 84% of Scotland’s rivers and lochs at good or better for water quality and 98% of classified bathing waters meet bathing water quality standards with more being rated excellent than ever before.

Since independent hospice representatives met with Ministers in March 2023, SG officials have had a number of meetings with Health and Social Care Partnerships from April through to July to discuss the independent hospice sector’s calls for a national framework for hospice funding, and this engagement is continuing.

Under the Bathing Water (Scotland) Regulations 2008, Scottish Ministers designate bathing waters where they expect a large number of people to bathe, having regard to past trends and infrastructure and facilities provided, or other measures taken to promote bathing. Across Europe the meaning of a large number of bathers ranges up 300 bathers per day, which is much higher than Scotland’s 150 bathers.

Following extensive bather surveys across Scotland and a public consultation, the Scottish Government developed a policy regarding the designation of bathing waters. That policy states that 150 people per day, or thereabouts, using the water for bathing regularly throughout the season would be considered to be a large number of bathers.

In determining whether a large number of bathers are expected to bathe there, Scottish Ministers must also have regard to past trends, infrastructure and facilities and promotion of bathing at any proposed bathing water.

Decisions about the appropriateness of referral to pain specialist services, or medications for pain management, are made by the clinician in discussion with the patient, and with reference to their medical history. Patients may choose to take the offer of new pathway alternatives being offered by some NHS Boards rather than by being seen at a consultant led clinic. Where a patient chooses an alternative pathway, they are removed from the waiting list for the consultant led clinic.

The Scottish Government is committed to rapidly improving care and services for people with chronic pain by delivering the Actions in the Pain Management Service Delivery Framework Implementation Plan at pace. The Implementation Plan outlines actions to expand skills and knowledge on chronic pain across local services and scaling-up new ways of working to improve the consistency and resilience of local pain services. We are investing in national solutions such as improving how people access information and understand their care options, enhancing coordination of support between the NHS and the third-sector.

We are also continuing to invest in the Scottish National Residential Pain Management Programme which provides highly specialised care for those facing the most challenging impacts of chronic pain to the value of over £630,000 this year.