Chamber and committees

ScotRail advise that colleagues are supported from immediately after any incident of this nature. That support comes in a range of ways which includes the offer of professional counselling.

The Scottish Government has no plans at this time to adopt universal salt iodisation.

Food Standards Scotland advises that adults need 140 micrograms (µg) of iodine a day and most people should be able to get all the iodine they need by eating a varied and balanced diet. Children need proportionally less depending on their age group.

Good food sources of iodine include cows' milk and dairy products, eggs, sea fish and shellfish. Iodine can also be found in varying levels in plant foods, such as cereals and grains.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) considered ‘Maternal iodine status, birth outcomes and child development’ at its horizon scanning meeting in June 2022. Members agreed that this would be added to the SACN work programme. The Scottish Government will continue to monitor this work as it progresses.

CMAL has appointed naval architects Leadship to carry out future vessel feasibility studies and concept designs which will include passenger cabin options.

As the project progresses, engagement events will be held which will ensure that all key stakeholders are able to contribute to the outcome of the project.

Transport Scotland and Network Rail regularly meet stakeholders to update them on the progress of the design of this project.

Network Rail advise that the cost of work done (to 29 th April 2023) on the project is £6.7m. The amount spent reflects the efficiency in which the early development stages are being carried out.

The total cost for the helicopters utilised at the Cannich fire is not known at this stage, as the incident is still ‘live’ with damping down activity ongoing, and the two suppliers (PDG Aviation Ltd and Skyhook Helicopters) have not yet submitted their respective invoices.

The final cost of the helicopter support will run to hundreds of thousands of pounds, with the majority of the cost being met by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS).

FLS deployed the helicopters to the incident at the request and in liaison with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Cost allocation has not yet been discussed with neighbouring land owners/managers.

Scotland’s national forests and land is sub-divided into five geographical management areas, each has a local incident response plan in place.

Each Regional incident response plan covers all potential incidents that may occur on Scotland’s national forests and land, inlcuding wild fires. The incident response plan is produced in collaboration with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and other agencies / public bodies and is reviewed annually.

In addition, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has guidance in place for staff regarding how to manage wildfires on Scotland’s national forests and land. The guidace covers roles and responsibilities and how to work in collaboration with SFRS. FLS staff are trained to respond to incidents when required, including wild fires.

FLS produces guidance for staff on the use of helicopters for firefighting, covering how and when to use a helicopter and the roles and responsibilites of FLS / SFRS staff.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information, however, it may be available from local Health Boards.

The Scottish Government is committed to an infrastructure solution to address landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful and shares the urgency communities and businesses place on maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route.

The identification of the preferred route option through the Glen Croe Valley was announced on 02 June 2023 and is a very important milestone in finding a solution to this long-standing problem.

Following design and assessment work on the options under consideration, a debris flow shelter has been identified as the preferred option for the long-term solution. This option involves constructing a debris flow shelter over a length of approximately 1.4km with an additional 180m of catch pit and protection wall to protect the road and road users from future debris flow events.

Further details on the preferred route option is available from Access to Argyll and Bute (A83) Story Map (arcgis.com) .

Work has now commenced on the next stage in the assessment process which is the detailed development and assessment of the preferred route option and this stage will culminate in the publication of road Orders and Environmental Impact Assessment Report for formal consultation.

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government.

We support our local authority partners with £16 million in funding to ensure that every secondary school has access to counselling services.

All school pupils aged 10 and above have access to school counselling services. It is up to local authorities to determine how they deliver the commitment to best suit the children and young people in their area, including the recruitment and allocation of counsellors. In December 2020, local authorities confirmed that access to counselling services through all secondary schools was in place across Scotland.