Chamber and committees

Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow is responsible for consultation with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the design aspects of MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa, not Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited.

CalMac, as operator of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service, has engaged with the trade unions since 2017 regarding operational readiness of the vessels.

The report on the evaluation of Out to Play Improve, initially named as the Outdoor Learning Practicum, was published on the Scottish Government Children and Young People Improvement Collaborative website in November 2022, and can be found here .

The Scottish Government last met with representatives of the Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health as part of the ETC (Environmental Health and Trading Standards Officers Group) on 25 August 2023. Officials from the Scottish Government provided an update on the New Deal for Business Group (NDBG) recommendation report published on 29 June 2023, its acceptance by Scottish Ministers and work planned to consider the cumulative impact of regulations.

There was specific discussion of the Subgroup for Regulation recommendations, including the role that Local Authority regulators will play in the re-established Regulatory Review Group (RRG) and in the development of the policy cycle and Business Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) processes.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21623 on‎ 29 September 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21623 on‎ 29 September 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

The Scottish Government is actively engaged with a number of industry groups on electronic identification in livestock, including the Bovine EID Industry Working Group. The Scottish Government has also supported a pilot on bovine EID, looking into the effectiveness of different technologies. The findings were published in a report by ScotEID on 15 September 2023.

Annex C of the Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP), published February 2021, used a taxonomy approach to assess planned infrastructure spend into low, neutral and high carbon categories, drawing on the annual carbon assessment of the capital budget. The 2022-23 annual IIP progress report, published June 2023, considers Major Capital Projects within the IIP in the context of the climate change targets.

Scottish Ministers accept that the IIP material published to date falls short of the requirement on Ministers in section 94A of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, where they publish an Infrastructure Investment Plan, to also publish “an assessment of the extent to which investment in accordance with the plan is expected to contribute to the meeting of the emissions reduction targets”. Urgent work is underway to ensure that the duty is discharged in full and as soon as possible. The Scottish Government is also working with Environmental Standards Scotland to resolve this issue.

There are 41 active working groups that fall under the remit of the Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy portfolio.

The Scottish Government thanks Audit Scotland for a thorough, clear and wide-ranging report on Adult Mental Health Services in Scotland. Ministers recognise how closely some of the content of the report mirrors our vision, outcomes and priorities that we set out in our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. We will now take the time to carefully consider both the specific recommendations and the wider substance of the report. We will publish the Delivery Plan for our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, together with our Workforce Plan, this Autumn, which will set out the actions we will take to address many of the issues set out by Audit Scotland.

The Scottish Government will shortly publish Core Standards for Mental Health Services, which will be implemented first in adult secondary services, as well as the National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions. The aim of the standards and service specification is to ensure that individuals, their families and carers know what they can expect from mental health services, and from psychological therapies in particular. These standards are measurable and will provide a basis for continual improvement through enabling greater accountability and scrutiny.

The implementation of the standards will initially be supported by a self-assessment. The self-assessment will encourage reflection, learning and exchange regarding best practice and the identification of areas for improvement.

The implementation of the Core Standards for Mental Health Services and the National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions will be further supported by Public Health Scotland’s 2023-24 review of the Mental Health Quality Indicator Framework. The scope of the review includes new measures that arise from these recent publications, with the aim to improve the general monitoring of the quality, outcomes and experiences of mental health services.

The Scottish Government is responsible for setting the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland. Legal responsibility for service delivery rests locally with Health Boards who configure services taking into account local circumstances and the reasonable needs of their patient populations.

Specifically in relation to long COVID, the Scottish Government has established a £10 million long COVID Support Fund and commissioned the establishment of a National long COVID Strategic Network, which has a strategic and national coordinating role to support the delivery of healthcare and support for people with long COVID.

I refer to my answer to question S6W-21155 on 22 September 2023, which outlined activity being undertaken by the Network to support evaluation, including the collection of patient related experience and patient outcome measures. 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