Chamber and committees

SIGN guidelines are produced by Health Improvement Scotland’s (HIS) evidence directory and we understand there are no plans by HIS to publish a SIGN guideline on Huntington’s Disease at present.

SIGN guidelines are produced in collaboration with clinicians, other health and social care professionals, patient organisations and individuals. The prioritisation and development of SIGN guidelines is evidence based.

The member may find it helpful to view the documents contained on the evidence page of HIS’s website: Evidence: Advice, guidance and intelligence (healthcareimprovementscotland.org) , which provides information and guidance on how requests for the development of guidelines are assessed, and how and evidence-based decisions are made.

Any group or individual in Scotland can propose a guideline topic to SIGN and SIGN welcome requests to provide evidence or analysis on clinical issues regarding Huntington’s Disease care.

The increase in recorded sexual offences is not unique to Scotland but is part of a global trend. Multiple factors appear to have contributed to this rise including increased reporting of historical offences. Some of this increase is also attributable to greater recognition of online sexual offending driven in part by action we have taken to outlaw new forms of harmful sexual behaviour such as non-consensual disclosure of an intimate image or film.

We will continue to prioritise support for victims of sexual crime, as well as work to identify ways to prevent such offending through the implementation of our Equally Safe strategy. We recognise that sexual offences are particularly traumatising for victims and have invested significantly to improve support for survivors. That is why our Delivering Equally Safe fund is providing approximately £9.5m in funding to support survivors of rape and sexual assault and we are also investing an extra £6m over the next three years in Rape Crisis Scotland’s National Advocacy Project to fund a key support worker in every centre in Scotland.

We know that there is more we can do to ensure that Scotland’s justice system is one in which the victims of serious sexual offences can have confidence. We are considering the recommendations made by the Lady Dorrian Review into improving the Management of Sexual Offence Cases and, through our recent Consultation and cross-sector engagement, are exploring in detail if and how these recommendations can be implemented.

I refer the member to my answer to the question S6W-12400 on 7 December 2022. 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

While the Scottish Government recognises that many people in rural and island communities already experience higher costs of living compared to those living in more central areas, the roll out of the Energy Bills Support Scheme is a matter for the UK Government.

The Scottish Government recently doubled our Fuel Insecurity Fund to £20 million through the Emergency Budget Review, with local referral partners including Home Energy Scotland, the Fuel Bank Foundation, Advice Direct Scotland and Scottish Federation of Housing Associations. We also recently provided £1.2m of additional funding to boost advice services across Scotland.

I would urge consumers who are struggling with their energy bills to contact Energy Advice Scotland on 0808 196 8660 or at energyadvice.scot.

The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 provides for an offence of abuse of a partner or ex-partner which criminalises psychological, as well as physical, abuse. The definition of abuse includes a course of behaviour which is abusive and which has as its purpose, or which a reasonable person would think would be likely to have the effect of:

• depriving the victim of, or restricting the victim's freedom of action; or
• making the victim dependent on or subordinate to, the perpetrator

As such, depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, the offence can be used to prosecute financial abuse. This could include cases where, as part of a course of abusive behaviour, the perpetrator deliberately withholds child maintenance payments from their ex-partner.

Decisions about what conduct is charged as an offence of abuse of a partner or ex-partner are a matter for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, taking account of all the facts and circumstances of the particular case. The Scottish Government does not hold information about the details of individual charges and as such, it is not possible to say whether and to what extent deliberate non-payment of child maintenance has formed part of a charge for this offence.

The cost of repairing the funicular has been met by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Scottish Government following approval of the business case by HIE’s Board and Scottish Ministers. Funding was ringfenced for this purpose and did not impact the funding available to other outdoor ski centres. Following the identification of the cost increases, additional funding has been provided by the Scottish Government to HIE in the current financial year. This has been funded by emerging underspends elsewhere across the capital budget and does not therefore impact on the funding available to other outdoor ski centres.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days .

The Justice portfolio has spent a total of £301,853.07 on external management consultants in 2012 and 2016-2019. This data relates to direct spend by the Scottish Government and does not include expenditure on consultancy services by public bodies. There was no spend on management consultancy services in the years 2020-2022. A breakdown of these costs is provided in the following table:

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has confirmed that the timetable for repairs to the funicular had to be extended due to unforeseeable delays caused by the weather and Covid. In addition, technical challenges resulted in additional works needing to be carried out. Significant cost inflation in the construction sector and the weakness of sterling in international exchange rates also contributed to the cost increase.

I have asked Stuart Black, HIE’s Chief Executive, to write to you direct with a full explanation of the cost increase.

Road safety is of paramount importance to the Scottish Government and the average speed camera system deployed on the A9 between Dunblane and Inverness plays an important role in encouraging good driver behaviour and compliance with the speed limit.

There are no plans to remove the safety cameras between Keir and Broxden roundabouts.