Chamber and committees

The rail peak-fares pilot will apply to the whole Scottish rail network for a six month period, during the next financial year.

Work on the precise methodology and design is underway with Transport Scotland officials working closely with Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail to derive maximum benefit for this scheme.

The Scottish Government continues to make progress on drafting the refreshed Tobacco Action Plan and this is due to published in Autumn 2023.

The following table details the number of meetings of the Tobacco Action Plan - Short Life Working Groups since their inception in 2022.

Winter service operations are delivered as a fixed monthly lump sum item from October to May which covers all the elements including depot facilities, operatives, fleet, fuel and salt procurement. Transport Scotland’s Operating Companies price the contract delivery over the entire period of the contract to include the element of risk in relation to salt usage and as such Transport Scotland do not directly procure salt for winter service operations on the trunk road network.

Contracts between the Operating Companies and the salt suppliers are subject to commercial sensitivity based on arrangements over the respective Scottish Ministers Contract Period and Transport Scotland is not subject to the value of any commercial agreements which are arrived at.

The annual sums which are paid for winter service by Scottish Ministers is as follows:

The Scottish Government remains committed to eliminating Hepatitis C as a major public health concern by 2024. We must nonetheless recognise the impact the pandemic has had across the whole health sector, including the detection and treatment of Hepatitis C. During the financial year 2021-22, 1,390 individuals across Scotland started direct-acting antiviral hepatitis C treatment. This is set out in a report on the PHS website: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/surveillance-of-hepatitis-c-in-scotland/surveillance-of-hepatitis-c-in-scotland-progress-on-elimination-of-hepatitis-c-as-a-major-public-health-concern-2022-update/

National target data for 2022-23 will be published as soon as the full data has been collected and subjected to the appropriate data quality checks.

Data on targets and treatment initiations at Health Board level cannot be provided centrally as it has not been subjected to the required data quality procedures. However, the Scottish Government can confirm national treatment targets are broken down to indicative levels by NHS Board area to assist with their planning.

Despite the challenges resulting from the pandemic, the PHS report linked above shows there is evidence to indicate that Scotland has already achieved the WHO target to treat 80% of those diagnosed with Hepatitis C.

We thank the Health Foundation for publishing the report detailing the findings of their independent review into health inequalities. Sadly, the report confirms what we already know: that excess mortality is significantly driven by deprivation, and this continues to have an impact on life expectancy.

Women in poverty will benefit from a range of actions we are taking. This includes delivery of our new Getting it Right Together approach across health and social care, improving access to mental health services, strengthening the Universal Health Visiting Pathway and expanding our Welfare Advice and Health Partnerships – placing money advisors in 180 GP practices in some of Scotland’s most deprived areas.

Women’s health is key priority for this government, which is why Scotland was the first country in the UK to publish an ambitious Women’s Health Plan in August 2021. The Plan sets out actions which aim to address women’s health inequalities by raising awareness around women’s health, improving access to health care for women across their lives, and reducing inequalities in health outcomes for women and girls, so that all women and girls enjoy the best possible health throughout their lives.

Since publication of the Respiratory Care Action Plan in 2021, we have established the Scottish Respiratory Advisory Committee (SRAC) to provide governance and oversight of its implementation.Three priority areas for Year 1 were identified by the SRAC and progress to date includes:

The Scottish Government are conducting a review of evidence for the refreshed Tobacco Action Plan due to be published in Autumn 2023. Currently this review includes two studies which look at the long-term use of e-cigarettes on health outcomes in England and Australia.

Scottish Government will continue to review relevant evidence.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has not met with the Chair or Lead Clinician of the Scottish Respiratory Advisory Committee (SRAC).

I have not met with the Chair or Lead Clinician of the Scottish Respiratory Advisory Committee.

The information recorded is for internal management purposes only, however we are exploring how best to make it publicly available.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14348 on 31 January 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