Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17929 on 30 May 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/questions-and-answers .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17929 on 30 May 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/questions-and-answers .

The Women’s Health Plan: A plan for 2021 – 2024 aims to reduce health inequalities and improve health outcomes for women and girls. The Plan focusses on a specific set of priorities and whilst chronic urinary tract infections are not specifically mentioned in the priorities for this iteration of the Plan we do recognise that many women are significantly affected by the condition.

The Women’s Health Plan is one part of much wider picture when it comes to the Scottish Government’s work to improve the health and wellbeing of women and girls. As part of our £70m Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal plan national urology referral and management pathways for visible and non -visible haematuria in adults were published in August 2021 supporting clinicians to make the appropriate referrals for urinary tract infections at the right time.

The priorities for any future Women’s Health Plan are not yet determined. Future aims and priorities will be developed in collaboration with women and girls, including our lived experience stakeholder group, clinical experts and relevant stakeholders alongside the most up-to-date evidence base.

Road safety remains an absolute priority for the Scottish Government. We remain determined that we continue to make investments which supports our Road Safety Framework to 2030, which sets out our vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030. This includes an ambitious long term goal where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads by 2050.

The Scottish Government budget for 2023-24 includes over £31 million for road safety. This has been allocated to areas such as our Trunk Road Casualty Reduction Programme, our Safety Camera Programme, work to expand 20 mph areas in communities across Scotland and a Road Safety Improvement Fund which will support councils to reduce casualties and risks on their roads.

As at the end of the day 30 April 2023, there were 40,969 cardholders under the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme in six local authority areas across the Highlands and Islands Region. Uptake against the estimated eligible population in each local authority area is as follows.

Argyll & Bute: 54.3%

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar: 46.6%

Highland: 46.4%

Moray: 54.9%

Orkney: 49.5%

Shetland: 66.7%

Cardholder data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). NECPO supports the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data. The figure includes travel products collected from the Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile app.

Arrangements are being made to hold the next meeting of the Orkney Islands Council Ferry Replacement Task Force soon. The minutes will be published on the Transport Scotland website in due course. I also plan to visit Orkney during summer recess where I will discuss the council's plans for its fleet replacement.

The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards in Scotland to take note of the Scottish Health Technologies Group recommendations, published on 23 March 2023, and take steps to ensure that any woman who requires access to placental growth factor (PlGF) based tests as part of her maternity care can do so. We will continue to work with the Scottish Perinatal Network and will write to NHS Boards again in June to assess how implementation of PlGF testing is progressing.

The recent Policy Prospectus confirmed the Government’s continuing, strong commitment to matters covered by the Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands portfolio, and set out actions that government is taking across a number of portfolios in order to create jobs, strengthen food production and food security, and support repopulation and green skills development in our rural communities – boosting the rural and coastal economy.

The Prospectus highlights a number of these commitments, including around Housing, where we will ensure that at least 10% of our 110,000 affordable homes target in remote, rural and island communities. We are also making available up to £25 million in a demand led fund targeted at affordable homes for key workers, such as those working in the public sector and emergency services; and the £30 million Rural and Island Housing Fund plays an important role in offering support to community groups.

The Rural Delivery Plan, that we will publish by the end of this Parliament, will further confirm how this Government is delivering for Scotland’s rural, island and coastal communities.

The composition of the ministerial team and the allocation of portfolio responsibilities are routinely kept under review by the First Minister and shift as a variety of factors require.

The Scottish Government does not support the building of new nuclear fission power stations in Scotland under current technologies.

Under the current Contract for Difference (CfD) awarded by the UK Government to Hinkley Point C, the electricity that will be generated will be priced at £92.50 per megawatt hour (in 2012 prices). Wind is one of the cheapest forms of electricity - electricity generated from offshore wind is priced at £37.65 per megawatt hour in CfD allocation round 4 (in 2012 prices). Additionally, Hinkley Point C’s CfD will last for a 35-year term, which is not afforded to other technologies that only receive guarantees for 15 years.

The UK Government has committed over £700 million to cover 50% of the development costs of Sizewell C – evidence that nuclear can have significant up-front costs to the public purse before construction even begins.

Nuclear power stations require nuclear material for their operation and generate radioactive waste, both of which can involve hazardous radiation and require complex and expensive handling for security as well as public health and environmental protection.

The Scottish Government is clear that the UK Government’s cruel and inhumane Illegal Migration Bill should be scrapped immediately. The Bill will cause significant harm to victims of human trafficking. It will facilitate even greater control by perpetrators as a consequence of its provisions which restrict access to vital support and assistance and will likely deter victims from reporting their situation for fear of removal.

The Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture wrote to the UK Minister of State for Immigration on 9 March setting out our position and this was followed by a further letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice on 25 April.

The Scottish Parliament rejected the UK Bill during a debate on 25 April. We set out our intent to lodge a legislative consent memorandum on two clauses within the Bill which alter the executive competence of the Scottish Ministers. We will recommend that Parliament withhold legislative consent to these provisions. We continue to monitor the Bill closely as it is considered by the House of Lords.