Chamber and committees

Although through The Land Reform (Scotland) Act, access is free to most outdoor spaces and the use of public and active transport is encouraged, The Scottish Government appreciates that many of our rural outdoor spaces can only be easily accessed by motorised vehicles.

The Scottish Government is in close discussion with Forestry and Land Scotland to see what further mitigations can be put in place to ensure the correct balance between free access to Scotland's national forests and land both during the current economic climate and beyond and the need to sustainably manage our forests and encourage responsible vehicle use and active transport, mitigate safety and environmental impacts at popular sites and support the net zero challenge.

Blue Badge holders can park for free and money-saving annual passes are available.

As stated in the answer to question S6W-17851 on 31 May 2023 the Scottish Government has no role in setting the levels or assessing the impact on individuals of registration fees for the regulated health professions. These functions are within the statutory authority of the governing councils of the independent UK regulators, including the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

The Scottish Government recognises the unwelcome additional burden that higher fees will place on registrants, especially during the current financial climate. However, we acknowledge that the HCPC - as a registrant-funded independent regulator - is facing the same cost pressures as other organisations, including other regulators that have also raised their fees.

Occupational Therapy is one of the professions included in the Scottish Government's Agenda for Change (AfC). Following acceptance by all Unions, the 2023-24 Pay Deal was implemented, with both uplift and additional payment, in the April pay run. This pay deal came after Agenda for Change took difficult decisions to find this money within the health budget, confirming its commitment to supporting AfC staff, particularly during a cost of living crisis.

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 share the urgency communities and businesses place in maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route, and remain absolutely committed to ensuring continuity of access to Argyll and Bute so that the region remains open for business.

A detailed programme and procurement strategy to deliver the improvements to the Old Military Road as quickly as possible is currently being developed and it is expected that the improvements will be carried out on a phased basis starting later this year. The cost estimate will be updated as part of this work.

The Scottish Government has not requested a progress update from the Scottish Civil Justice Council on its review of court rules in relation to Protective Expenses Orders. The Scottish Civil Justice Council is an independent body. Publicly available minutes of meetings of the Costs and Funding Committee on 26 May 2022 and 31 October 2022 record that detailed discussions took place about the court rules governing Protective Expenses Orders and drafting instructions were to be issued.

The investment of over £400 million that we are making through the R100 North contract is directly benefitting communities on the Orkney Islands. Building on the seven new subsea fibre optic cables connecting islands across Orkney concluded last year, with terrestrial build now underway to connect over 3,300 premises across the local authority area to full-fibre, Gigabit-capable connectivity.

Of course, mobile connectivity is just as vital as broadband connectivity for island communities, and the four masts we have delivered in Orkney through the S4GI programme will greatly extend 4G coverage and enable superfast connectivity for many.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17922 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/written-questions-and-answers

Scotland’s Heat Network Fund (SHNF) provides funding for primary and secondary heat network infrastructure. This includes projects that utilise waste heat from existing incineration plants to provide low carbon, affordable heat to local consumers. Under the scheme, £5.6 million was committed in August 2022 to the extension of the Torry Heat Network which uses waste heat from an energy from waste plant. The Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP) awarded £5.78m for Phase 1 in November 2020.

LCITP awarded £7.3m in January 2020 to Midlothian Council to build a heat network using waste heat from the Millerhill incineration plant.

SHNF is focused on the construction of heat networks and doesn’t cover the installation of electricity generation equipment.

Ground investigations for the slope stability works at A77 Glengall have been completed and initial design work to find a solution for slope stability have been undertaken. Further design work is now ongoing which is currently programmed to conclude in September 2023. Works on the slope will be programmed thereafter depending on the progression of the design adopted.

The Scottish Government expects all NHS healthcare workers in Scotland to follow best practice when providing care for people with UTIs, including recurring UTIs. In support of this, guidelines on management of suspected UTIs were developed by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) in 2020 and remain current. These support clinicians to provide advice to patients and carers on appropriate treatment, risks and lifestyle and behaviour issues which can support management and prevention of UTIs.

As part of our £70m Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal plan, national urology referral and management pathways for UTIs in adults, which includes recurrent UTIs, were published in August 2021 supporting clinicians to make the appropriate referrals for UTIs at the right time.

Where trade unions are recognised, evidence of the collective element of effective voice will be their recognition agreement. We expect in such cases that employer organisations will work with their trade unions to evidence meeting the other aspects of the new requirements and any wider Fair Work First commitments.

Our Fair Work First guidance provides an overview of some acceptable forms of evidence for employers to demonstrate effective voice and real Living Wage conditionality.

Grant recipients are asked, both at the application stage and on conclusion of the grant, to provide a statement confirming they are meeting all the Fair Work First criteria, this should be signed by a trade union representative or a worker representative where there is no formal trade union recognition agreement. It will be for the relevant grant administrator to monitor and ensure compliance, in line with normal grant management practice.