Chamber and committees

The right to peaceful assembly and protest is a right that we all have and the Scottish Government wants to encourage the exercise of that right wherever possible. While it is not an absolute right - and conditions and prohibitions can be imposed where required and in the interests of a democratic society - the Scottish Government is clear that it should not be dependent on the ability to pay.

For each march or parade, local authorities and their partners, including Police Scotland and Transport Scotland (where the event is to take place on a trunk road), will consider traffic management issues and the various powers available to the agencies involved to regulate traffic, including Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs).

In their report, published on 2 November 2022, the Independent Short-Life Working Group on Facilitating Peaceful Assembly in Scotland has made a range of recommendations including on traffic management issues as they relate to assembly. The Scottish Government will work with partners to consider these recommendations, including those on costs, in due course.

Due to issues with global supply chains Ministers are advised the process may take of the order of 36 weeks.

Ministers are seeking urgent options on the next steps and expect all possible measures to be taken to deliver the vessel to serve islanders as soon as possible.

Officials will continue to engage with Ferguson Marine as they assess the full impact of this with partners, including any financial implications which Ferguson Marine will share with both the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament once this has been confirmed. This engagement is ongoing.

As I stated in Parliament in May, community hospitals form an integral part of local health-care delivery systems, providing care closer to people’s homes which is personalised, holistic and patient-centred.

In April 2020, following the emergence of the COVID Pandemic all areas developed surge plans. As part of this surge planning Dumfries and Galloway command and control took the decision to temporarily close 4 cottage hospital in-patients facilities to allow for surge. It also allowed the partnership to support more people at home, which we knew was the safest place for their care. Additionally, the partnership opened 18 intermediate care beds in Mountainhall Treatment Centre.

Following the pandemic it is essential that services continue to evolve and develop new ways of working that can keep people safe at home, or in a homely setting for as long as possible. However, decisions regarding the future of local services are best done at a local level, in consultation with the local population who use them.

A clinical refresh of the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer was completed in 2018 with revised clinical guidance published January 2019. The guidelines support primary care clinicians in ensuring those with symptoms suspicious of cancer are put on the right pathway at the right time.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with primary care clinicians across NHS Scotland, including the Scottish Primary Care Cancer Group, to raise awareness of symptoms and best referral practice for all cancer types.

Scotland’s first three Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services are live, providing primary care with a new referral pathway for patients with non-specific symptoms i.e. fatigue, nausea, weight loss – this can often include patients with Haematological cancers. A suite of tests, including blood tests, are undertaken in primary care at the point of referral. The Scottish Government is committed to working towards equitable access to a RCDS across Scotland, for eligible patients.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on emergency presentations.

We are committed to reducing emergency diagnoses for cancer and have established three Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDS) across NHS Scotland, with a further two sites announced by the First Minister on 10 October 2022.

RCDS provide primary care with access to a new referral pathway for patients with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer. The Clinical Leads for two of the Services are Haematologists, reflecting the role that this new model can play in diagnosing blood cancers including leukaemia earlier.

In addition, the Scottish Government will continue to work closely with primary care clinicians, including the Scottish Primary Care Cancer Group, to identify possible symptoms as early as possible and support appropriate referral via the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer.

Work is underway to develop a new earlier diagnosis vision in Scotland - this will form part of the new cancer strategy, due to publish Spring 2023. Measurements such as emergency presentation data, to track progress and improvements, are being considered.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data. Requests for these data should be sent to Public Health Scotland or direct to Health Boards.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on emergency presentations of cancer.

We are committed to diagnosing cancer as early and as quickly as possible which is why we continue to invest in our Detect Cancer Early (DCE) Programme and are rolling out Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services. Work is underway to develop a new earlier diagnosis vision in Scotland - this will form part of the new cancer strategy, due to publish Spring 2023.

The majority of funding available to local authorities is provided by means of a block grant from the Scottish Government and it is for locally elected representatives to manage the allocation of their resources and the level of services that are delivered to their local communities, including Community Action Teams.

Phase 3 of the Creative Communities programme ran between August 2021- August 2022 and provided funding to 24 organisations across 17 local authorities. Led by Inspiring Scotland, the programme has: engaged with 56 volunteers, employed 112 artists, 22 community support workers, assisted 10 young people to complete internships and facilitated over 3,500 hours of arts workshops and creative activities. The third phase of the programme received a total of £600,000 in joint funding from Scottish Government’s culture and justice portfolios.

The information requested is not collected or held centrally by the Scottish Government and would require to be obtained from Health Boards.