Chamber and committees

We are not currently aware of any Health Boards that are not using a form of asynchronous communication as part of their public service offering.

The Scottish Government values the important role of Scotland’s third sector in working across communities to tackle tough social issues at source.

We recognise the impact of rising operating costs across society, including on charities and voluntary organisations in the third sector. We continue to invest widely in the third sector and have committed to increasing multiyear funding wherever possible.

Under Fairer Funding principles, multiyear arrangements for third sector organisations are preferred where appropriate, and we are committed to multiyear grants being the default position. This will allow us to work in partnership to design and deliver the kind of transformation our communities need to be fit for the future, whilst ensuring public services are sustainable.

We know from the longitudinal survey we support through the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations that 92% of those surveyed are confident that they will still be operating in 12 months’ time.

Improvements to the A702/A703 junction were made in early 2012 to simplify the layout to reduce the number of southbound lanes on the A702 on the approach to the junction with Old Pentland Road. In addition, footway build-outs were formed to improve sightlines for drivers joining the A702 from the side roads. These measures were carried alongside high friction surfacing and road marking enhancements being introduced at the junction.

Design work to install traffic signals at the junction is ongoing, with a preferred option being agreed by both Transport Scotland and Midlothian Council in 2022. A detailed design is programmed to begin in the coming financial year, which will take into account the numerous site constraints at this location .

The Scottish Government has not carried out any assessment between the number of potholes and road cycling accidents on the trunk road network.

An analysis of injury collisions for all severities on the trunk road network for the most recent full 3 year period (8 November 2019 to 7 November 2022) identified a total of 78 collisions involving a pedal cyclist. This makes up approximately 3.6% of the total number of injury accidents on the trunk road during this period. Of these 78 accidents, none were identified with a contributory factor “Poor or defective road surface”.

At the request of the Scottish Government, CMAL is providing assistance to The Highland Council through our Small Vessel Replacement Programme. CMAL engages regularly with The Highland Council and partners, and continues to provide assistance with the vessel concept design, feasibility and infrastructure studies, as well as exploring key areas such as low emissions technologies.

STPR 2 recommendation 24 relates only to the Clyde & Hebrides and Northern Isles ferry services networks that Scottish Ministers are directly responsible for.

Any proposals to decarbonise ferries are to be welcomed, however, decisions around procurement of these new ferries and funding are entirely a matter for The Highland Council.

I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-13962 and S6W-13990 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

Scotland’s Digital Health and Care Strategy sets out a commitment to “work with partners to ensure patients and residents of health and care services have full access to free wi-fi, both bedside and in public areas within healthcare settings”.

The use of digital tools is a choice and the Scottish Government is very mindful that introducing more Digital into the Health & Care system will need to be proportionate to ensure that nobody is left behind. The Scottish Government’s Connecting Scotland Programme, which is looking to support households to get online, is a key part of supporting people to embrace technology, including to access health and care. In addition, individual programmes of work and individual services, such as those set out in the answer to question S6W-13989 on 31 January 2023, are responsible for ensuring patients and service users are sufficiently supported to meaningfully use technology.

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-answer

The “Health and Social Care Standards: my support, my life” set out a range of standards on what people should expect when using health, social care or social work services in Scotland. These include the use of technology to support independence and having more control over their own health and wellbeing, and for those in 24 hour care that they are connected to the internet. The Standards also set out an expectation that people can access the right information at the right time, and patients rights and responsibilities in relation to their information is further enhanced by the Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities which sets out expectations around confidentiality and handling of medical information.

The number of homes built through the Rural and Islands Housing Fund in each year since 2016-17, broken down by rural (mainland) and islands is provided in the following table. There are also a further 141 units through the fund that have been approved or are on-site. The Rural and Island Housing Fund plays an important role in offering support to community organisations and others to deliver affordable homes, while complementing the delivery through our mainstream programme by Councils and Registered Social Landlords. More than 6,000 homes have been delivered over the course of the previous Parliament in rural and island areas.

The Scottish Government has undertaken the following analysis on young people’s use of vapes:

• The Scottish Government is currently funding a longitudinal study carried out by ScotCen Social Research called Growing Up in Scotland (GUS). Two reports have been published that include vaping data on children aged 12 and 14 ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/life-age-12-initial-findings-growing-up-scotland-study/pages/6/ and 6. Risky behaviours - Life at age 14: initial findings from the Growing Up in Scotland study - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) )

• The Scottish Government also commissioned collection and analysis of vaping data via the Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) which ran between 2002 and 2018 ( Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ).