Chamber and committees

There has been no changes to the maintenance periods following these comments. Every vessel within the CalMac fleet requires regular maintenance work and CalMac are contractually obliged to ensure annual overhauls are completed successfully.

Planned maintenance will be carried out on each vessel on an annual basis in line with other vessels in the CHFS fleet. The timing of these inspections and necessary dry docks is for the operator to manage.

Scottish Government continues to support practices to maintain access to GP services for residents. The General Practice Access Group is working towards developing a set of principles to share with all practices this Spring.

Scottish Government continues to support practices in the Edinburgh area to maintain access to GP services for residents. The General Practice Access Group is working towards developing a set of principles to share with all practices this Spring.

The Scottish Government recognises the continuing rise in gonorrhoea diagnoses, and we are grateful for the efforts of the dedicated clinicians who continue to work to find and treat affected individuals.

We acknowledge the impact that the pandemic has had on service capacity and levels of routine testing. That is why the upcoming Sexual Health and Blood Borne Strategy, which will be published this Spring, has a strong Covid recovery focus, and why we have invested over £500,000 into development of online STI testing. A pilot of this has begun in NHS Lothian, and we will continue to work with our NHS partners to understand how it may be further expanded.

I refer the member to our response to S6W-14599 on 28 February 2023. It is for individual Health Boards to decide if additional support is needed. The General Practice Access Group principles are currently being consulted on with publication anticipated for late Spring. 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 .

NHS Forth Valley provide a full progress update against their published Improvement Plan to the Assurance Board on a monthly basis. Material relating to the escalation is proactively published by both the Scottish Government and NHS Forth Valley.

NHS Forth Valley recently published the latest iteration of their Improvement Plan, which included a progress update and incorporated additional actions in governance, leadership, culture and integration. A Measurement Framework has also been developed and published by NHS Forth Valley to allow them to demonstrate and evidence tangible progress. These documents can be found on NHS Forth Valley’s website: NHS Forth Valley – Escalation and HIS

The onus remains on NHS Forth Valley to deliver and evidence the required improvements in governance, leadership and culture; and, in turn, on performance. The Assurance Board will continue to monitor and scrutinise NHS Forth Valley’s progress.

The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Road/Balmedie-Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) section of the A90 is managed on behalf of Scottish Ministers/Transport Scotland by the Design Build Finance and Operate (DBFO) company Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL). The associated landscaping areas are included in the Agreement with ARL. Around 1.5 million trees were planted. The project is in year 4 of the 5 year Establishment Period. As the name suggests the Establishment Period is designed to closely monitor plant development and take action if appropriate to address tree plant establishment failures.

During the Establishment Period ARL’s appointed specialist landscape architect is required to undertake inspections of the tree planting 6 times in year one, 4 times in year 2, and 3 times for each of years 3, 4 and 5. On completion of the Establishment Period the landscaping enters the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) phase when annual inspections are required. The O&M period ends in 2047.

Following each inspection the landscape architect makes recommendations which are carried out by ARL and which could include tree tube/guard removal as the trees develop as well as identifying opportunities to enhance biodiversity and reduce pesticide application. Other work carried out over the last 4 to 5 years includes weed control, grass cutting in amongst those trees, pruning of damaged branches and re-staking of trees.

The appointed Contracting Authority (Jacobs consultants) receive annual reports and undertake joint inspections to ensure the contractual requirements are being fulfilled. Jacobs subsequently advise Transport Scotland of progress and discuss any matters as necessary.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16183 on 5 April 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 

We are not aware of any research (or plans to research) by, or on behalf of, the Scottish Government, that has investigated distance decay in relation to health outcomes in the Highlands and Islands.

All new planting schemes on the trunk road network include a 5-year establishment period throughout which regular inspections are undertaken by professional landscape architects and by the landscape contractor. These inspections assess the establishment of the plants and determine any specific maintenance required, including the replacement of any failed material.

The trunk road operating companies assume responsibility after this period and are required to annually assess and report on all planting and other vegetation within their area of operation and to recommend management interventions as appropriate, such as pruning and thinning etc.

Following completion, all major road schemes are monitored and assessed through the Scottish Trunk Road Infrastructure Project Evaluation (STRIPE) procedure to determine whether the scheme objectives have been met and to assess how well the scheme has been implemented, including the planting element.