Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05896 on‎ 7 February 2022. 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

The Scottish Government published a National Carers Strategy on 21 December. This sets out a cross-government approach to tackling issues that affect carers, including through health and social care policies. The Strategy sets out our intentions regarding carers’ healthcare at chapter 3. We will consider how to provide flexible health appointments for carers, including how we provide replacement care for appointments as part of the implementation process of the Strategy.

There are already a range of services in place that can support unpaid carers to better manage their health. Some have a carer-specific focus, while others are more general. The Scottish Government will continue to raise awareness of these services among unpaid carers and will ensure that our health services consider the needs of carers. Taking a strategic approach to this will support a joined-up approach that supports all aspects of carers’ lives, and this will be done under the auspices of the National Carers Strategy.

The public consultation on proposals for a new Agriculture Bill, “Delivering our Vision for Scottish Agriculture” opened from 29 August 2022 until 5 December 2022. We received a good response to the consultation, including wide-ranging attendance at the 14 public consultation events held, and will be giving careful consideration to the diverse range of views received. The Scottish Government aims to publish a report on the findings of the Agriculture Bill consultation in Spring 2023.

The age of firefighters, broken down into 5 year age bands is published on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Website under its Organisational Statistics. Under the various firefighter final salary pension schemes, the majority of firefighters chose to retire after 30 years service rather than at a particular age. Government Actuary Department data shows that between 31 March 2016 to 31 March 2020, the average retirement age was 54.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Chair asked chief constables in England and Wales to take immediate action to check officers and staff against the national police database. While Police Scotland are a member of the National Police Chief’s Council, the direction in this case was provided via the Home Office. However, following discussions with the NPCC, Police Scotland have confirmed that they will align with the work being taken forward in England and Wales and check all officers and staff against national systems for criminal records and ongoing investigations.

In 2022 Police Scotland increased vetting resources by nearly 50% and introduced an additional check for new recruits, prior to being sworn into office. From April, they are also introducing dip sampling which will see around 1,200 vetting reviews of officers and staff being conducted each year.

The Scottish Government has spent £5.512 million since Near Me was launched in 2019.

The Digital Health and Care Strategy was further reinforced in November 2022 with the publication of the Digital Health and Care Delivery Plan . In addition, a Data Strategy for health and care is due to be published early this year, which was consulted on extensively throughout 2022. This included public consultation, including in relation to patients' use of their own health and care information.

The Scottish Government meets with the UK Government and devolved governments regularly on a 4-nations basis to discuss tobacco control, including vaping policy. Discussions have included the marketing, availability (including flavourings) and packaging of vaping and e-cigarette products.

All Ministerial engagements, including visits to police stations, fire stations, courts and prisons, is routinely published on the Scottish Government website and can be found at: www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/ .

The Scottish Government does not hold this information as responsibility for the maintenance of Police vehicles sits with the Scottish Police Authority and the Chief Constable. Police Scotland has confirmed that they hold a stock of replacement dash cameras which can be fitted to their vehicles should one develop a fault; dependant on the locality of the vehicle, type of equipment fitted and the type of fault, this can be done on the same day.

I have asked Police Scotland to write to the member with this information.