Chamber and committees

Flu vaccinations were paused in December 2021 to allow the NHS to address the immediate challenge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Local health boards are now offering flu vaccinations to those who are eligible, with uptake of flu vaccines among over 65s at 90.1%, which is already higher than the previous year.

Those who are aged 70 years or over will be contacted by their health board about their appointment by letter or telephone call. Those aged 65 to 69 years will be contacted by their health board by letter about their appointment.

Our focus remains on protecting people based on clinical need, medical advice, and evidence. On that basis, other healthy people aged 50 to 64 years generally will no longer receive the flu vaccine this season. Anyone unsure whether they are eligible should check with their local health board, and can find more information about flu vaccination on NHS Inform The flu vaccine (nhsinform.scot) .

Anyone who is eligible and would like to receive a flu vaccine can do so by checking How to get your flu vaccine | The flu vaccine (nhsinform.scot) . If the appointment received is not suitable, individuals can rearrange their appointment at Rearrange your flu vaccine appointment | The flu vaccine (nhsinform.scot) .

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that those eligible can get vaccinated at participating NHS community pharmacies.

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (RoS). She advises me that, as of 02 February 2022, there are 79,831 dispositions undergoing registration. RoS receives and processes over 550,000 applications on average every year, of which 90% are completed in 20 days. In the Land Register the legal effect of registration backdates to the date on which the Keeper entered the application onto the application record (the date of receipt) and properties undergoing registration can still be transacted upon in the usual way.

Performance data is published regularly on ros.gov.uk.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05961 on 8 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 ten-year £500 million Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray is a single initiative. The initial £20 million announced for the 2022-23 is a mixture of Capital and Financial Transactions, but should not be regarded as distinct ‘funding streams’ with separate objectives and deliverables.

As specified in the draft Shared Policy Programme, and as specified in this year’s draft Budget, the strategic objective of the Fund is to support and accelerate the development of a transformed and decarbonised economy in the North East and Moray and support the role of Aberdeen and the wider north east as one of Scotland’s centres of excellence for the transition to a net zero economy.

Detailed policy design work and implementation planning, informed by a programme of engagement with partners in the region, is underway ahead of the new financial year. This will inform the specific objectives and deliverables of the Just Transition Fund in a) year 1 and b) for the first tranche of £20 million of funding. Further updates will be shared as this engagement develops. We will work collaboratively, continuing to engage and co-design this Fund with partners in region throughout the lifetime of this ten-year £500 million commitment to the North East and Moray.

The Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, committed to establishing a Green Heat Finance Taskforce. This taskforce was created in December 2021 and will operate until September 2023.

Taskforce members are participating on a voluntary basis with secretariat support provided by the Scottish Government. No annual budget has been assigned to the Taskforce. Further information can be found on the Scottish Government webpage for the Green Heat Finance Taskforce.

It is for Health Boards and GP practices to determine appropriate staffing levels in line with local population needs. GP - patient ratios will vary across practices depending on geography, population density and staff availability.

Patient and GP population data can be accessed via

General Practice | GP Workforce & Practice populations | Health Topics | ISD Scotland .

Our interim experimental summary of COVID-19 business support funding paid by local authority between November 2020 and June 2021 shows businesses in Stirling have received approximately £36.4m in direct business support.

Prior to November 2020, an additional £24.7m was administered by Stirling Council to businesses in Stirling through the October Circuit breaker, Newly Self-employed Hardship Fund, Bed and Breakfast hardship fund, Small Business Grant Scheme and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Grant Scheme. A further £4m was provided through the Pivotal Enterprises Resilience Fund and Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Fund. This brings the total provided to £65.1m, however it is important to note this does not cover all funding to date and as such the overall figure for business in Stirling will be higher. Further detail of funding is available on the Scottish Government website:

Coronavirus (COVID-19): business support funding interim experimental statistics - by local authority and scheme from November 2020 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

o   Coronavirus (COVID-19) - business support funding: statistics (circuit breaker) – 29 January 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

o   Coronavirus (COVID-19): hardship and resilience funds statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government’s national fuel poverty scheme Warmer Homes Scotland offers to install external wall insulation for eligible households, where it is appropriate and technically feasible for the property. Most local councils include projects to deliver external wall insulation as part of their Area Based Schemes targeting fuel poor households. This is typically as provided grant-in-aid but property owners may be asked for a contribution to reflect higher individual costs associated with their home (e.g. additional repairs or for a larger detached property).

Households that are not eligible for help as part of our fuel poverty programmes can apply for a Scottish Government loan via Home Energy Scotland. Help is available with the costs of purchasing and installing energy efficiency measures worth up to £10,000 (£6,000 loan plus £4,000 cashback). Full independent advice and information is available through the Home Energy Scotland website.

The vast majority of funding available to councils is provided by means of a block grant from the Scottish Government. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on road maintenance, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

It is for locally elected representatives to manage the allocation of resources and the level of services that are delivered to their local communities.

The Scottish Government has provided over £3.2 million of grant funding directly to Stirling Council since 2017 to enable procurement of zero emission charging and refuelling infrastructure. The following table provides the detail of funding awarded to Stirling Council in each year from 2017.