Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government regularly reviews performance data from the Scottish Ambulance Service which includes data on response times across the country.

This information is normally reviewed weekly, however, given the current pressures being experienced we are receiving twice daily sit reps from the Service on performance.

Like all areas of Scotland, and indeed throughout the UK, we are aware that some patients are experiencing delays in response times from the ambulance service. This is why we have already taken significant action both prior to and since the pandemic to input measures to ensure our Ambulance service has the full resources and range of support in place to deliver services.

We announced an additional package of support for the Service, backed by an additional £20 million of investment, which will help increase capacity and improve response times and staff wellbeing, including assistance from over 100 military personnel.

We have also previously taken action to help with the situation, including an additional investment of £20m as part of the £1bn NHS Recovery Plan. This investment comes from continued involvement with the SAS Demand and Capacity programme which this Government has been involved in since its inception in 2019. It will deliver almost 300 additional Ambulance Service staff by April 2022.

This breaks down as 69 staff in the North of Scotland, 139 in West of Scotland and 88 in the East of Scotland. The additional staff are a mixture of paramedics, newly qualified paramedics (NQPs) and technicians. Extra ambulances and vehicles will also be introduced over the coming months, including two in Edinburgh.

Information on the number of homeless people who have received a GP appointment is not held centrally by the Scottish Government as GP practices are responsible for their own patient appointment and consultation arrangements.

The previous International Travel Regulations were due to expire on 20 September 2021 but were instead revoked and replaced with new, consolidated regulations that came into force on that date. We have reviewed the border health measures closely over the last 28 days and have assessed that there continues to be a requirement for the regulations to remain in place to reduce the risk of imported transmission and safeguard public health in Scotland. The regulations continue to be an important and proportionate part of the Scottish Government response to managing the pandemic. As we have done throughout the pandemic, we will continue discussions with UK Government and the other devolved administrations and continue to seek to take a four-nations approach to future changes to regulations and the travel regime.

GP practices are independent contractors and therefore decisions relating to telephony are at their discretion. On top of practices’ core funding allocation, the Scottish Government is making an additional £600,000 funding available this year for the Health Boards to allocate to GP practices for the purpose of upgrading or replacing telephony systems.

Information on the current number of face to face appointments is not held centrally by the Scottish Government as GP practices are responsible for their own patient appointment and consultation arrangements. We are currently working with stakeholders to improve data collection.

A decision on the timing of a Bill will be taken by Cabinet in the context of setting the content of future legislative programmes in the normal way.

It would not be appropriate for Scottish Ministers to comment on the day to day operational matters of SEPA as independent environmental regulator. However, I understand that SEPA intend to provide you with a written update regarding the Tarbolton Moss Landfill Site.

Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, COPFS concluded 59 FAIs, an increase from 57 the previous year. This increase took place notwithstanding an increase of more than 40% deaths reported to COPFS compared to previous years as well as the restrictions on court business for much of that period due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In relation to those 59 FAIs, 43 related to deaths which had occurred between 2018 and 2020.

In recognition of the fact that some death investigations have taken too long, COPFS has made significant changes to its practices and additional resources have been applied to this important area of work. There has been a particular focus on clearing a backlog of cases and consequently some older FAIs concluded during this period which will have affected the figures quoted.

There are legitimate and unavoidable reasons for prolonged periods of investigation: the overriding necessity of conducting death investigations thoroughly; the need to wait for the outcome of other related investigations; the need to obtain expert advice; and the need to consider and, in some cases, conclude criminal proceedings before holding an FAI.

The Scottish Government has been discussing with businesses and other stakeholders the detailed plans for implementing the previously-announced policy to end overseas trade support and promotion activities focused solely on fossil fuel goods and services by the time of COP26. Under this policy, trade support and promotion will be refocused to support the Scottish Government’s objective of a Just Transition.

In the light of those discussions, and in recognition of the need for SMEs to have sufficient time to adjust, when this policy enters into force on 1 November 2021 it will include an exemption for SMEs until 31 March 2022. This matches the timing of the equivalent policy of the UK government, bearing in mind that in many cases the companies affected work with and receive support from both governments. Detailed guidance on the implementation of the policy, including this and other exemptions, will be published on the Scottish Government website at 2pm Friday 15 October at this link - https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781802014662 .

I have today announced a £15 million Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund. This is in recognition of the important role that small, grass roots, community groups play in supporting adult mental health and wellbeing and aims to build on the excellent examples of good practice we have seen emerge throughout the pandemic.

It also reflects the importance that the Scottish Government places on promoting good mental health and early intervention for those in distress, ensuring that individuals can access a range of different types of support to match their needs.