Chamber and committees

There were 42 proposed flood protection schemes set out in the Flood Risk Management Strategies published by SEPA in December 2015.

Of the 42 projects 8 have been completed.

No. Siemens Gamesa is a manufacturer of onshore and offshore wind turbines. Any contract would therefore be between them and Onshore and Offshore Wind Developers and companies in the related supply chain.

COP26 delivered some progress on Loss and Damage – and, in pledging £2 million, the Scottish Government were pleased to lead the way as the first [developed nation] to pledge funds. However it is widely acknowledged the issue requires greater prominence and wider action at scale. In the run up to COP27, the Scottish Government will be working with international colleagues including Under 2 members such as Wallonia, research communities and philanthropic partners with the aim of building broader consensus and plans for programming on Loss and Damage.

We recognise that the scale of finance needed far outstrips what Scotland alone can commit but we hope that our action will galvanise others to be similarly ambitious. We will be working closely over this coming year with international colleagues.

In 2021-22, over £14 million has been provided to welfare and debt advice services aligned to Social Justice priorities and to projects in the Justice Programme, including law centres. The value of funding in future financial years will form part of the setting of the overall budget for 2022-23.

The Scottish Government runs a number of funding programmes across all areas of its responsibility, some of which are open to applications from advice agencies and law centres. All funding streams have their own assessment criteria based on the needs of the policy areas with responsibility for the funding programme. Such a varied approach allows for targeted funding that responds to identified policy need. For example, the Investing in Communities Fund, which is anticipated to re-open for applications in April 2022, is a community-focused fund which supports community organisations based in the places they serve to deliver a holistic range of projects and services that help to tackle all forms of poverty and inequalities. Funding for these projects through these programmes is in addition to the figure of £14 million above.

In addition, advice services receive funding from multiple other sources, including Local Authorities, which remain the biggest funders of advice in Scotland. The Common Advice Performance Management Reporting Framework published on 28 January 2021 found that total Local Authority funding for money and welfare rights advice services was just over £28 million in 2019-20, of which £13 million was spent on externally delivered provision including free advice and law centres.

Scottish Government and its agencies have no agreements in place to provide financial or other support to Siemens Gamesa.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of pharmacies that have closed over the past 12 months nor reasons for closures. The provision of community pharmacy pharmaceutical care services are the responsibility of territorial Health Boards as set out in the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009, including pharmacy closures. Each Health Board holds separate data on those community pharmacies that have been unable to deliver pharmaceutical care services due to closures.

Any challenges faced by community pharmacies in ensuring the safe and effective dispensing of treatments should be discussed with the local Health Board.

The regulation of medicines and medicinal products, including Cannabis Based Products for Medicinal Use (CBPMs) is reserved to the UK Government, and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The Scottish Government remains committed to helping build the evidence base around the safety, efficacy and quality of CBPMs.

CBPMs contain cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD). Any foods or food supplements containing a CBD must be evaluated for safety, authorised and approved as a novel food before they can be sold in Scotland. At this moment in time there are currently no CBD products that have been authorised for the GB market under the novel foods regulation. You can find more information on Food Standards Scotland's website here .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04237 on 6 December 2021. 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 .

Having spoken to Public Health Scotland, I can confirm that only limited information is published in the Stage of Treatment publication on cancelled planned operations. You will find this information at: Cancelled planned operations - Month ending 30 September 2021 - Cancelled planned operations - Publications - Public Health Scotland

If you would like more detailed information, I would suggest contacting NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde directly.

The Chief Medical Officer issued guidance in his letter of 21 September on the vaccination of severely immunosuppressed individuals. This letter is published here: COVID-19 vaccination programme: JCVI advice on the vaccination of severely immunosuppressed individual (scot.nhs.uk) . On 19 October a tailored Primary Care Update communication was cascaded direct to primary care networks to ensure GPs and others were aware of arrangements for this cohort.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice on third primary doses is complex both in terms of eligibility and timing, as the ideal time for a third dose may differ from person to person. There has therefore been clear national communication to health boards to assist them in delivery to this cohort.

There are many rare conditions and guidance on specific conditions which may benefit from inclusion is not necessarily exhaustive. Where a condition is not on the list but a patient’s clinician believes they should be included, they can add people to the list and refer them for vaccination to their local health board, if in their judgement, they feel that their patient should be eligible for a third dose.

More information on this is available at: Coronavirus (COVID-19) third dose vaccination | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot).