Chamber and committees

We have written to the Comhairle setting out our view on the issues raised by Tighean Innse Gall and continued delivery of home insulation schemes in the Western Isles. The Scottish Government has proposed practical solutions and remains open to receiving proposals from the council that aim to further strengthen the local supply chain. This year we will allocate £64 million in funding to local councils to support local delivery of Area Based Schemes.

Help and support for fuel poor households continues to be available through our national Warmer Homes Scotland service. Warmer Homes Scotland has installed insulation measures in 17 homes in the Western Isles since last September. Likewise there is a range of cashback and loans available to householders, as well as advice and information, through our Home Energy Scotland helpline.

The successful implementation of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 is dependent on the engagement of clinical staff groups and the Health Board managers firstly in contributing to the development of the 2019 Act’s Guidance and subsequently in understanding and applying the relevant provisions to their services. The NHS’s main focus has been prioritising, managing and providing services throughout the pandemic. The movement towards remobilisation is now presenting the opportunity for officials to engage with the relevant stakeholders to coproduce an implementation strategy and timetable which the Government will subsequently publish.

The Scottish Government regularly reviews its plans for public awareness campaigns. We do not intend to run a public awareness campaign for deep vein thrombosis at this time.

Our Detect Cancer Early (DCE) Programme aims to provide greater public awareness of signs and symptoms of cancer to improve earlier diagnosis rates. A symptom-checker tool is included on the getcheckedearly.org website, to raise awareness of the early signs and symptoms of cancer, including sarcoma cancers, and research is currently being undertaken to better understand the possible barriers and levers to early diagnosis that any new DCE campaigns should focus on.

A new Early Diagnosis Vision is planned as part of the new Scottish Government Cancer Strategy (due to launch in April 2023), and will look at awareness raising.

We recognise the need for urgent action to address our twin nature and climate crises. That is why we are not waiting until the introduction of the Natural Environment Bill to take action. We have already committed to invest £65 in our Nature Restoration Fund over the course of this Parliament and £250 restoring our peatland over this decade. We will soon be consulting on our new Biodiversity Strategy where we will set out our ambitious vision for a nature rich Scotland. We remain committed to introducing a Natural Environment Bill in year 3 which will include nature targets to help tackle the biodiversity and climate crises.

Scottish Government consultations and supporting documents are published to gov.scot and our consultation hub at consult.gov.scot. We are continuously working to make those websites as accessible and usable as possible for all users.

Past consultations on issues identified as affecting disabled people have been produced in various accessible formats, for example, Easy Read, large print and British Sign Language. Furthermore, accessible consultation events are regularly tailored to meet the different needs of disabled people in partnership with Disabled People’s Organisations. These ensure meaningful engagement with disabled people on issues they identify as being important to them.

In our Equality Outcomes for the 2021-2025 reporting period, we committed to improving and embedding inclusive communication within Government and across the wider public sector. Some of the actions we will take to achieve this include working in partnership with public bodies, equality advocacy groups and people with lived experience to create national standards and best practice examples of inclusive communication. Through this programme of work we want to improve the accessibility of published documents, including consultations, so that everyone can engage with them.

Staff are also provided with a range of training and guidance to help them meet these commitments, and the Scottish Government has established a network of accessibility champions to promote best practice across the organisation.

The identification, assessment and management of people with long-term effects of COVID-19 in Scotland is guided by the recommendations of an evidence-based UK-wide clinical guideline developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) and the Royal College of GPs (RCGP).

This is underpinned by the full range of NHS services – including primary care teams and community-based rehabilitation services with referrals to secondary care where necessary.

The Scottish Sarcoma Network is tasked with looking at this issue more closely for the whole of Scotland, particularly regarding any educational shortfalls that may exist.

The Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer were published in 2019 and support primary care professionals in identifying patients with potential symptoms of cancer who require urgent assessment by a specialist. These include guidelines for suspected sarcoma.

The use of the Picture Archiving Communications System (PACS) enables all radiologists to work together to ensure patients with scans indicating suspicion of sarcoma can be discussed with a sarcoma specialist radiologist. The responsible GP or consultant can refer the patient to the nearest sarcoma specialist centre.

We recognise that the high-level ambitions we have to tackle the twin nature and climate crises need to be supported with adequate funding. This is why we have already committed to invest an additional £500 million in the natural economy over the course of this Parliament. This includes £250 million on peatland restoration over the current decade, £65 Million on the new Nature Restoration Fund over the course of this Parliament, and £100 million to increase forestry planting,

‎ £30 million to expand Scotland's national forests, and £20 million to increase nursery stocks. The Resource Spending Review will reflect these priorities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07557 on 19 April 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