Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is in regular discussion with the UK Government about the Independent Review into the health impact of potential bias in medical devices, announced by the Department of Health and Social Care on 21 November 2021.

The primary purpose of the Independent Review is to make recommendations to tackle any health impact on patients due to their ethnic origin in relation to medical devices currently in use in the UK. The UK Government plans a further announcement about the Independent Review.

Ahead of the wider Independent Review, two DHSC led rapid reviews are underway to identify potential areas of immediate concern with medical devices currently on the market in the UK, and will conclude by the end of January – one is specifically on Pulse Oximeters, and one on other medical devices currently in use in the UK. The Pulse Oximeter review will involve a roundtable with representation from experts in the field from across the UK including NHS Scotland, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and NHS England. The rapid reviews will help inform priority areas of the Independent Review.

It is intended that the Independent Review and DHSC led rapid reviews will result in recommendations to ensure medical devices are safe and effective for all. The Scottish Government will consider recommendations relevant to the NHS in Scotland.

It is for local authorities to exercise their statutory responsibilities and deliver a safe environment for all school users. It is also for local authorities to determine what remedial action is required in their schools, in line with guidance.

The recently announced funding of up to £5 million is in addition to previous funding of £10 million to address issues around ventilation and CO2 monitoring, and on top of £90m of COVID-19 logistics funding.

No appointments were cancelled as a result of the de-prioritisation of the flu programme. Appointments for co-administration of vaccines were then repurposed as the COVID-19 vaccine was still being offered. All scheduled flu appointments, especially those for the protection of more at risk individuals were administered.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03606 on 23 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

Hospitals balance the provision of beds against a number of factors such as staffing levels and anticipated demand to enable them to provide a safe and effective service to patients. Whilst overall workforce numbers in the NHS have never been higher, increased demand for health and social care services is creating significant workforce capacity challenges.

Recently, capacity pressures have been exacerbated by Omicron-related absences. In the week ending 11 January, health boards reported a 31% increase in coronavirus absence compared with the previous week. On average, 7,174 NHS staff were absent per day for reasons related to Coronavirus, or around 4.0% of the NHS workforce.

We continue to work with NHS Boards and their partners to put in place a range of initiatives to maximise capacity. For example, on the 11 November I announced measures to support people with Covid to stay safely at home and free up hospital beds, including £500,000 to fund 25,000 remote monitoring kits, and a dedicated team which will support the early identification of patients who would benefit from antivirals treatments and get these started as soon as possible.

I am assured that NHS boards have opened all available staffed beds.

The latest published Official Statistics on the number of incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland are for the year to 31 March 2021. In the period from 1 January to 31 March 2021, the Police recorded 14,782 incidents of domestic abuse.

Figures showing police recorded domestic abuse incidents are also published in the monthly data reports on how the pandemic has affected the Justice system in Scotland. In the period from 1 April to 30 June 2021 the police recorded 15,749 incidents of domestic abuse. This data is based on management information provided each month by Police Scotland, based on their administrative data available at that time and will in due course be incorporated into the 2021-22 Official Statistics.

In the period 1 January to 30 June 2021, 16,395 domestic abuse charges were reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). These are reported charges with a domestic abuse identifier. During the same period, 15,096 domestic abuse charges were prosecuted.

It should be noted that information on police recorded incidents of domestic abuse and cases prosecuted by COPFS are not strictly comparable as there is no direct relationship between the number of incidents (and the crimes they involve) recorded by the police and the number of follow-up actions taken by other agencies within the criminal justice system. For example, some incidents of domestic abuse do not involve any crimes or offences being recorded, whereas others may involve multiple crimes which lead to more than one prosecution. There are other comparability issues in that incidents recorded by the police may not be processed by COPFS or the courts in the same period they were recorded.

An independent consultation analysis by Optimal Economics was published on 17 January 2022 which can be found at https://www.gov.scot/publications/analysis-responses-building-standards-fire-safety-consultation-external-wall-systems/

Our regulatory proposals will give local authorities powers to strike a balance between the needs and concerns of their local communities, with the wider economic and tourism benefits of short-term lets. In certain areas, achieving this balance may require a reduction in numbers of whole homes offered for short-term lets and local authorities have been given powers through the planning control area regulations to help manage activity in their area.

We do not have an estimate of how many short-term lets will return to the long-term housing market as this depends on how local authorities use the powers they are being given.

On 18 November, I confirmed with Mr Bibby that I will visit the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley when it is the appropriate time to do so. This continues to be my intention.

Ministerial visits are being carefully considered at present in light of the implications for Health and Social Care services from the Omicron variant. I continue to maintain strong communication with Trade Union representatives and Health Boards to understand the experiences of our Frontline Health and Social Care staff.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05407 on 24 January 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

These projects are all being funded from the Scottish Government’s £254 million investment in the North East, which is in addition to the £125 million committed to the Aberdeen City Region Deal in 2016.

Option selection for rail improvements, towards which £200 million has been allocated, is scheduled for completion by the end of March 2022.

Following the publication of Draft Orders, Transport Scotland is currently dealing with objections to the Laurencekirk junction, towards which £24 million has been allocated.

Digital projects, towards which £10 million has been allocated, are progressing as expected. The City Network Extension project, connecting 57 Aberdeen City corporate sites to full fibre was completed in November 2021. The full fibre project in Aberdeenshire is due to be completed by the end of March 2022.

To date, no eligible projects have been submitted for housing infrastructure projects, towards which £20 million has been allocated. Scottish Government officials have been in discussions with officials from Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils to identify suitable projects following the launch of the Housing Infrastructure Fund (Round 2) in October 2021.