Chamber and committees

The draft National Planning Framework (NPF4) includes a strengthened planning policy position that seeks to proactively enable the reuse of vacant and derelict land and buildings and which notes that demolition should be regarded as the least preferred option. Re-use of vacant and derelict land and buildings has multiple benefits, including contributing to climate change targets.

The draft NPF4 was laid in the Scottish Parliament in November 2021 for a period of scrutiny through to next spring. A public consultation on the draft is running until the end of March 2022 and responses are invited to help inform the final NPF4 which will form part of the development plan and therefore inform priorities in local development plans and day to day planning decision making.

We have established a process for individuals who have received one of their first coronavirus vaccinations outwith Scotland which allows them to upload official proof of vaccination from that country to their Scottish Vaccination record through NHS Inform . This will allow those individuals to receive a combined fully vaccinated status to show for international travel and domestic purposes.

Individuals who have been vaccinated in England or Wales can provide confirmation that they are fully vaccinated through NHS COVID Pass for domestic purposes.

I can confirm that the project remains on budget. There is no change to the estimated total project cost of £49.5m at Q4 2018 prices, of which the construction contract value is £18m, as reported in the Infrastructure Investment Plan updates.

Construction cost updates for the project are published on the Scottish Government website every 6 months via the Major Capital Projects update.

According to Rape Crisis Scotland, as of October 2020 and December 2021 waiting list times for each centre were as follows:

Funding provided by the Scottish Government (Chief Scientist Office) for research falls into three broad areas of activity, i.e. research studies, capacity building and supporting infrastructure.

The specific amounts provided by condition are set out below although it should be noted that research studies (funded by non-commercial and third sector organisations) would also have benefited from the provision of service support costs and other generic resources which are not routinely recorded by condition.

Research Grants

The Chief Scientist Office supports response mode grant committees and a small catalytic grants scheme (2016-19). The committees which comprise independent experts as well as public representatives consider applications across broad research remits to address health and care challenges in Scotland. Applications are subject to independent expert peer-review with funding recommendations made by the committees. It should be noted that (1) funding rounds were significantly impacted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic which saw a significant research response and (2) for 2021 to date only one of the two funding rounds has been completed.

There are no proposals to rewrite or remove questions contained in the Health and Wellbeing Census.

I also refer the member to the answer given to S6W-04878 on 17 December 2021 regarding the appropriateness of the Census questions.

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 A92 A96 Haudagain Improvement project, which was anticipated to be complete in winter 2021, has faced a number of challenges including the impact of the pandemic continuing to disrupt progress. The contractor has indicated a revised date for completing the works, with the Improvement now due to open to traffic by the end of March 2022 as detailed in the recent press release available on the Transport Scotland website at:  https://www.transport.gov.scot/news/a92a96-haudagain-improvement-update-to-expected-completion-date/ .

I also refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05362 on 21 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 .

a) Since 2019 the Scottish Government has increased legal aid fees by 8% with a further 5% committed to in early 2022. This is a total rise of 13% set against a backdrop of difficult public finances and compares well to public sector pay increases. The 5% plus 5% increases are part of an over £20m package of support for legal aid providers, in the context of the COVID pandemic. This included a £9m grant fund, payments for which were completed in September 2021 and £1m for legal aid trainees over this and next year.

The legal aid Fund is demand-led and is not cash limited. The report of the Independent Review of Legal Aid, published in 2018, found that Scotland’s legal aid system benchmarked well against other countries. The report set a long-term vision for reform. The Scottish Government has committed to bring forward reforms, including a Legal Aid Reform Bill, during this parliament.

b) With reference to pay comparisons, legal aid providers are private firms. Salaries and terms and conditions are a matter for each business. However, we are committed to the future sustainability of the legal aid system. We continue to be open to discussion and to consider evidence of gaps in the workforce and supporting diversity in the profession. The levers to assist with recruitment which the Scottish Government has undertaken includes £1m of funding over this year and next to support the costs of employing trainee solicitors.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) have confirmed that they currently have no plans to update SIGN Guideline 122 - Prevention and management of venous thromboembolism.

However, on Wednesday 15 December, SIGN published a new rapid guideline: SIGN 163 - Prevention and management of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with COVID-19.

The Open Market Shared Equity scheme is targeted at first time buyers on low to moderate incomes regardless of the source of their income. This includes those in employment and in receipt of benefits. In 2020-21, the average gross household income of beneficiaries was £27,000 and 43% of households had at least one child.