Chamber and committees

Scottish Ministers received updates on Defra’s public consultation on changes to the regulation of genetic technologies in England at the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on 28 June 2021 and 13 September 2021. You may view the minutes for these meetings at https://www.gov.scot/collections/inter-ministerial-group-for-environment-food-and-rural-affairs-communiques/ .

Officials from the four UK administrations also meet on a regular basis to share information on topics of mutual interest, including the area of GMO regulation. These conversations have included updates on Defra’s public consultation and planned changes to the regulation of genetic technologies in England in relation to gene editing.

The following table incudes how much the UK Government has provided to the Scottish Government for capital expenditure in real terms each year since 2007-08, excluding Financial Transactions.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04189 on 22 November 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.

The Scottish Government has commissioned a study from the Plant Health Centre on the implications of gene editing for plant health, including environmental impacts.

The Scottish Government has access to a wealth of expertise in its advisors, including the Chief Scientific Advisor for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, who follow the latest scientific evidence and are qualified to comment on the environmental impact of gene editing.

NHS Boards are expected to ensure that patients, including those living with severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) have access to a range of professionals to provide the appropriate management of their condition. We would further expect clinicians to have good awareness of guidance relevant to their practice area and apply these taking account of individual circumstances and discussions with the patient.

In light of the final National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline for ME/CFS being published, we are considering how best to review and update existing Scottish guidance, and will be reviewing the need for specialist services as part of this work.

We are regularly engaging with our stakeholders, including the third sector, people with lived experience and clinicians working in this area, to drive forward care and the development of pathways. We plan to undertake a structured programme of stakeholder engagement in early 2022 to initiate the revision of Scottish guidance and to identify opportunities for improvement.

We have recently supported the creation of a Priority Setting Partnership by the James Lind Alliance and Action for M.E. to agree the top 10 priorities for future research on ME/CFS. This approach brings patients, carers and clinicians together to identify and prioritise research uncertainties in the field of ME/CFS, before disseminating the results to research funders.

We are investing £4.5 million of funding to implement the Neurological Care and Support Framework. Commitment 13 of the Neurological Care and Support Framework involves supporting neurological research, and we welcome proposals for ME/CFS research.

We are investing £4.5 million of funding to implement the Neurological Care and Support Framework. Through the framework, we have funded Action for ME to produce an online CPD learning module on ME/CFS for GPs and health professionals in Scotland, which aims to support person-centred care, informed by good practice and current research. In June 2021, officials presented the module to the Scottish Deans Medical Education Group, who agreed to consider introducing into medical school curriculums.

We are also liaising with NHS Education Scotland who have committed to producing a Practice-Based Small Group Learning module on ME/CFS following publication of the final National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, and we understand that this work is now underway.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The SPS does not hold the requested data. Since 2013, SPS has asked all persons on admission to custody to self-declare any known disability. The response is recorded on SPS’ internal system as either: yes, no or prefer not to disclose. However, the type of disability it is not specifically recorded.

Every individual in SPS custody is interviewed by a Healthcare Professional on admission in order to assess their healthcare needs. Where there is an identified need for additional support or reasonable adjustments whilst in custody, SPS, NHS and our education service partners will work in partnership to facilitate this.

The additional £40 million for the culture sector was announced in light of the consequential funding expected from the £300 million uplift to the Culture Recovery Fund in March 2021 UK Budget. The Scottish Government has so far only received £9 million of these consequentials. We are still seeking clarity from HM Treasury on why the £40 million has not yet been passed on in full to us and are continuing to press the UK Government to deliver the remaining £31 million.

Despite only receiving to date £9 million of the consequentials, we have made available £25 million to support recovery in the culture sector, principally through the Cultural Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund (COVRF) and the Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund (PAVRF). £17.2 million has been awarded to performing arts venues and culture organisations via Creative Scotland. £1.25m has also been announced for funding for the Public Library Covid Relief Fund. This leaves £6.55m remaining to be allocated, £2m of which is capital. We are working with the culture sector to understand ongoing needs, and announcements on the final allocations will be made in the coming weeks.

The shift to electric vehicles is an important part of responding to the climate emergency and improving air quality in our cities. To help incentivise this shift, we have, since 2011, provided loans valued over £140 million to the people and businesses of Scotland to make the transition to ultra-low emission vehicles. Last year our interest free loan scheme that supports the purchase of electric vehicles was extended to include used electric vehicles.

Since 2011 the Scottish Government through Transport Scotland has funded the Low Carbon Transport Loan (LCTL) this interest free loan has supported almost 5500 individuals and businesses in Scotland.

The breakdown between individuals and businesses receiving the LCTL is listed in the following table.

NHS health boards lead on the local delivery of the vaccination programme. Vaccination centres have frequently changed throughout the programme, with some facilities being repurposed, and drop-in clinics being made available as we have had to exercise flexibility.

As such, the Scottish Government do not hold the requested level of information.

Information regarding the number of vaccination centres operating in each health board area, and their opening hours can be found on NHS inform.