Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15073 on 16 March 2023. 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 .

Neither the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care nor the Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport have met with NHS Boards to discuss pulmonary rehabilitation services.

Through the National Strategy for Economic Transformation, the Scottish Government has committed to “establish a values-led, high-integrity market for responsible private investment in natural capital, supported by a national project pipeline for nature-based solutions”. This work is underpinned by our Interim Principles for Responsible Investment in Natural Capital, which can be found at the following link - https://www.gov.scot/publications/interim-principles-for-responsible-investment-in-natural-capital/ . These ensure investments deliver genuine benefits to the environment, support local communities and conform with the principles of a just transition.

NatureScot’s agreement with Hampden & Co, Lombard Odier and Palladium, announced on 1 March 2023, will help to deliver these commitments by creating new jobs, working with local communities and businesses, and bringing about landscape-scale restoration of natural capital. Neither NatureScot nor the Scottish Government are currently working on any other similar agreements. The Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS), launched in February this year, will also support the establishment of a values-led, high-integrity market by helping organisations that seek to develop projects that use responsible private investment and market-based mechanisms to restore Scotland’s natural environment.

We are currently considering next steps to recognise those affected by historical adoption practices.

In the meantime, we have commissioned a scoping study of the support services available in Scotland for people affected by historical adoption practices. This will help us understand where services need to be improved or enhanced to better meet the needs and expectations of those affected by historical adoption. The research started in January and will take approximately 8 months.

Last year the Scottish Government committed funding of around £145,000 to provide specialist support and counselling, and we have now agreed a proposal to establish a peer support group to be delivered through the charity, Health In Mind. The planning and implementation of this support service has begun and is informed by people affected by historical adoption.

The Scottish Respiratory Advisory Committee (SRAC) has identified pulmonary rehabilitation as one of the initial priorities for the implementation of the Respiratory Care Action Plan.

To take forward this key priority, a sub-group has been established comprised of clinical specialists and services managers from across Scotland, as well as third sector representatives. The group have completed a scoping exercise to determine areas of good practice and areas that require improvement. The aim of this group will be to develop ‘best practice guidelines’ for the delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation services across Scotland. This work is also being supported by the respiratory programmes managed by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery.

The necessary pause to face to face pulmonary rehab groups during the pandemic has inevitably led to a build-up of people waiting for treatment, and services continue to experience significant pressure as a result of this.

Our NHS Recovery Plan, published in August 2021, backed by over £1 billion of funding, sets out our vision for health and social care over the next 5 years, and will support the increase in access to services such as pulmonary rehabilitation.

The current non-executive directors of Scottish Rail Holdings (SRH) Board were appointed on an interim basis to 31 March 2023. The SRH Board non-executive appointments are non-regulated and there is no stipulation of specific appointment length detailed within the Framework Agreement, however going forward it is anticipated that terms for non-interim appointments will be for up to three years.

The standard tenure of the executive members of the SRH Board is permanent.

There is a job profile created for each individual role and this is used to assess the suitability of the candidates.

Job profiles are designed to attract the best people for the roles - high quality candidates with specialist knowledge and qualifications, where required, in relation to specific roles such as Safety and Audit and Risk. It is also important to us that candidates possess strong governance, diversity and leadership skills and a knowledge of constitutional devolution and how it affects public services in Scotland.

In 2019, the £500 million investment in bus included reallocation of roadspace on the Glasgow motorway network. The design development and business case work to support infrastructure to improve bus journey time reliability on the M8 through Glasgow and also on the M77 and M80, is currently moving towards completion.

Until this work is completed it is not possible to confirm the exact level of investment that will be required.

Actions on loss and damage can either avert, minimise or address loss and damage; meaning we can prevent climate impacts by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reduce the severity of climate impacts through adaptative measures or remedy the harm that has been caused. The Scottish Government funding on loss and damage is focused on the latter, that is, addressing the losses and damages by remedying the harm that communities are suffering.

The Scottish Government funding is focused on addressing loss and damage because partner countries have continually stressed that this is an underfunded and underacknowledged area. But our funding also, in addition, lessens future potential impacts. For example following the devastating impacts of Storm Ana and Cyclone Gombe in Malawi, the Scottish Government’s funding has supported the training of 155 artisans in the construction of safer housing using low to medium cost materials. It is expected that, with the advanced knowledge and skill, the artisans will support community members to construct more resilient homes, better able to withstand future climate shocks.

There are 18.8 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) Ophthalmology Consultants employed in NHS Lanarkshire as at December 2022.

There are 12.3 WTE Ophthalmology Consultants employed in NHS Forth Valley as at December 2022.