Chamber and committees

Every life lost to alcohol is a tragedy and the recent alcohol specific deaths statistics published by the National Records of Scotland is a stark reminder of the challenge we continue to face in tackling alcohol harm across Scotland. There is currently no specific information available on the effect of licensed hours for the off-sale of alcohol being 10:00 to 22:00 on alcohol deaths and alcohol-related illness in Scotland though a number of studies have concluded that reducing the times of availability of alcohol are effective at reducing alcohol harms.

The Scottish Government takes a whole population approach to tackling alcohol-related harms, in line with the World Health Organization’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol. Reducing availability of alcohol through limiting hours of sale continues to be recommended by the World Health Organization as one of the ‘best buys’ for reducing alcohol related harm.

The Electricity Act 1989 is legislation enacted by the UK Parliament. Interpretation of the requirements of paragraph 10(2) of Schedule 4 of The Electricity Act 1989 would be dependent on legal advice based on the circumstances of the individual case.

The Scottish Government is committed, through our draft palliative care strategy, to work with Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) and adult independent hospice organisations to develop a national guidance framework to support and improve consistency of local planning and commissioning of independent hospice services.

The Scottish Government continues to work with Integration Joint Boards (IJB) Chief Officers and adult independent hospice organisations to support longer-term sustainable planning and commissioning for the sector, and officials will take forward plans to develop a new national guidance framework.

Through NHS Research Scotland (NRS), the Scottish Government provides funding for infrastructure to support the delivery of both investigator-led and commercially-sponsored clinical trials in the NHS here.

The NRS infrastructure includes the NRS Cancer Network whose role is to support the recruitment of cancer patients into clinical research studies. Cancer | NHS Research Scotland | NHS Research Scotland.

In Financial Year 2023-24 the NRS Cancer Network supported a total of 56 Blood Cancer clinical studies across Scotland.

The Scottish Government co-funds in partnership with Cancer Research UK the Adult Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMC's) in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and a Paediatric ECMC in Glasgow. These form part of a UK-wide ECMC Network that works to support the delivery of commercial and non-commercial early phase cancer studies, covering both solid tumours and haematological malignancies:

Edinburgh | ECMC (ecmcnetwork.org.uk)

Glasgow | ECMC (ecmcnetwork.org.uk)

The Glasgow ECMC has supported early phase studies developed through Blood Cancer UK's Trial Acceleration Programme (TAP).

Approximately 80% of deer culling in Scotland is carried out by the private sector and in these circumstances stalkers are not employed to do so by the Scottish Government, its bodies or agencies

Where deer are culled on publicly owned land this is done by trained stalkers which can include: agency staff, for example those employed by Forestry and Land Scotland; contractors; and recreational stalkers.

It is for those managing the land to decide how and when to shoot deer in line with their responsibilities and their Deer Management Plan, with support from NatureScot

I would also refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-30224 on 8 October 2024 which sets out methods being trialled to support and incentivise individuals to cull more deer in some parts of Scotland.

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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26978 on 7 May 2024, which details the spend and homes delivered by local authority areas through the 2022-2023 National Acquisition Programme.

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

There is no maximum number. Normally all vehicles queuing are convoyed through in the first convoy cycle. Those who miss the convoy vehicle are required to wait for it to return.

The Scottish Government remains committed to introducing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service in Scotland.

We have invested more than £35m to date in the delivery of a thrombectomy service in Scotland and will continue to work with our stakeholders to further develop and support delivery of an equitable service across Scotland to maximise patient access.

The Scottish government will announce more comprehensive spending plans for 2025-26 in its budget, scheduled for 4 December.

The Scottish Government has no plans at this time to commission further research in relation to student housing.

Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 sets out a vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030 and a long-term goal where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads by 2050.

In response to interim figures in 2023 showing an increase in road casualties in Scotland, the Scottish Government has allocated a record £36m for road safety investment in the 2024/25 financial year. Latest figures in 2024 show that fatal casualties are tracking 26% above the same period last year.

In response to this, a range of interventions totalling £5.5m will be delivered. These include driver behaviour campaigns targeting speeding and seat belt use, as well as advancing the use of distracted driver technology. Additionally, local projects will focus on reducing pedestrian and cyclist casualties.

Further initiatives include launching a consultation on the National Speed Management Review, overseeing the £10m Road Safety Improvement Fund to support local authorities reduce casualties and risk, and the rolling out of a pioneering training and education programme which includes the development of the world’s first Safe System Manual for road safety practitioners.

This comprehensive approach underscores the Scottish Government’s unwavering commitment to achieving its goal of making Scotland’s roads among the safest in the world by 2030.