Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has not made any projections for any inflation-based losses incurred on the interest-free loan. In response to the maturing EV market as well as the current cost of living crisis we have reduced the amount of funds provided per vehicle slightly to maximise value for money and impact of loan funding. We regularly review the loan to ensure it benefits as many people as possible. This included opening up the loan eligibility to support the used EV market in 2020.

Funding provided to Energy Saving Trust (EST) to deliver the Low Carbon Transport Loan needs to be spent each year to deliver Scottish Government policy, therefore, it is not possible for the Scottish Government to hold onto funding to accrue interest.

The Scottish Government provides annual funding to Energy Saving Trust (EST) who are an independent organisation looking to address the climate emergency, EST then delivery the Low Carbon Transport Loan on behalf of Scottish Ministers.

Since the scheme launched in 2011, EST have paid out (i) £176.5 million in loans for new vehicles and (ii) £46.2 millions in loans for used vehicles. (A) To date £101.5 million has been paid back for new vehicle loans and £7.8 million for used vehicle loans. (B) The scheme’s terms and conditions require the loan to be repaid over a term of up to 6 years (5 years for the used EV loan). EST can recycle loan repayments to fund further loans in order to maximise the value and impact of the scheme.

Expected travel time improvement and other benefits of the proposed bypass schemes can only be confirmed after the conclusion of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) Options Assessment work.

This planned work will assess the necessary evidence and data to determine the preferred configuration and layout of any bypass, however, until this work is completed it is not possible to confirm at this time as to what the potential time savings will be.

It is not currently possible to give an estimate for when construction work could start at Crocketford and Springholm because a detailed design development and assessment phase will need to be completed first.

We are obliged to follow due process which includes securing statutory consent to deliver the scheme.

Delivery of the scheme could only commence following successful completion of the statutory process. Thereafter, a timetable for construction can be set in line with availability of funding.

The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2018 provide that:

A contractor must provide its registered patients with—

1. an online appointment service;

2. an online repeat prescription service; and

3. an online repeat prescription information service,

in a manner which is capable of being electronically integrated with the computer systems of the contractor’s practice and using appropriate systems authorised by the Health Board.

Health Boards are responsible for contracting with GP practices. The Scottish Government does not hold information about how many practices currently provide online booking systems.

The Lord President has been involved in the process of identifying a chair to the public inquiry and discussions are now at an advanced stage. The member will be aware that there will also be an independent clinical review of individual cases for those former patients who would like to participate, and planning for that is also well underway. At this time I am unable to provide a definitive start date for the clinical reviews, however I will endeavour to update Parliament once a date is agreed.

I expect all NHS Boards, including NHS Forth Valley, to keep their services under review to ensure that they are of the highest quality; and that they meet the needs of local people, whilst remaining consistent with national policies and frameworks.

NHS Forth Valley have confirmed that they are considering a number of options to improve capacity and flow through Forth Valley Royal Hospital, which includes the development of a frailty unit. This work is still at an early stage and the Board have given assurances that no changes would be made without ensuring that all services can continue to be delivered safely and effectively.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail.

As set out in the draft Scottish Government budget, the capital funding position is extremely challenging due to the UK Government’s decision to cut our capital budget by nearly 10%.

The capital budget settlement allows for Health Boards’ delegated capital budgets to be maintained at 23-24 levels, for all major projects in construction to be completed and for continued support for the national replacement programmes for ambulances and radiotherapy equipment. Given the current uncertainty regarding availability of funding, regrettably, we have advised boards to pause any new capital projects until capital funding becomes more certain.

Our Infrastructure Investment Plan identified priority health capital projects for funding within that period. As a result of UK Government cuts, we will bring forward a revised Infrastructure Investment Plan in the spring. All due consideration will be given to what projects can be included to ensure the revised Plan is affordable and deliverable.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail. The member may wish to contact ScotRail for this information.