Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living with kidney disease in Scotland are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

We expect all NHS healthcare workers in Scotland to follow best practice when providing care for people with kidney disease and we continue to raise awareness of the symptoms, causes, diagnosis and prevention of kidney disease by providing and promoting information on chronic kidney disease for patients and their families on NHS Inform .

We also continue to support the work of the Scottish Renal Registry which promotes excellence in renal care in Scotland including audits on the delivery of renal replacement therapy. The most recent report from registry was published by Public Health Scotland in October 2023 and provides vital information for Health Boards, service managers and individual clinicians to help improve care and standards for people with chronic kidney disease.

The Al-Mahdi Foundation received £372k of Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) grant funding for 2 projects between 2014-2020 to support awareness raising of climate change issues amongst disadvantaged and ethnic minority communities and to make their community building more energy efficient.

The CCF was delivered by Keep Scotland Beautiful who were responsible for assessing all applications. Grant applications were subject to the relevant due diligence checks. Projects were monitored to ensure they delivered against their objectives and grants were paid out based on incurred expenditure.

National Security is a reserved matter. If there is any evidence of alleged criminality this should be reported to Police Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22410 on 7 November 2023. We are working with health boards to understand how best to achieve national consistency so that patients undergoing home dialysis are protected from the impact of high electricity prices, wherever they live. I expect to provide a further update on this in the coming weeks. 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 have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21592 on 4 December 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 .

The Scottish Government uses official statistics to monitor trends on reported incidents and people’s own experiences or perceptions of antisocial behaviour. These include the quarterly Recorded Crime in Scotland bulletin; Scottish Crime and Justice Survey and Scottish Household Survey (both annual surveys).

Reported antisocial behaviour over the last decade has decreased. I recognise that not all incidents are reported, and anecdotal information arises. However, the Scottish Government surveys people’s own experiences, which indicate that people generally feel safer, and the core Recorded Crime data of reported incidents, which also indicates an overall decrease in antisocial behaviour.

To understand the impact of the Young Persons Free Bus Travel Scheme, the Scottish Government have committed to an ongoing evaluation during the first five years of operation. This includes a one year after launch evaluation which will be published later this year and include consideration of the impact of antisocial behaviour on cardholders, other bus users and the bus industry.

The Scottish Government is fully cooperating with both the UK and Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry and is in regular communication with Inquiry teams as required as both a core participant and a provider of material.

The Scottish Government is unable offer a running commentary on the conduct of the UK public inquiry which should be allowed to carry out its investigations and liaison with parties like the Scottish Government as it sees fit.

Antisocial behaviour is unacceptable on Scotland's public transport and in wider society. Tackling anti-social behaviour must focus on the causes, not the mode of transport. While the Young Persons Free Bus Travel Scheme changes the way in which bus travel is paid for, it does not affect bus operators’ conditions of carriage that all passengers are expected to follow.

The police, local authorities, and other local agencies are responsible for tackling anti-social behaviour at the local level. It is these agencies, empowered by the Scottish Government, working in a concerted and co-ordinated way with local people that are working to tackle the problem effectively.

I recognise that no single approach will tackle all anti-social behaviour. However, we support a suite of enforcement activities including Formal Warnings, Fixed Penalty Notices and Antisocial Behaviour Orders, alongside positive diversionary and early intervention activities. The Scottish Government will continue to work with partners to strengthen options to tackle anti-social behaviour.

The Scottish Government is encouraging anyone witnessing such incidents to report this behaviour to their local council’s Antisocial Behaviour Team and to report all criminal behaviour to the police.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23070 on 4 December 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 .

As of 06 November 2023, there are 40 civil servants working within the Covid Inquiries Response Directorate. The breakdown by civil service grade is as follows:

As part of the scientific trial on electrofishing for razor clams, the Scottish Government has collected biological information related to the species. This has included live samples of razor clams which have been analysed to determine sex, stage of maturity, spawning time and length-weight relationships.

Scottish Government has worked closely with fishers to identify spawning season through first-hand experience and knowledge gathered through fishing. Annual progress reports are published online: 2018-2019 , 2019-2020 , 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 ).