Chamber and committees

The decision on whether or not to proceed with planned commercial rollout of broadband infrastructure is a matter solely for the relevant broadband infrastructure provider and their own internal governance. However, the Scottish Government is working to incentivise further commercial build through the series of pledges that comprise our Full Fibre Charter, and I am encouraged by discussions that took place with suppliers at last month’s Charter Forum.  

Any homes or businesses not in a supplier’s commercial build plans, and which cannot access a superfast connection, are being supported to access a minimum of a superfast service through the Scottish Government’s R100 programme.

The Scottish Government continues to explore options for incentivising the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as it develops its Aviation Strategy, recognising that transitioning to SAF is a crucial factor in the worldwide effort to decarbonise aviation.

In light of proposed UK Government action on SAF, officials are considering what support the Scottish Government could provide while recognising that significant levers remain reserved. In doing so, we are drawing on the responses to our consultation on the aviation strategy and the main findings from Scottish Enterprise’s recent SAF supply chain study. We will also involve stakeholders as appropriate.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all adults who require rehabilitation have timely access to the right information and services by the end of 2025 through our Once for Scotland Rehabilitation Approach. This is supported by NHS Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships, encouraging cross-sector working with third and leisure sectors to support community-based services and supported self-management. We are working with key partners to deliver this, and various measures are already in place to support delivery for people with chest, heart and stroke conditions.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22464 on 7 November 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 Civil Contingencies Act (2004) places a statutory duty on responders to cooperate and share information.

There are several technical layers of fallback capabilities in place for communication during circumstances that challenge the usual methods of communication. However, work continues to review current arrangements and ensure they are resilient to a wide range of risks. The existing resilient telecommunications plan for Scotland is currently under review, led by Police Scotland.

As I set out in my statement to Parliament in May, I will begin to take forward a more focused consultation in the autumn on the detail of proposed regulations to restrict the promotion of less healthy food and drink where those are sold to the public. We have begun engaging with stakeholders as part of this process. It is important that engagement on our proposals is extensive and as inclusive as possible.

The Best Start Implementation Programme Board was tasked with taking forward implementation of the recommendations within Best Start. The Programme Board set up the Perinatal Sub Group and asked it to take forward the Neonatal Intensive Care work, including an options appraisal process to identify the final three units. The Perinatal Sub Group comprises clinical experts, including the chair of the Scottish Neonatal Consultants Group, the chair of the Scottish neonatal nurses group, the Scottish Clinical Lead for neonatology, the Scottish clinical representative from the National Neonatal Audit Programme, the neonatal consultant lead for the neonatal transport service, senior management representation from the Scottish Ambulance Service, a Head of midwifery, the Scottish Clinical Lead for Obstetrics, the Chief Executive of the neonatal charity, Bliss and is chaired by a Health Board Medical Director and Deputy Chief Executive.

The Expert Group that agreed the short list criteria and weighting for the options appraisal comprised the following experts (representing roles that held at that time):

• Helen Mactier, consultant neonatologist and Honorary Secretary of President of British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM)
• Gopi Menon, consultant neonatologist and President of BAPM
• Alan Fenton, Consultant Neonatologist, immediate past President of BAPM, and Chair of Independent Advisory Group for the National Neonatal Audit Programme;
• Corinne Love, Consultant Obstetrician, Scottish Government Senior Medical Officer;
• Eddie Doyle, Senior Medical Advisor, Scottish Government Paediatrics and Neonatal.

The Scottish Government is aware of the health and wellbeing impacts of access to broadcast services on particular demographics from our assessment of research conducted by Ofcom, such as their annual Media Nations reports, and through our engagement with stakeholders, including audiences in Scotland.

Their Media Nations 2023 report showed that almost a third of Scottish households only used television services delivered via aerial. [1] Research conducted by Ipsos Mori for Arqiva shows that these services are of particular importance to older people, people living in rural areas, and households from lower socio-economic backgrounds. [2] Due to Scotland’s demographics in terms of an ageing population, and numbers living in rural or island locations, this issue is therefore especially important in Scotland.

Ofcom’s report also shows the continued importance of broadcast services to Scottish audiences, who watch the most broadcast TV of all the UK nations. The report also notes that nearly nine in ten people in Scotland listen to the radio weekly, for an average of almost 19 hours.

[1] Media Nations: Scotland 2023 (ofcom.org.uk)

[2] The Future of Broadcast TV & Radio (arqiva.com)

The Scottish Government is providing £220,000 of support to the St Andrews Rail Link (StARLink) project through the Local Rail Development Fund (LRDF).

Responsibility for the management and delivery of the project sits with the StARLink Campaign which is required to provide a detailed options appraisal, to the Scottish Government, by the end of March 2024.

To inform the next stages of the project, this appraisal will then be considered against the Scottish Government’s investment priorities for the strategic transport network, a robust business case, affordability and other competing proposals.

We are acutely aware that energy consumers, and especially consumers that receive treatment at home, are feeling the impacts of recent price hikes in the cost of electricity. We are aware of a variation in practice surrounding reimbursement policies for electricity costs relating to home dialysis. 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.