Chamber and committees

Of the £30 million support that was announced in June 2022, £28 million was allocated to the Low Carbon Transport Loan and the remaining £2 million was allocated to the Plugged-In Communities Schemes. Both have been fully allocated and are pending final claims being received.

Table 1 below gives a breakdown of loans paid under of the Low Carbon Transport loan by local authority area and type of recipient, reflecting payments up to 28 February 2023.

We are not aware of any research (or plans to research) by, or on behalf of, the Scottish Government, that has investigated distance decay in relation to health outcomes in the Highlands and Islands.

This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Government and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) are working with key stakeholders and partners to understand the risks that lithium-ion batteries (LIB), contained within most electric vehicles, present to communities across Scotland. A bespoke working group is focused on these risks, and its findings will strengthen SFRS’s community safety work going forward. SFRS urges users of LIB technology to take the appropriate steps when disposing of spent battery units to ensure reduced risk of fire.

Scottish Government continues to support practices to maintain access to GP services for residents. The General Practice Access Group is working towards developing a set of principles to share with all practices this Spring.

Please find the following table providing the name and location of each bridge on the trunk road network highlighted in our previous answer to S6W-15567. The dates that upgrades were first identified as required and projected to be completed are also contained:

The Chair of the Assurance Board, Christine McLaughlin, wrote to members on 31 March 2023 with a full progress update on NHS Forth Valley’s escalation in Governance, Leadership and Culture. The letter has been published on the Scottish Government website: NHS Forth Valley Assurance Board update: letter from the Chair to MSPs - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The onus remains on NHS Forth Valley to deliver and evidence the required improvements in governance, leadership and culture; and, in turn, on performance. The Assurance Board will continue to monitor and scrutinise NHS Forth Valley’s progress.

Information on the level of funding made available to NHS Boards through the long COVID Support Fund for 2022-23 can be found on page 2 of the Scottish Government’s 20 December 2022 letter to the Scottish Parliament’s COVID-19 Recovery Committee. This is accessible on the Scottish Parliament website at: https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/covid19-recovery-committee/correspondence/2022/letter-from-cabinet-secretary-for-health-and-social-care--long-covid.pdf .

All new planting schemes on the trunk road network include a 5-year establishment period throughout which regular inspections are undertaken by professional landscape architects and by the landscape contractor. These inspections assess the establishment of the plants and determine any specific maintenance required, including the replacement of any failed material.

The trunk road operating companies assume responsibility after this period and are required to annually assess and report on all planting and other vegetation within their area of operation and to recommend management interventions as appropriate, such as pruning and thinning etc.

Following completion, all major road schemes are monitored and assessed through the Scottish Trunk Road Infrastructure Project Evaluation (STRIPE) procedure to determine whether the scheme objectives have been met and to assess how well the scheme has been implemented, including the planting element.

The service continuity plans for the Ardrossan-Brodick/Campbeltown route are currently being reviewed by CalMac following the recent announcement of the delivery date and deployment of the MV Glen Sannox to the route. CalMac are engaging with relevant partners including the Isle of Arran Ferry Committee on the Troon timetables and are expected to publish the Timetable Consultation Report (as part of a public consultation exercise undertaken in August and September 2022) in the coming weeks.

Scottish Government is determined to ensure that women have access to the care and support they need for menopause, be that through primary or specialist care. Patients are able to request a face to face appointment for monitoring where in person assessment is required.