Chamber and committees

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.

The working capital loan made available to Ferguson Marine is expected to be used to ensure that Ferguson Marine has the necessary cashflow to make payments in relation to salaries and VAT as required while they await repayment from BAE Systems for services rendered in line with the terms of the contract.

Scottish Government has followed Scottish Public Finance Manual procedure with regards to the interest rate and is satisfied that the loan will be repaid, should the facility be drawn upon. The loan follows standard practice for working capital requests from a public body.

The rate of interest and repayment date are not disclosed due to commercial sensitivity.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15776 answered on 28 March 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 Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) has been available since July 2021. We ask NHS Boards to report on the number of young inpatients (and therefore families) who benefit from the Fund. This data informs the funding that each Health Board receives.

In 2021-22, NHS Boards reported that 3,130 families received support under YPFF. We have yet to receive full year returns for 2022-23.