Chamber and committees

While the BBC is operationally and editorially independent, the Scottish Government recognises and shares the music sector’s disappointment with the decision to decommission some cultural music programming on Radio Scotland.

We acknowledge the challenging financial position the BBC is in, which has been exacerbated by the UK Government’s decision to freeze the licence fee, and shift responsibility for funding free licences for over-75s onto the BBC’s shoulders.

However, any reduction in the breadth of BBC Scotland’s offering, including its cultural music content, is a matter of concern. Certain musical forms, such as piping or jazz, are not traditionally thought of as mainstream musical offerings so the BBC coverage is essential to ensure people are able to access them.

It’s important that the BBC listens to these concerns. We engage with BBC Scotland on a regular basis, and will continue to do so, to ensure that the music sector’s concerns are fully recognised. We will also continue to press the BBC to deliver on its commitments to commission high-quality, distinctive Scottish output for audiences.

Raising awareness of Type 1 diabetes in Primary Care is a commitment within the Diabetes Improvement Plan. The Scottish Diabetes Group (SDG) has a sub-group focusing on Type 1 Diabetes and this group has representation from Primary Care clinicians. The sub-group will focus on development of a Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) prevention campaign across primary care, using the well-established ‘Think, Check, Act’ communications material.

Various other strands of the Diabetes Improvement Plan programmes will influence the delivery of this commitment, including the development of a ‘Once for Scotland’ education pathway, which will highlight diagnostic routes and risk factors that clinicians in primary care should be aware of.

This information is not held centrally.

As part of the implementation of the Diabetes Improvement Plan, we funded a Diabetes Improvement Lead post. The primary aim of this role was to support the sub-group chairs and key stakeholders to utilise data from the diabetes dashboard and implement quality improvement methodology across their programmes of work.

One example of this is the development of the quality index scoring system to enable teams to share learning and make best use of the SCI-Diabetes data. Other examples include mapping of current education processes across Scotland and ongoing tests of change to identify ‘Once for Scotland’ pathways for the delivery of diabetes education.

The information in the format requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Diabetes Survey records the number of people who have attended structured diabetes education at any time and can be found at: https://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/publications/#survey-docs.

Some of the information requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Diabetes Survey records the information requested from 2015 onwards and can be found at: https://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/publications/#survey-docs.

The Scottish Diabetes Survey 2021 is due to be published this month, February 2023.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14412 on 9 February 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

While the powers to take meaningful action sit with the UK Government, the Scottish Government is doing all it can to support non-domestic energy consumers with high energy bills.

Our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) has added a Community Buildings Fund which supports communities and other eligible organisations to improve the heating systems in their buildings and reduce energy bills. This includes funding up to a maximum of £80,000 and includes energy efficiency measures, zero emissions heat and also small-scale generation where there is a clear benefit to the community organisation.

Additionally, the First Minister chaired two energy summits last year attended by energy suppliers, advice agencies and third sector representatives, and which discussed collaborative actions to support non-domestic consumers with energy costs.

We will continue to work with partners to identify what more we can do within the powers available to us to mitigate the impact of high energy costs upon non-domestic consumers including community organisations.

This information can be found as part of the Scottish Diabetes Survey. The Scottish Diabetes Survey provides an annual summary of key issues and trends in diabetes care and treatment in Scotland and can be found by following link: https://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/publications/#survey-docs.

The Scottish Diabetes Survey 2021 is due to be published this month, February 2023.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14411 on 9 February 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