Chamber and committees

Climate change will increase both the intensity and frequency of storms, flooding and high winds. The recent impact of flooding on our roads and railway is a reminder of the need to adapt our transport network to the effects of severe weather.

Action has been taken but Transport Scotland has identified the need for climate change mitigation and adaptation as a central plank in the National Transport Strategy which sets out the vison for the next decades.

Transport Scotland’s Road Operating Companies are required to undertake a series of activities aimed at improving journey time reliability by minimising the risk of unplanned disruption to the operation of the trunk road network. The Transport Scotland Manual for the Management of the Risk of Unplanned Network Disruption provides direction to Operating Companies on managing and mitigating the effects of disruptive events, such as those caused by weather events like flooding. The manual requires Operating Companies to develop and implement disruption risk processes which are informed by the formal recording of all previous events, as they occur. This includes severe weather related events such as high winds, flooding, snow and ice.

We worked with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to facilitate an online learning event in August 2021 to raise awareness of and build confidence amongst health and social care staff in Anticipatory Care Planning for people with neurological conditions.

This was attended by over 280 health and social care professionals working with people affected by neurological conditions, including specialist nurses and Allied Health Professionals.

The event explored how the principles of good Anticipatory Care Planning can be adapted for different neurological conditions, including for purposes much broader than end of life care.

We created a Neurological Anticipatory Care Planning webpage with HIS featuring useful tools for professionals and videos of the webinar presentations: ACP and neurological conditions - ihub | Health and social care improvement in Scotland - Anticipatory Care Planning and Neurological Conditions

The Scottish Government has had no discussions with the UK Government regarding any poor customer service processes and response times at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. No businesses have raised any concerns with the Scottish Government on this matter.

The following table shows the amount spent by the Tobacco Team in each year since 2017-18. Due to way in which spend is recorded it is not possible to disaggregate Tobacco Control spend from overall Tobacco spend. Also please note that 2022-23 spend is not included as this financial year has not yet concluded.

I refer the member to the Scottish Government’s second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan which committed to offering up to 500 apprenticeship opportunities across NHS Scotland in 2022/23.

NHS Boards deliver a wide range of employability programmes, following the ‘No One Left Behind’ overarching approach which is place-based, needs-led and person-centred. Programmes delivered in 2022-23 have focused on a wide range of groups, including: young people at risk of long-term unemployment, care leavers, veterans and service leavers, and lone parents over the age of 25.

As committed to in the National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care, we have been undertaking a data collection exercise to inform future decisions about workforce investment. This work is being led by the Scottish Cancer Network, which is engaging with local boards and professional representatives.

A final report, including recommendations, will be provided to the National Oncology Taskforce in the first quarter of 2023. The Taskforce is made up of NHS Board Chief Executives and Medical Directors, and will seek national solutions to ensure the longer term resilience of oncology services in Scotland.

We have recruited a multi-disciplinary cross-agency working group, including a broad spectrum of individuals involved in planning and commissioning services, to develop and implement a quality assurance programme for the General Standards for Neurological Care and Support. This has been led by Healthcare Improvement Scotland and will support health and social care providers to identify what they are doing well and where they can improve.

Undertaking this work will identify areas of good practice and improvement across NHS Scotland and help to drive forward better standards of care for people with neurological conditions.

We are also in the process of engaging with local leads in all Scottish health boards and Health & Social Care Partnerships, and exploring with them local priorities and scope for establishing leadership groups and a national practice sharing forum for neurology.

In 2021 we supported the Neurological Alliance of Scotland (NAoS) to produce three new ‘What to Expect’ information guides for carers of people with neurological conditions. These guides include information on carers’ rights under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 and comprise:

• What to expect when you are new to caring
• What to expect from advocacy services
• What to expect when planning ahead

The guides were endorsed by the Coalition of Carers and are available at the NAoS website: https://www.scottishneurological.org.uk

We are currently supporting the NAoS to undertake a project in early 2023 to work with carers centres assessing current resources and identifying gaps that still need to be addressed regarding information, training and signposting.

In 2019, we published a Neurological Care and Support – a National Framework for Action 2020-25 , with a vision to ensure everyone with a neurological condition can access the care and support they need to live well, on their own terms.

The aims include improving the provision of co-ordinated health and social care and support, developing sustainable workforce models and ensuring high standards of person-centred care.

Since October 2020 we have we have awarded £2.1 million across three rounds of funding to 35 projects by NHS Boards, Health and Social Care Partnerships and third sector organisations working to achieve better outcomes for people living with neurological conditions.

I refer the member to the Neurological Care And Support: A Framework For Action 2020-2025 – Midpoint Progress Report , which contains details of work to support personalised models of care.

The question relates to a live planning application, and remains subject to consideration by the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority at this time.

As a statutory consultee in the planning process, with a responsibility for the safe and efficient flow of traffic on the A82 trunk road, Transport Scotland was consulted on the second Flamingo Land's Lomond Banks planning application in May 2022.

In terms of national planning policy requirements when considering the potential transport impacts of the proposed development, Scottish Planning Policy, (2014) remains in force until such time as National Planning Framework 4 is adopted and published. SPP contains no requirement to consider potential carbon impacts on Scottish Government climate and vehicle reductions targets.

Transport Scotland did however undertake a comprehensive review of the applicant’s transportation assessment supporting the planning application. Transport Scotland was satisfied that the proposed development could be adequately served by, and connected to, active travel and public transport networks and would not therefore be wholly reliant on car travel.

The outcome from the review informed Transport Scotland’s formal consultation response to the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority.