Chamber and committees

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

In response to part (a), the Scottish Government will update Parliament on the review of NHS Scotland properties suspected to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) when appropriate.

In response to part (b), the Scottish Government will liaise with NHS Scotland Assure and relevant Health Boards affected by RAAC about communications to members of the public.

Business continuity plans cannot be prepared until completion of the discovery surveys of NHS Scotland properties suspected to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. The outcomes of the discovery surveys will be used to inform business continuity plans by any affected Health Boards.

We published our Changing Places Toilets: Planning Guide and an accompanying easy read in November 2022 for people who are planning to develop Changing Places Toilets now.

Timeframes and processes for the distribution of funding for the construction of Changing Places Toilets are still being finalised. Further information on this investment will be available over the course of this parliamentary term.

To support the ongoing delivery of Multi-Disciplinary Teams in 2022-23, including pharmacists, mental health workers and physiotherapists, we made available £170 million through the Primary Care Improvement Fund for Health and Social Care Partnerships. This was allocated in accordance with local need, with due consideration to implementation plans and Agenda for Change uplifts.

Transport Scotland are undertaking an evaluation of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme to assess whether the scheme is working as expected in achieving its objectives and benefits, and to assess any potential impacts of the scheme on other policy aims and other modes of transport.

The Baseline Study was completed prior to the launch of the scheme and the Baseline Study report was published on Transport Scotland’s website in 2022.

Fieldwork for the 1 Year After Evaluation is currently underway. This includes an online survey for children, their families and young people. Over 7000 responses to the survey were received within the first two weeks. The final evaluation report is expected to be completed by end of summer 2023.

Bute House has an EPC rating of D.

The EPC is listed on the Scottish EPC register under 6 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh EH2 4DR. Reference Number 6810-1931-5439-2403-6002.

The Scottish Breast Screening programme was temporarily paused between March 2020 – August 2020 in order to reduce the risk of participants becoming infected with Covid-19, to enable physical distancing, and to minimise the impact on essential NHS services as they responded to the virus. When screening resumed, a continued pause on self-referrals allowed appointments to be prioritised for those aged 50-70 years old, the recommended screening population. A phased restart of self-referrals was agreed on October 2022. Following this, women aged 71-74, and those over 75 with a history of breast cancer, have been eligible to self-refer for a screening appointment since November 2020.

Table 1 below shows the number of women who self-referred in each of the last three reporting years that run from 1 April to 31 March.

Table 1 shows the number of self-referrals from April 2020 - March 2023

The National Optimal Lung Cancer Diagnostic Pathway provides boards with best practice examples to improve lung cancer diagnostic pathway efficiency. Adoption of the optimal diagnostic pathway will take time as boards begin to redesign their services, funding has been aligned to this work to help support boards implement diagnostic pathway improvements over time. Not all patients that move through diagnostic pathways will have cancer, however data form Public Health Scotland shows that we continue to treat around 1,000 lung cancer patients in NHS Scotland on average each quarter. Data on the number of lung cancers treated in Jan - March 2023 will be published by PHS on 27 June 2023.

NatureScot is charged with keeping the Access Code under constant review and is working with the National Access Forum to address access issues that do arise though providing new guidance, resources and advice.

The Access Code succeeds in fulfilling its statutory purpose of setting out the rights and responsibilities of land managers and those exercising access rights. The Access Code states for those exercising access rights, “Wherever possible, use a stove rather than light an open fire. If you do wish to light an open fire, keep it small, under control and supervised – fires that get out of control can cause major damage, for which you might be liable. Never light an open fire during prolonged dry periods or in areas such as forests, woods, farmland, or on peaty ground or near to buildings or in cultural heritage sites where damage can be easily caused. Heed all advice at times of high risk. Remove all traces of an open fire before you leave.”

It states for land managers, “At times of drought, work with your local authority (fire services) to inform people of the high risks involved.”

We are content that addressing challenges such as wildfires does not require modification of the Access Code, but better adherence to the Access Code including education and enforcement where necessary.

This spring has seen NatureScot’s strongest Access Code social media campaign to date, with 1.7 million social media impressions, of which 35,000 were specifically on fire messaging during the last four weeks. There have also been 128,000 plays of wild camping guidance videos.