Chamber and committees

While the Scottish Government keeps alcohol licensing legislation under review, there are no current plans to update legislation for on-sales premises. Operation of the alcohol licensing regime is the day-to-day responsibility of independent Licensing Boards and Scottish Government officials regularly engage with a range of licensing stakeholders including clerks to Licensing Boards to help inform regular review and assessment of whether any legislative changes should be considered.

Scotland needs a system that supports our higher education sector to deliver the best learning, research and experience for those who choose to study in Scotland. The reinstatement of the Graduate Route was welcome but the scope must also be widened to include HND qualifications from Scottish institutions as was under the previous post-study work scheme and Fresh Talent. it remains clear that UK immigration system still does not address Scotland’s economic, demographic and social needs. We will continue to push UK Ministers to engage meaningfully on these issues.

The R100 contracts are far surpassing our superfast commitment by delivering gigabit capable infrastructure right across rural Scotland. Delivering this connectivity to rural communities requires the construction of new spine infrastructure, comprising many miles of new ducts and cables which link back through distribution points and exchanges into a core network.

This is a huge civil engineering undertaking that takes time but will ensure a resilient, future-proofed network for decades to come. Once contract build is completed, we expect over 114,000 premises to be connected with 12,000 of those located in island communities. A number of key areas were mandated as part of the bidding process for the R100 contracts, this included the Uig/Timsgarry area.

Scottish Government has provided over £150 million to date in additional support to maintain the capacity and capability of the independent sector.

We have also introduced new incentives for recruitment and retention of dentists in certain remote and rural areas. This will mean that dentists, including orthodontists, who join the NHS Board list in Scotland for the first time can receive up to £25,000 over a two-year period.

As I indicated to the Member in response to his question S6O-00815 on 3 March 2022, I will be discussing with Historic Environment Scotland potential future management approaches for the properties in care, particularly in response to the undoubted challenges of climate change, once Historic Environment Scotland has completed its considerations. There is as yet no agreement on a definition of “managed decline” and no properties are subject to such an approach.

All answers to oral Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at Meeting of the Parliament: 03/03/2022 | Scottish Parliament Website

Expenditure on clinical and associated travel costs arising from mesh removal surgery undertaken by the independent providers will be incurred following receipt of invoices from the contracted providers and travel agency. Separately, administrative costs have arisen in the NHS from the process of referring patients to the providers in question, however it is not possible at present to break these down in the manner requested.

The costs for maintenance of the swimming pool at the Scottish Government's Victoria Quay property in each of the last five financial years is:

2018-2019 - £31,365 - inclusive of Facilities Management planned preventative maintenance costs and sub-contractor specialist costs.

2019-2020 - £31,365 - as above.

2020-2021 - £30,345 - pool closed to staff for part of the year due to COVID and ppm maintenance reduced.

2021-2022 - £26,945 - pool closed for entire year and ppm maintenance reduced.

2022-2023 - £20,862 - pool closed for entire year and maintenance paid to date in the current financial year.

Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Limited has advised us that it has reached agreement to second some of its staff to work for BAE Systems on fabrication work for the Type 26 Frigate programme. The precise details are subject to ongoing commercial discussions between the two companies.

Questions regarding day-to-day operational matters of Historic Environment Scotland, including information relating to how much funding Historic Environment Scotland has allocated for the activities of its HistoricScot Youth Forum, are best answered directly by Historic Environment Scotland.

I have asked Historic Environment Scotland to respond directly to the member with a full reply to his question in writing.

Questions regarding day-to-day operational matters of Historic Environment Scotland, including information relating to the efficacy of Historic Environment Scotland’s HistoricScot Youth Forum are best answered directly by Historic Environment Scotland.

I have asked Historic Environment Scotland to respond directly to the member with a full reply to his question in writing.