Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09498 on 28 June 2022. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at Questions and answers | Scottish Parliament Website.

Whilst the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is a UK Government body, many of the taxes within its remit apply across the whole of the UK, including Scotland. The OTS provides an independent and objective perspective on taxes such as Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax, which apply in Scotland and are widely considered to be complex and in need of reform.

One of the principles of good tax policy making set out in the Scottish Government's Framework for Tax is ‘convenience’, which states that "tax policy should be as simple, clear and straightforward as possible and opportunities to streamline the tax system should be taken where they arise." The UK Government's decision to close the OTS contrasts with this principle and the Scottish Government's approach to tax policy. The closure was announced without consultation or notice and has led to bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Taxation to call for the decision to be reversed – a call the Scottish Government agrees with.

This information is not held centrally; it is a matter for the individual Health Boards.

The Scottish Government is working closely with a range of partners, including the Scottish Football Association, the other partner football associations, and governments across the UK and Ireland to consider a joint bid to host EURO 2028. The Scottish Government meets with partners regularly at a Ministerial and official level. Engagement with partners is supporting ongoing assessment of the case for investment and how the potential of the event to deliver long-lasting economic and social benefits to Scotland could be maximised. The deadline for final bid submission is in April 2023.

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.

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.

There are no lifeguards employed.

With regard to funding, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12704 on 12 December 2022 on the Parliament website, the search facility for which can be found on https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers Given that there are currently no open sources of Scottish Government funding, it will not be able to provide funding to Hourglass at this current time.

Hourglass Scotland are valued members of the Older people's Strategic Action Forum (OPSAF). We will ask our fund manager Inspiring Scotland to work with Hourglass to help them identify alternative funding options, such as those detailed in the answer to S6W- 12704.

The Scottish Government does not directly hold information on the research spend of other funders.

An interrogation of the NCRI (National Cancer Research Institute) database indicated that £17,631,882 was spent on brain tumour research in the UK in 20/21 by charity and public funders.

This breaks down to £6,290,512 on biology, £872,201 on aetiology, £67,606 on prevention, £2,846,401 on Early detection, diagnosis and prognosis, £6,690,871 on treatment and £864,290 on cancer control, survivorship and outcomes research.