Chamber and committees

The information requested on what the current vacancy rate is for lung cancer nurse specialists within the (a) West of Scotland Cancer Network, (b) North Cancer Alliance and (c) South East Scotland Cancer Network is not centrally available.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15447 on 15 March 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

As set out in the Chamber on 15 Dec, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was asked to undertake a high-level review of a specific procurement exercise carried out by NHS Grampian.

The Board was asked:

• On the basis of having appropriate NHS procurement expertise and having not been involved in the procurement exercise being reviewed.
• To consider if the overall process was conducted in accordance with NHS procurement procedures, including documentation, scoring and selection.

The review has since completed and been shared with the Member. The review found that the exercise was conducted in a compliant manner.

The following tables show the number of people from Scotland who have received elective or emergency treatment as an inpatient or day case in hospitals in other parts of the UK in each year since 2017.

Information is provided in the following table on the number of finished admission episodes for patients resident in Scotland who have received healthcare from the NHS in England since 2017.

The outcomes of the transport appraisal that supported second Strategic Transport Projects Review(STPR2), was published on the 8 December 2022 on the Transport Scotland website.

The appraisal was conducted in several phases which involved ongoing stakeholder engagement. The eleven regional and national Case for Change Reports were published in February 2021 and further details on these can be found here: STPR2 strategic approach | Transport Scotland .

Appendix D and E of the National Case for Change Report Initial appraisal: Case for Change - National - STPR2 | Transport Scotland , respectively detail those options sifted “in” and “out” for further consideration at next appraisal stage.

The outcomes of this final detailed appraisal, including details of the approach followed to appraise options, are contained in the published Final technical report - December 2022 - STPR2 | Transport Scotland .

Specific details on the results of the appraisal related to Recommendation 41 – Potential Fixed Links across the Sounds of Barra, Harris and between Mull and the Mainland can be found here: recommendation-41-potential-sound-of-harris-sound-of-barra-fixed-link-and-fixed-link-between-mull-and-scottish-mainland.pdf (transport.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with lung cancer are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

Clinical nurse specialists make a valued contribution to delivering services and supporting patients and families who require specialist care. The Scottish Government has invested over £2.4 million annually in the Specialist Nursing and Care Fund since 2015.

The Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland; however, the statutory responsibility for delivering or commissioning services at a local level lies with local authorities, NHS Boards and integrated health and social care partnerships. Operational decisions, including whether there is a need for lung cancer specialist nurses, are therefore matters for those bodies.

The ScotRail peak fares pilot is scheduled to be undertaken in the next financial year (2023-2024).

Work on the precise methodology and design is ongoing with Transport Scotland officials working closely with Scottish Rail Holdings (SRH) and ScotRail to derive maximum benefit for this scheme.

Once this work has been completed an update will be provided well in advance of the ScotRail peak fares pilot commencing.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15454 on‎ 15 March 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

Network Rail advised that some of the required repairs to the indoor shelter on platform one at Irvine railway station have already been completed. Network Rail expects to complete the final repairs in the next four weeks, depending on the agreement of a suitable time to interrupt the operations of trains through the station to undertake the works safely.

Proposals to amend legislation relating to muirburn were included in our Wildlife Management in Scotland consultation. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service provided a full response to this consultation and their responses are being taken into account as the provisions for the Bill are developed.

I recently met with Bruce Farquharson, Deputy Assistant Chief Officer and Head of Training for SFRS to discuss their consultation response in more detail.