Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is providing over £30 million this financial year to accelerate the shift to zero emission transport. This includes support for zero emission community transport and car clubs in addition to funding interest free loans for electric vehicles. This approach is designed to support more people and households on lower incomes to make the switch to electric.

In January we also announced a new fund that would enable £60 million investment in the public charging network over the next four years, anticipating over half of this investment will come from the private sector. The fund aims to ensure the right level of investment in public charge points across all of Scotland, including in settings, where lower demand for electric vehicle charging means that there is less opportunity for commercial investment.

As committed to within our Heat in Buildings Strategy, work is currently underway to develop a new Heat in Buildings Public Engagement Strategy, to be published in early 2023.

This will build on the broader approach to public engagement on climate change that we published last year, and will aim to:

• Increase understanding of the changes we need to see in how we heat our homes and buildings, and why;
• Raise the profile of energy efficiency and net zero carbon heating options so that people are aware of the benefits and begin to see them as a positive choice; and
• Raise awareness of advice and support services to maximise uptake of the help available.

The strategy will to set out a range of activities for public engagement that will be implemented over the transition to zero emissions heating, including: national marketing campaigns; education initiatives; a social research programme; and public participation in policy and delivery programme design, to ensure the needs of different (domestic and non-domestic) groups are considered. This reflects our commitment to supporting a just and fair transition.

To inform development of the strategy, this autumn we will undertake a Call for Evidence. Alongside publication of the strategy, next year we will launch a national conversation and campaign on heat decarbonisation, working with a range of practitioners, consumer organisations and others across Scotland to increase awareness of the heat transition with different audiences over the coming months. Early focus will be on building readiness for change amongst a wide cross-section of society ahead of the introduction of proposed regulations. We will also launch a national marketing campaign this autumn to promote awareness of our free and impartial advice and support services – Home Energy Scotland and Warmer Homes Scotland.

The Scottish Government promotes cash-first responses to hardship so that people are able to make choices about the essentials that best meets their needs. This includes through investment in key social security measures such as the Scottish Child Payment, which will be further increased in value to £25 per child per week and expanded to eligible children under the age of 16 by the end of 2022.

Anyone worried about affording essentials should contact their local authority where they will be put in contact with local advice and support, including the Scottish Welfare Fund.

NHS Inform promotes staying safe and healthy in the summer and includes information on staying safe in the sun Summer health | NHS inform .

We know that inflation is having the biggest impact on those with the lowest incomes. We are doing what we can within our devolved powers and this year we have allocated almost £3 billion to support people who are struggling.

The National Care Service Bill proposes to enable the National Care Service (NCS) to support Fair Work in the sector, by including Fair Work within the guiding principles of the NCS (section 1 of the Bill) and establishing it as an exemplar of Fair Work. The NCS ethical commissioning strategies will also need to reflect these principles, and will therefore be a key tool for ensuring Fair Work is embedded in the way services are planned and provided. Services commissioned by the NCS, of whatever ownership type, will have to ensure they meet Fair Work and ethical commissioning standards and requirements.

The Scottish Government has allocated the following amounts to the Low Carbon Transport Loan from 2016 to 2022.

2016-17 £7,800,000

2017-18 £8,200,000

2018-19 £20,063,222

2019-20 £46,458,263

2020-21 £43,000,000

2021-22 £62,700,000

2022-23 £28,000,000 up to 03/08/22

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Statistics in relation to Psychoactive Substances (PS) detections are only available from 2018 onwards.

The following table provides the total number of detections for (PS) per year across all establishments from 2018 – present day.

*Includes detections for PS only and does not include other types of substances detected by the Rapiscan Itemiser machines.

**Prior to 2020, only 3 establishments had Rapiscan Itemiser machines in place. From 2020, this equipment was introduced to all establishments which accounts for the significant increase from previous years.

NHS Lothian is currently refreshing the Outline Business Case for the Edinburgh Eye Pavilion replacement project and will subsequently submit a Full Business Case to the Scottish Government. The FBC will undergo the usual scrutiny and approval processes for infrastructure and investment projects within NHSScotland and a response will be provided once this process has concluded.

Endometriosis is covered in all Undergraduate medical curricula and as such all doctors will have an awareness of the condition.

Further postgraduate training is provided to those training in General Practice or Obstetrics and Gynaecology from Foundation Year 2 until Certificate of Completion. These core groups will receive further training and develop more in-depth knowledge and understanding of endometriosis. This includes an in-depth understanding of all symptoms and the treatment options available to patients, including surgical treatment. The training also recognises the psychological and social well-being impact on women and the need for GPs to acknowledge and manage this aspect.

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) also provide a Continuing Professional Development course on endometriosis which has a focus on possible symptoms, treatments and when referral to secondary care is necessary.

As part of our Women’s Health Plan, the Scottish Government is working to improve access for women to appropriate support, speedy diagnosis and best treatment for endometriosis.

I refer the member to the answers to questions S6W-08524 on 19 May 2022 and S6W-08585 on 7 June 2022. 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

Official Statistics on Scottish greenhouse gas emissions are based on a disaggregation of the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory. At the time of writing, the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory does not allow for the isolation of data for emissions from the incineration of fossil carbon hence statistics at this level are not available.

The timing of the next report on roads will be a matter for Audit Scotland to consider in the planning of their work programme. The Accounts Commission and Auditor General for Scotland last published their report on Maintaining Scotland’s Roads in August 2016.

The Audit Scotland report on Maintaining Scotland’s Roads provides information on how road maintenance funding, spending and condition is measured and published. It is for Audit Scotland to determine how it does this.