Chamber and committees

Winter service operations are delivered as a fixed monthly lump sum item from October to May which covers all the elements including depot facilities, operatives, fleet, fuel and salt procurement. Transport Scotland’s Operating Companies price the contract delivery over the entire period of the contract to include the element of risk in relation to salt usage and as such Transport Scotland do not directly procure salt for winter service operations on the trunk road network.

Contracts between the Operating Companies and the salt suppliers are subject to commercial sensitivity based on arrangements over the respective Scottish Ministers Contract Period and Transport Scotland is not subject to the value of any commercial agreements which are arrived at.

The annual sums which are paid for winter service by Scottish Ministers is as follows:

This information is held by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The Scottish Government continues to make progress on drafting the refreshed Tobacco Action Plan and this is due to published in Autumn 2023.

The following table details the number of meetings of the Tobacco Action Plan - Short Life Working Groups since their inception in 2022.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has not met with the Chair or Lead Clinician of the Scottish Respiratory Advisory Committee (SRAC).

I have not met with the Chair or Lead Clinician of the Scottish Respiratory Advisory Committee.

The Scottish Government are conducting a review of evidence for the refreshed Tobacco Action Plan due to be published in Autumn 2023. Currently this review includes two studies which look at the long-term use of e-cigarettes on health outcomes in England and Australia.

Scottish Government will continue to review relevant evidence.

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government recognises the positive economic and environmental impact that canals and inland waterways make to Scotland.

Scotland’s canals contribute significantly to the nation’s economic, social and environmental prosperity, from supporting tourism and local businesses to creating jobs, stimulating housing development, helping to tackle health inequalities and encouraging greater accessibility to green and blue spaces for millions of people.

The results of an economic study in 2019, conducted by Peter Brett Associates (now part of Stantec), assessed the investment in the canal corridors across Scotland since the re-opening of the Lowland inland waterways in 2002. It found that the regeneration of Scotland’s canals has acted as a catalyst for £1.53 billion of investment on and around their banks, contributing to the creation of thousands of new houses and jobs. It further showed that the revitalisation of Scotland’s canals has attracted a substantial investment windfall in regeneration, tourism and infrastructure projects across the Highland and Lowland canals.

Scottish Canals is tasked with environmental responsibility, ensuring that the canals contribute to resilience in the face of climate change, and also contribute to the ambition of a decarbonised future.

Scottish Canals produces an Environment Strategy which seeks to define a clear route to delivering sustainable benefits on the canal network and the wider environment. The purpose of this strategy is to directly contribute to the Scottish Government’s National Outcomes by creating sustainable places, reducing the environmental impact of Scottish Canals’ use of resource and protecting and enhancing the built and natural environment. Scottish Canals will be updating this strategy in 2025.

My Officials have engaged with members of the Inland Waterways Association through the Cross-Party Group on Recreational Boating and Marine Tourism. I last met with the Chair and Board at the Falkirk Wheel on 25 August 2022 and my officials meet with Scottish Canals on a regular basis.

Since publication of the Respiratory Care Action Plan in 2021, we have established the Scottish Respiratory Advisory Committee (SRAC) to provide governance and oversight of its implementation.Three priority areas for Year 1 were identified by the SRAC and progress to date includes:

The initial baseline audit of the public health workforce should be completed in 2023. However, given the diversity of public health roles in the domains of health improvement, health protection, healthcare public health and associated research, data and intelligence, the collection and analysis process will have to be refined before the data is suitable for publication. Our ultimate aim will be to publish it alongside the other NHS Education for Scotland workforce data.

The guidance on widening eligibility has been drafted and agreed by the PrEP Prescribing Guidance Short Life Working Group. Discussions and planning are now underway regarding its rollout, which is expected in the coming weeks.