Chamber and committees

At the request of the Scottish Government, CMAL is providing assistance to The Highland Council through our Small Vessel Replacement Programme. CMAL engages regularly with The Highland Council and partners, and continues to provide assistance with the vessel concept design, feasibility and infrastructure studies, as well as exploring key areas such as low emissions technologies.

STPR 2 recommendation 24 relates only to the Clyde & Hebrides and Northern Isles ferry services networks that Scottish Ministers are directly responsible for.

Any proposals to decarbonise ferries are to be welcomed, however, decisions around procurement of these new ferries and funding are entirely a matter for The Highland Council.

As per answer to question S6W-13986 on 31 January 2023 there are a number of developments underway to support online triage. However, we do not hold information on the amount spent specifically on online triage.

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

The Scottish Government supports the further development and implementation of online triage, rather than the development of a single online triage system. An example of this is the recent publication by NHS 24 of their ‘NHS 24 Online’ app, and the Self Help guides on NHS Inform.

We are aware as well of a number of online platforms being used by some GP practices which support triage, and we will continue to develop principles of good access to General Practice through the General Practice Access Short Life Working Group, after which further consideration will be given the use of online triage systems.

The use of digital tools is a choice and the Scottish Government is very mindful that introducing more Digital into the Health & Care system will need to be proportionate to ensure that nobody is left behind. The Scottish Government’s Connecting Scotland Programme, which is looking to support households to get online, is a key part of supporting people to embrace technology, including to access health and care. In addition, individual programmes of work and individual services, such as those set out in the answer to question S6W-13989 on 31 January 2023, are responsible for ensuring patients and service users are sufficiently supported to meaningfully use technology.

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-answer

The Scottish Public Health Workforce Development Group last met on 11 January 2023 and meets approximately every two months.

The Group members are representatives from the Scottish Directors of Public Health, NHS Education for Scotland, the Registrar Public Health Group, the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland, Voluntary Health Scotland, Public Health Scotland, the Committee of the Faculty of Public Health in Scotland, Scottish Government (Health Workforce/Health Improvement/Health Protection), the Scottish Health Promotion Managers Group, COSLA and the Scottish Community Development Centre.

We welcome this report which confirms that persistent inequalities can be attributed to the accumulation of disadvantage, a stagnation in wages and living standards, and the impact of austerity on public services.

That is why we are using all the powers and resources available to us to create a fairer Scotland. We are doing that by ensuring health services are accessible to all, committing £19bn to public services over the next year; committing £4 billion in social security and welfare payments over the next financial year; and extending the Scottish Child Payment to families with eligible under 16s – increasing it to £25 per week per child.

The actions we are taking include the delivery of our new Getting it Right Together approach across health and social care, improving access to mental health services, strengthening the Universal Health Visiting Pathway and expanding our Welfare Advice and Health Partnerships – placing money advisors in 180 GP practices in some of Scotland’s most deprived areas.

We agree with the Health Foundation that a collaborative approach is needed and we will continue to work closely with key stakeholders to drive forward progress in reducing health inequalities.

In November the Scottish Government began a data reconciliation project with the aim of gathering detailed case-level updates on the progress and outcomes of property checks by Local Authorities for the Expressions of Interest from volunteer hosts. This data was collected ahead of the launch of the Scottish Government’s Offers of Accommodation scheme and is intended to provide a baseline data set for the property matching app being developed. The returns will be analysed and published in the monthly Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland statistics series, as part of our commitment to data transparency.

The 2021-22 Programme for Government confirmed our plans to introduce legislation on Community Wealth Building during this Parliamentary session.

I am pleased to announce that I have published a consultation paper on how to achieve this today. The consultation will run until 25 April 2023 and can be accessed at: https://consult.gov.scot/economic-development/community-wealth-building-consultation

This consultation is the opportunity for all interested stakeholders to participate in shaping the content of the legislation and I would welcome a wide range of views on the changes that are required to grow local wealth and give communities a greater stake in the economy.

Responses to the consultation will be considered and used to inform the development of the legislation.

The Scottish Government has not carried out any assessment between the number of potholes and road cycling accidents on the trunk road network.

An analysis of injury collisions for all severities on the trunk road network for the most recent full 3 year period (8 November 2019 to 7 November 2022) identified a total of 78 collisions involving a pedal cyclist. This makes up approximately 3.6% of the total number of injury accidents on the trunk road during this period. Of these 78 accidents, none were identified with a contributory factor “Poor or defective road surface”.

The Scottish Government is currently considering what type of information isn't already available and would be of most use. In the meantime, our ambitions for the development and implementation of digital services across Health and Care are set out in our 2022-23 Delivery Plan.