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The Scottish Government Published the Stroke Improvement Plan in June 2023, which considers the recommendations made in the Progressive Stroke Pathway and sets out the Scottish Government Policy on Stroke. An update on the recommendations made in section 5 of the Progressive Stroke Pathway, produced by the National Advisory Committee for Stroke (NACS), is as follows.

Awareness raising:

• Priority two of The Stroke Improvement Plan, published June 14, 2023, commits the Scottish Government to establishing the current degree of public understanding of stroke symptoms and the action required, and whether certain at-risk groups require different messaging.
• The Stroke Improvement Plan also commits the Scottish Government to supporting the delivery of Face, Arms, Speech, Time (FAST) campaigns, ensuring this messaging reaches all at-risk groups.
• We will work with third sector organisations and health marketing colleagues to consider the most effective way of raising public awareness, including the less common symptoms of stroke

Pre-hospital assessment:

• The Stroke Improvement Plan commits Scottish Government to supporting Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) in exploring the feasibility of using video call technology prior to arrival of ambulance resource to diagnose hyperacute strokes more accurately.
• SAS is progressing the development of a quality improvement initiative for operational ambulance crews to receive clinical feedback regarding diagnostic accuracy and the application of FAST.
• Work being undertaken to re-align NHS24 and SAS clinical pathways for suspected stroke patients to ensure consistent levels of response in-line with Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) coding.
• In collaboration with NHS Tayside, SAS is progressing work to evaluate the use of the Los Angeles Motor Scale (LAMS) stroke screening tool.
• SAS is undertaking a comprehensive review of linked clinical data to understand link between clinical outcomes and priority dispatch coding, to ensure the most appropriate use of resources for patients most likely to benefit from thrombolysis and/or thrombectomy.

Appropriate referral:

• The appropriate referral of patients experiencing stroke events, including those with acute ongoing symptoms, resolved symptoms and stroke-like events remains the responsibility of clinicians managing their care.
• Through the National Thrombectomy Planning Board (NTPB) work is being undertaken to ensure there is a robust process for appropriate referrals of patients who may benefit from thrombectomy procedures in one of the three thrombectomy hubs across Scotland.

Driving advice and secondary prevention:

• Since the publication of the Progressive Stroke Pathway, the criteria by which NHS Boards’ stroke service provision is assessed in Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme reviews has been expanded.
• NHS Boards should be able to demonstrate that the provision of tailored driving and return to driving advice is embedded in their stroke service.
• The revised Scottish Stroke Improvement programme review criteria stipulate that NHS Boards should be able to demonstrate that TIA services ensure the provision of driving advice to all patients.
• The revised Scottish Stroke Improvement programme review criteria also stipulate that NHS Boards should demonstrate pathways in place for the commencement of appropriate secondary prevention in patients presenting with TIA or minor stroke.
• We will work with third sector organisations and health marketing colleagues to consider the most effective way of raising public awareness, including the less common symptoms of stroke

The legal use of electric scooters and decisions around their introduction is broadly a reserved matter for the UK Government. The UK Government has stated its intention to bring forward a new regulatory framework for vehicles such as electric scooters, however the timescales for this are unclear.

Enabling the use of electric scooters through such a regulatory framework would also require amendments to devolved legislation, therefore the Scottish Government are monitoring developments in this area and will continue to engage with the Department for Transport on this matter.

It is not illegal to sell electric scooters in the UK, however responsible vendors will give customers accurate information about the legal restrictions on their use.

The Scottish Government currently has no formal position on the regulation of electric scooters, however this position is currently under review.

In Scotland, under current water quality legislation, the initiative for fluoridation of drinking water supplies rests with local NHS Boards. There are currently no plans to fluoridate the public water supply in Scotland, and any decision to do so would be the responsibility of individual NHS Boards in consultation with the public and Scottish Water. There have been no formal discussions with NHS Boards regarding water fluoridation.

As part of Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 , we are undertaking a National Speed Management Review. The review covers comprehensive analysis of all types of speed management policies and initiatives in Scotland as well as a review of what has been introduced in other countries throughout the world.

We are about to finalise the milestone 2 report, which will contain a number of recommendations and later this year will conduct stakeholder and public consultation to consider their views of whether any changes to speed limit policies and speed management measures should be introduced as part of our speed management plan.

The latest data reported from Health Boards indicates 8415 claims were made and 8413 were successful and resulted in 99.97 percent of claims being granted in 2022-23. This data relates to all but one Health Board, NHS Borders. The Scottish Government is working with NHS Borders to ensure 2022-23 data is recorded appropriately.

The latest data reported from Health Boards indicates that £320.06 was the average amount claimed through the Young Patients Family Fund in 2022-23. This data relates to all but one territorial Health Board, NHS Borders. The Scottish Government is working with NHS Borders to ensure 2022-23 data is recorded appropriately.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-19566 on 26 July 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/questions-and-answers .

Vehicle standards remain a reserved matter for the UK Government.

Electric vehicles (EV) have come under scrutiny in regards to the lack of noise emission at lower speeds. Although when driving above 20 mph the road noise from tyres and wind mean that EV noise to pedestrians is virtually identical to petrol/diesel vehicles, but they are far quieter in operation at low speeds than traditional vehicles.

The UK Transport Research Laboratory published a research paper regarding whether adding in additional noise at low speeds for EV’s would be a positive move. Within the research paper it was noted that the audibility of EVs presents a very small risk to pedestrians specifically those who are vision-impaired. More specifically when in urban environments where tyre/ road noise is potentially masked by general background noise.

However ‘added sound’ to improve the audibility of EVs needs to be given careful consideration. There is many factors to take into consideration such as environment, speed and background noise which can all mask the audibility of the vehicle. This makes moves to impose minimum noise limits on vehicles challenging.

Victims have a legal right to request certain information about cases they are involved in. This includes information about the decision of the court in imposing a sentence in a relevant case and information about any appeal decisions made relating to a sentence in a relevant case. Further information on how victims can request such information can be found on the Scottish Sentencing Council website .

Specifically about the process of appealing sentences, the offender themselves or the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service can appeal the sentence imposed. The offender can appeal a sentence on the basis it is excessive while the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service can appeal on a point of law or on the basis of undue leniency. Victims do not have a right to appeal sentences.

In many cases, the Victim Information and Advice (VIA) Service within Crown Office can provide direct support to victims including helping understand how the criminal justice process operates such as sentencing in cases and appeals from sentencing. Where a victim has concern about a sentence, victims are able to make representations to the Crown Office indicating they consider a sentence in a particular case is unduly lenient and these representations will be considered.

Separate from the Crown Office, Victim Support Scotland offer free, independent and confidential advice to all people impacted by crime. This can be done in person, on the phone or online. Their staff and volunteers are available to support and guide victims through the criminal justice process including helping understand how sentencing operates and sentence appeal processes. On occasions, people may be referred to specialist agencies where this may be needed.

The Scottish Government is currently reviewing existing private water supply legislation, which will align private water supply policy with the EU’s recast Drinking Water Directive and further measures required to adapt to climate change impacts. This includes provisions relating to access to water and taking a risk-based approach from catchment to tap. A public consultation on potential policy proposals covering the water sector including PWS, is planned for the Autumn.

I refer to the answer for S6W-20472 on 29 August 2023 and add that, in addition to reviewing existing legislation on private water supplies, the Scottish Government is working closely with Scottish Forestry to update the existing guidance note ‘ Protecting private water supplies during forestry activities ’. This guidance builds upon The UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) .

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