Seòmar agus comataidhean

First, I express my sympathies to everyone who has been affected by the loss of a loved one and to anyone who has been injured on our roads over this year.

The Government remains committed to investment in the A9, including dualling the road between Perth and Inverness.

We are currently progressing the procurement for the Tomatin to Moy section and undertaking design work on the rest of the programme, with ministerial decisions to complete the statutory process confirmed for seven of the remaining eight schemes. I will update Parliament shortly on the progress of this section.

I have also today announced to Parliament through the answer to S6W-12140 progress on dualling the A9 section from Killiecrankie to Glen Garry, in that I have determined that the Orders for that scheme should be made.

The only section not to have started the statutory process is the Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing project, where design and assessment is ongoing to identify a preferred route option following the innovative co-creative process with the local community. Work is progressing on announcing a preferred route for this section.

Work to determine the most suitable procurement options for the remaining sections of the A9 dualling is also ongoing. This is a complex exercise which looks at a number of factors including how the project can be delivered most efficiently by the industry, whilst minimising disruption to road users and helping to support economic recovery post-COVID.

I will of course keep Parliament updated on progress in relation to all aspects of these dualling schemes.

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 are not aware of plans to roll out the use of Rezum steam treatment throughout NHSScotland. This treatment is currently being offered by NHS Fife and has been since December 2020.

It is ultimately for the 14 Territorial Health Boards across Scotland to decide whether to procure and apply this intervention as part of their treatment for patients with enlarged prostate.

Health Boards receive support from Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s, Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), in making such decisions. SHTG and NICE provide clinical and cost effectiveness evidence advice on the use of new and existing health technologies when they are likely to have significant implications for people’s care.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken an assessment of catamaran vessels in the past year. Any such assessments have been undertaken by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) supported by independent naval architectural consultancy.

As was widely reported at the time, CMAL gave detailed consideration to the opportunity to purchase a catamaran already under construction. This was not pursued primarily due to concerns that the vessel would not meet regulatory requirements for service on the Clyde and Hebrides services, a decision endorsed by the Scottish Government.

This data is not held by Scottish Government or currently available in the format requested.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) collect and report vaccine data for Scotland. Data is not published by vaccine type/manufacturer. However, the COVID-19 Statistical Report (publichealthscotland.scot) , last updated on the 02 November 2022, has data on number of citizens vaccinated by health board.

The total number of Covid Vaccinations delivered up to 7th November 2022, was 14,414,300.

Following the opening of the consultation published on 4 July 2022, setting out the measures proposed for the next Land Reform Bill, a programme of six public meetings took place. In addition, an online event was held on Thursday 22 July, which was open to all and which attracted participants from across Scotland.

At each of these events I, and my officials, made presentations setting out what the SG aims to achieve with the next Land Reform Bill. One of our key objectives is to ensure that communities benefit from investment in Scotland's natural capital, whether directly through ownership of land, or through engagement and co-operation with landowners.

Those attending the meetings included individuals, businesses, owners of farms and estates and their land managers and legal representatives, charity and third sector organisations, local authorities, and academic and research organisations/institutions.

One of the five ‘pillars’ of the Community Wealth Building framework is “Land and Property: Growing social, ecological, financial and economic value that local communities gain from land and property assets”. This objective is reflected not only in the measures we put forward in the Bill, but will also be realised through our commitment to double the funding available through the Scottish Land Fund for communities to acquire land and land assets.

The Scottish Government have been in dialogue with NHS Highland on the matter raised. NHS Highland have confirmed that they will honour the two tier agreement in respect of facilities management colleagues working on behalf of NHS Highland at New Craigs Hospital. This will ensure that these staff are on terms and conditions that are no less favourable than the Agenda for Change equivalent. The Health Board are now working with Robertson Facilities Management and local trade union representatives to ensure a smooth transition.

The following local authorities conducted some form of survey work to support their Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) and Minimum All Tenure Housing Land Requirement (MATHLR) processes:

For the HNDA -

Local authorities are required to update their HNDAs every five years. In the latest round of updates during 2021 and 2022 eight local authorities updated their HNDA and these have been appraised by the Scottish Government’s Centre for Housing Market Analysis (CHMA). Of these one, Argyll and Bute, undertook an HNDA Household Survey. South East Scotland authorities (City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, South Fife, Midlothian, West Lothian, Scottish Borders) and South Ayrshire undertook some form of local survey work to inform parts of their HNDA. All eight authorities also used some form of local data to prepare their HNDAs.

Additionally, Tayside authorities (Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross and North Fife) undertook a Primary Research Study, however, the appraisal process for this HNDA has not, as yet, been finalised.

For the MATHLR –

In total, five authorities used primary research to inform their MATHLR – Argyll and Bute and Tayside authorities (Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross and North Fife).

Draft National Planning Framework (NPF) 4 was accompanied by a Housing Lan Requirement Explanatory Report , which provides an explanation on the proposed Minimum All-Tenure Housing Land Requirement (MATHLR), and Assessment Reports for each authority area. Information provided by each authority to inform the MATHLR is also available online at: www.transformingplanning.scot/national-planning-framework/supporting-information-for-draft-npf4/housing/

We awarded a contract through a competitive tender for independent VAT advice from Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP. AAB have been commissioned to provide advice and support to SG on VAT implications. This work is ongoing. We will engage with the wider sector and HMT prior to any decision being taken which would have a VAT impact.

Local authorities, as both the statutory housing and planning authority, are responsible for assessing housing requirements and set out priorities in their Local Housing Strategies.

The Housing Need and Demand Assessment Tool helps local authorities to access robust, quality assured data sets and to reduce the cost and complexity for local authorities in undertaking such assessments. The Tool is designed to use recognised national datasets and also provides flexibility to incorporate a variety of types of housing need where there is robust local information and evidenced policy drivers. Local authorities are able to augment this data with a range of additional sources including primary data where they have it.

The Scottish Government wants everyone to receive the best possible care and treatment from our health and care services. We have set out the wider policy within which NHS Scotland is expected to deliver services, and we expect all NHS Boards to continue to provide high quality care that is safe, effective and person-centred. Across our health service, pharmacists, the ambulance service, NHS 24, GPs and hospital staff are working hard to ensure that patients get the care they need.

In common with health services across the UK and globally, NHS Scotland is working under significant pressure as the pandemic continues to affect services, and we expect this winter to be one of the most difficult the NHS has faced. While these challenges persist, people who are unwell should always seek help.

The Scottish Government’s Winter Resilience Overview sets out £600m of investment to support winter resilience across our health and care system. These measures across will help ensure people get the right care they need at the right time and in the most appropriate setting. We will also expand our workforce, particularly registered nurses, to assist with the expected increase in workload.

On 2 November, we launched the Right Care Right Place media campaign as part of the wider Stay Well This Winter messaging. We want the public to better understand the healthcare services available to them so they can make more informed choices about the right care in the right place for their specific health care needs.