Seòmar agus comataidhean

GP practices which are run by independent contractors must have arrangements in place which operate in accordance with section 15 of the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011. Patients should raise their concerns in the first instance by phoning, writing to or emailing the practice manager.

If patients are not satisfied with their GP practice's response, they can then raise their concern with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. Any complains about a GP or GP practice that are upheld by the Ombudsman are directed to their contracting Health Board and are followed up by the Ombudsman's office to ensure that the actions and recommendations are implemented.

The information requested is shown in the following table for 2018-19 to 2020-21, the latest complete financial year available.

Data for 2020-21 demonstrates that NHS Board allocations slightly exceeded the original planned budget, the balance of which was off-set by other mental health programme budgets.

The Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in October 2021, committed to establishing a Green Heat Finance Taskforce. This taskforce was created in December 2021 and will operate until September 2023.

Taskforce members are participating on a voluntary basis with secretariat support provided by the Scottish Government. No annual budget has been assigned to the Taskforce. Further information can be found on the Scottish Government webpage for the Green Heat Finance Taskforce.

Flu vaccinations were paused in December 2021 to allow the NHS to address the immediate challenge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Local health boards are now offering flu vaccinations to those who are eligible, with uptake of flu vaccines among over 65s at 90.1%, which is already higher than the previous year.

Those who are aged 70 years or over will be contacted by their health board about their appointment by letter or telephone call. Those aged 65 to 69 years will be contacted by their health board by letter about their appointment.

Our focus remains on protecting people based on clinical need, medical advice, and evidence. On that basis, other healthy people aged 50 to 64 years generally will no longer receive the flu vaccine this season. Anyone unsure whether they are eligible should check with their local health board, and can find more information about flu vaccination on NHS Inform The flu vaccine (nhsinform.scot) .

Anyone who is eligible and would like to receive a flu vaccine can do so by checking How to get your flu vaccine | The flu vaccine (nhsinform.scot) . If the appointment received is not suitable, individuals can rearrange their appointment at Rearrange your flu vaccine appointment | The flu vaccine (nhsinform.scot) .

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that those eligible can get vaccinated at participating NHS community pharmacies.

We will explore and consult, as part of the Islands Connectivity Plan, on pathways to zero/low emission ferry transport, learning from experience in other countries and on other modes.

In the short-term, there are possibilities for replacing smaller CalMac vessels operating on the shorter routes with low or zero emission vessels and this is being explored as part of the current Small Vessel Replacement Programme. Our current commitment is to have 30% of the fleet low or zero carbon by 2032.

However, the technology required for larger vessels has not yet reached a proven stage to allow it to be commercially available. We are however able to achieve greater efficiency through the delivery of new vessels with modern hull designs. For example on Islay this will deliver approximately 31% lower emissions than the MV Finlaggan currently operating on the route.

Our interim experimental summary of COVID-19 business support funding paid by local authority between November 2020 and June 2021 shows businesses in Stirling have received approximately £36.4m in direct business support.

Prior to November 2020, an additional £24.7m was administered by Stirling Council to businesses in Stirling through the October Circuit breaker, Newly Self-employed Hardship Fund, Bed and Breakfast hardship fund, Small Business Grant Scheme and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Grant Scheme. A further £4m was provided through the Pivotal Enterprises Resilience Fund and Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Fund. This brings the total provided to £65.1m, however it is important to note this does not cover all funding to date and as such the overall figure for business in Stirling will be higher. Further detail of funding is available on the Scottish Government website:

Coronavirus (COVID-19): business support funding interim experimental statistics - by local authority and scheme from November 2020 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

o   Coronavirus (COVID-19) - business support funding: statistics (circuit breaker) – 29 January 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

o   Coronavirus (COVID-19): hardship and resilience funds statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

It is for Health Boards and GP practices to determine appropriate staffing levels in line with local population needs. GP - patient ratios will vary across practices depending on geography, population density and staff availability.

Patient and GP population data can be accessed via

General Practice | GP Workforce & Practice populations | Health Topics | ISD Scotland .

The Scottish Government does not recommend a GP-patient ratio. It is for Health Boards and GP practices to determine appropriate staffing levels.

There are more GPs per 100,000 population in Scotland than the rest of the UK, with 95 for every 100,000 people (Sep-21), compared with 78 in England (Sep-21), 76 in Wales (Sep-21) and 74 in Northern Ireland (Mar-21).

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05961 on 8 February 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 .

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (RoS). She advises me that, as of 02 February 2022, there are 79,831 dispositions undergoing registration. RoS receives and processes over 550,000 applications on average every year, of which 90% are completed in 20 days. In the Land Register the legal effect of registration backdates to the date on which the Keeper entered the application onto the application record (the date of receipt) and properties undergoing registration can still be transacted upon in the usual way.

Performance data is published regularly on ros.gov.uk.