- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-29121 by Gillian Martin on 2 September 2024, on what date the (a) analysis of the Flood Resilience Strategy consultation and (b) Flood Resilience Strategy will be published.
Answer
The Flood resilience Strategy is currently scheduled for publication by the end of this year. The report on the analysis of the Flood Resilience Strategy consultation responses is scheduled for publication on the Citizen Space website at the beginning of November. This will be accompanied by all of the responses that have given their permission to be published and a “We Asked, You Said, We Did” summary. This highlights the main points of the consultation ("We Asked”), how many responses there were and key messages coming out of the responses (“You Said”) and what we have done, or plan to do as a result of the consultation (“We Did”).
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether the forthcoming commercial tender to procure a new fleet of Intercity trains will provide for bi-modal power options, and what steps are being taken to further expand and accelerate the Scottish Government’s rail electrification programme to enable any new fleet to play a key role in decarbonising Scotland’s railway from the moment that it is introduced into revenue-earning service.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-29572 on 17 September 2024. 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 extent of electrification required will be determined by the outcome of the procurement exercise.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards prescribe hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) to treat multiple sclerosis (MS); how many patients in each NHS board are receiving HSCT, and what its position is on whether HSCT should be available.
Answer
A 2019 Scottish Government-commissioned review by the Scottish Health Technologies Group recommended that where patients understand and accept the risks, HSCT should be considered as a treatment option for patients with relapsing-MS who have significant disease activity which has not responded to adequate treatment with licensed high-efficacy drugs.
HSCT can be offered to patients from Scotland who meet the eligibility criteria, and when the benefits of treatment outweigh the significant risks. In these circumstances, NHS National Services Division (NSD) will fund the treatment via cross-border referral to a provider in England, usually Sheffield NHS Trust. Any health board in Scotland may refer eligible patients to NSD for consideration.
Expertise in the use of HSCT to treat MS in Scotland is still developing and small-scale clinical trials of the procedure have also commenced in NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde as part of the UK-wide Star-MS trial.
The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many patients in each NHS board are receiving HSCT.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the availability of disease modifying therapies for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS).
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the availability of medicines that patients in Scotland need.
In Scotland, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) appraises the clinical and cost-effectiveness of newly licensed medicines, following receipt of a submission from the manufacturer. Since 2003, the SMC has accepted 17 medicines for use/ restricted use to treat Multiple Sclerosis (MS) within NHS Scotland.
Where the SMC accepts or accepts with restrictions, a medicine, or on an interim basis, then there is a clear expectation that NHS Boards will consider it and make it (or its equivalent) available. This is considered by each NHS Board Area and Drug and Therapeutics Committee.
NHS Boards are expected to reach a decision within 90 days of being informed of the SMC advice, which provides time to consider any issues associated with the implementation of the medicine, such as changes to the care pathway and staff training. Boards should publish their decision on their website within 14 days of the decision.
The SMC appraisal is undertaken independently of Scottish Ministers and is based on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the medicine at a population level. Ultimately, the decision to prescribe any medicine is for the clinician in charge of an individual’s care.
We recognise that innovation remains crucial to finding a cure for MS, which is why we have funded £1.9 million to support a four-year research project led by NHS Lothian and Edinburgh University to develop a new approach to guide the treatment of MS and help people have better control of their condition.
The Precision-MS Study will introduce precise measurements of brain health to people with MS, with the ultimate aim of helping to ensure the right treatment at the right time, to the right person.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-29198 by Gillian Martin on 5 September 2024, how many Scottish Water customers have waited longer than the average customer leak duration of 4.2 days for a leak repair, in each year since 2021.
Answer
As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold the information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:
Scottish Water is able to provide figures for 2022-23 onward, as a new system was introduced then which means that any figures before this would not be comparable, with some data representing reporting anomalies rather than leak repair times. Scottish Water has also advised that these figures do not necessarily relate to customers but are reports into their contact centre of visible leaks. Work to identify and repair some leaks can in some cases be complex in nature or require preparations such as traffic management, notice of roadworks, etc., and there can be cases where the timescales relate to administration of the record as opposed to the leak repair.
For 2022-23, 3280 (or 37.8%) burst repairs took over the 4.2 day average. For 2023-24, 2125 (23.9%) burst repairs took over the 4.2 day average.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many victim surcharge orders were (a) paid on time, (b) paid late and (c) not paid at all by criminals in each year since 2021.
Answer
This information is available in the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (“SCTS”) quarterly fines data publication, found on the Official Statistics section of the SCTS website. Official Statistics | Scottish Courts (scotcourts.gov.uk)
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many organisations in the Highlands and Islands region have been ordered to pay a victim surcharge for a (a) conditional discharge and (b) fine, in each year since 2021.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the Victim Surcharge Fund broken down in this way.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been raised from victim surcharges ordered from offenders aged under 18 at date of offence in the Highlands and Islands region in each year since June 2022.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the Victim Surcharge Fund broken down in this way.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many offenders aged under 18 at date of offence in the Highlands and Islands region have been ordered to pay a victim surcharge for a (a) conditional discharge, (b) fine, including a Youth Rehabilitation Order or Referral Order, and (c) custodial sentence, in each year since 2021.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the Victim Surcharge Fund broken down in this way.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 September 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has engaged with trade unions and train operators with experience and knowledge of other intercity rail fleets within the UK, to learn from their best practices when specifying key aspects of the commercial tender to procure a new fleet of trains for ScotRail's Intercity rail network, including in relation to required luggage capacity, toilet provisions, appropriate furnishings, the provision of plug sockets, catering services, size and position of saloon windows, information screens, and onboard ventilation and air conditioning.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-29572 on 17 September 2024. 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.