Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-25967 on 11 March 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 Scottish Government will await the view and any decisions by the UK Government in relation to redress for anyone who was affected by exposure to valproate.

As set out in our letter to MSPs, this is because the recommendations on redress the UK Government is considering may involve a new agency and schemes that would be funded via a levy on manufacturers of medicines and medical devices and the Scottish Government has only limited powers under the devolution arrangements to impose levies.

We will of course update the Parliament about any important developments.

As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy source alongside electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when full electrification is challenging. We support the rollout of infrastructure needed for hydrogen vehicles to operate in Scotland: Aberdeen City has two hydrogen refuelling stations.

As set out in answer S6W-14642 on 6 March 2023 , funding for local authorities is provided through the annual block grant settlement from the Scottish Government. Local authorities should use funding resources allocated to them in the manner which they believe will best meet local needs and circumstances within their respective areas.

Therefore, decisions on the installation and maintenance of defibrillators in schools is a matter for local authorities to consider at the local level.

A number of organisations provide advice and support for the purchasing and maintenance of defibrillators. This includes:

The British Heart Foundation: https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/how-to-save-a-life/defibrillators/apply-for-a-public-access-defibrillator

St Johns Scotland Public Access Community Defibrillators | St John Scotland .

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 provides almost £430 million in funding for concessionary travel and bus services to support the bus sector across Scotland. This includes funding of almost £50 million to help bus operators support access to affordable transport locally, and £6 million to continue our support for the Community Bus Fund which aims to help local authorities improve bus services in their area, through exploration of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 powers.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government

The list of practices accepting new patients in NHS Lanarkshire can be found at: Dental Practices accepting new NHS patients | NHS Lanarkshire (scot.nhs.uk), and as with all Boards, is subject to change at short notice.

We are committed to engaging with stakeholders to help inform the specification of the Single Building Assessment (SBA).

As part of this we established a Technical sub group, the SBA Task and Finish Group, which has met over the period November 2023 – March 2024 and has included developers, technical experts, building standards officials and fire engineers.

Additionally, we have contracted with external consultant fire engineers, The Joule Group, who have been reviewing from an independent perspective the use of PAS 9980 as the basis for the SBA within the Scottish Context.

Domestic Services staff are an essential part of the multi-disciplinary Healthcare team in improving patient, staff and public safety and should work closely with infection control teams within hospital settings as set out in the NHSScotland national cleaning services specification (SHFN 01-02) which is available here: https://www.nss.nhs.scot/publications/nhsscotland-national-cleaning-services-specification-shfn-01-02/

As with previous years, the Scottish Funding Council expects to publish this year’s indicative college funding allocations in early spring with final funding allocations expected in late Spring for the academic year 2024-25.

Scottish Government recognises that careers in science may offer excellent opportunities for Scottish graduates.

Through the national careers service led by Skills Development Scotland, we seek to ensure that everyone in Scotland can access high quality careers advice that draws on the latest labour market data.

The Scottish Funding Council also works with universities and colleges to promote partnership working with industry, including with scientific companies. It does this through the University Innovation Fund (UIF), the Innovation Centre programme, the provision of core funding for organisations such as Interface and Converge and other strategic investments.