Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19040 on 22 June 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/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answers to questions S6W-15749, S6W-15748 and S6W-15747 on 15 March 2023. Since this question was last answered, the ‘keeping pace’ power has not been used further by Scottish Ministers. 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 remains committed to reducing inequalities across all screening programmes. That is why we have supported the Equity in Screening strategy, which will give direction and focus to tackling this issue across all screening programmes. However, we also recognise that Health Boards are most often best placed to find solutions that meet the needs of their populations, and we have allocated inequalities funding since 2021-22 to support local initiatives.

This funding has played a part in a programme of work in Ayrshire and Arran to tackle inequalities of uptake in cervical screening. In particular the Health Board has developed a targeted Health Board cervical screening clinic for women who have experienced sexual violence, or who have physical disabilities; They have also run additional Saturday clinics, particularly in areas of deprivation, to increase access to screening outside working hours.

In addition, Primary Care staff have directly contacted patients who have not taken up their screening invitations to offer appointments. Further work is underway with primary care to consider outreach work for 23/24, which will specifically take into account the needs of areas with highest depravation within the Health Board.

In Scotland, a formal identification of dyslexia or a learning difficulty is not required before appropriate support is provided, although I recognise that a diagnosis can be helpful for children and young people and their families.

We want all children and young people, to receive the support they need to reach their full potential. Under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004, education authorities have duties to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those with dyslexia and other learning difficulties. We are committed to supporting teachers and school staff to meet these needs.

Our national approach recognises that children and young people with dyslexia benefit from early identification. We are working with local government partners to continue to improve the consistency of early identification through the adoption of the Scottish working definition of dyslexia and use of the Addressing Dyslexia Toolkit’s Dyslexia Identification Pathway.

NHS Health Boards and local authorities are responsible for the provision of, and funding for, services for deaf children. This includes the provision of specific therapeutic approaches.

The Scottish Government funds the Scottish Sensory Centre and CALL Scotland to provide advice and training to school staff on support, including the use of assistive technology, for children and young people with specific communication and sensory needs.

The Scottish Government welcomes the publication of the abortion statistics for 2022. The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with NHS Boards to help improve access to abortion services for those who wish to have a termination.

‎In particular, the Scottish Government is working to deliver actions in the Women’s Health Plan, which includes a range of measures to ensure all women have access to timely abortion care should they require it, and to increase choice for women accessing this care.

We are also committed to ensuring that women across Scotland have timely access to contraception, and to information which allows them to make informed decisions about their own sexual and reproductive health.

This Bill will disproportionately impact vulnerable groups including victims of trafficking, children and LGBTQIA+ people. It is regrettable that the Home Office did not publish an Equality Impact Assessment for the Bill until the 10 May, by which point it had already passed through the House of Commons, consequently restricting the ability of those involved to scrutinise this Bill to the full extent of their powers.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights published a report on the Illegal Migration Bill last week in which it said certain provisions were incompatible with the UK’s legal obligations under international law, including the European Convention on Human Rights. The Home Secretary herself, was unable to make a statement that provisions of the Bill are compatible when it was introduced. The implications of the bill as it applies to Scotland are being assessed in the context of the requirement for legislative consent and were also considered by Parliament when the bill was debated in April. The requirement to carry out and publish any impact assessments belongs with the UK Government.

NHS Health Boards and local authorities are responsible for the provision of, and funding for, services for deaf children. This includes the provision of specific therapeutic approaches.

The Scottish Government also funds the Scottish Sensory Centre and CALL Scotland to provide advice and training to school staff on support, including the use of assistive technology, for children and young people with specific communication and sensory needs.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the price of energy generated by Torness nuclear power station. This information is of a commercial nature and shared only between the contract holders and the customer.

However, what is clear is that existing nuclear is expensive: under the current contract awarded by the UK Government to Hinkley Point C, the electricity that will be generated will be priced at £92.50 per megawatt hour (using 2012 prices). In contrast, wind is one of the cheapest forms of energy. Electricity being generated from offshore wind will be priced at £37.65 per megawatt hour.

In addition to this direct funding, nuclear developers have had the potential to profit from a Contract for Difference for 35 years for Hinkley Point C and will be able to use a Regulated Asset Base funding model that further reduces their financial risk for future projects. In contrast, other technologies with high capital expenditure costs, such as Pumped Hydro Storage, have not been able to utilise these market mechanisms to facilitate deployment. We continue to call on the UK Government to put in place a suitable market mechanism for Pumped Hydro Storage developments.

The number of staff based in Scottish Government International Offices in the past five years is listed in the following table.