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The timing of the opening of the booking system is set out in the contract with Serco NorthLink Ferries and is aimed at opening the booking system for a full 12 months to provide maximum flexibility for customers. In principle we would be open to exploring bringing this forward to an earlier date, but would need to consider the matter further to assess any unintended consequences this might have.

The Ardrossan harbour project is overseen by the Ardrossan Task Force which includes representatives from Transport Scotland, Peel Ports Group, North Ayrshire Council, CalMac Ferries Ltd, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, the Isle of Arran Ferry Committee, and Kenneth Gibson MSP. The Task Force is co-Chaired by myself, Minister for Transport, and Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of North Ayrshire Council.

Project partners engage regularly to progress the project which is currently at the tender design stage. Task Force Minutes and the project’s Question and Answer document is published on the Transport Scotland webpage.

Decisions taken by the Ardrossan Task Force are communicated via project announcements, press releases (including social media forums) and updates to the project webpage. In addition the Isle of Arran Ferry Committee as a member of the task force shares communications and project updates with island residents.

The Ardrossan Task Force is expected to meet in December 2022.

The Scottish Cancer Network (SCN) has engaged collaboration from clinical staff across Scotland to draft a National Clinical Management Pathway for all breast cancer patients, to achieve consistent care across Scotland. The CMP is currently in draft and out for consultation and is expected to be launched in 2023.

The Scottish Cancer Network is hosted by NHS National Services Scotland. The Network is a dedicated national resource to support and facilitate a ‘Once for Scotland’ approach to cancer services which will assist in enabling equitable access to care and treatment across Scotland.

The priority benchmark descriptors in the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme have been used consistently since 2019.

Moving forwards, we are now developing new criteria in line with recommendations made in the Progressive Stroke Pathway and upcoming refreshed Stroke Improvement Plan. These will be reported on in the next annual Stroke Improvement Programme Report, published in 2023.

There is no mechanism for increasing the frequency of benefit payments. We have set payment cycles already in operation. Any new payment cycles would not be recommended as they would be complex to implement and have detrimental impact on operational services.

£10 million of funding has been directed to support Cancer Waiting Times improvements in our NHS across 2022-23, targeting the most challenged specialties, including breast. Significant funds are going towards up-skilling nurses and investment to support extended working days and weekend working to increase capacity and treat patients as timely as possible.

The Scottish Cancer Network (SCN) has engaged collaboration from clinical staff across Scotland to develop a clinical management pathway for breast cancer to ensure patients achieve consistent care across Scotland, expected to be launched in 2023.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Team supports Managed Clinical Networks to evaluate Board performance, identify areas of concern and work with them to implement local action plans with strong managerial support to improve the delivery of stroke care across Scotland.

This support includes visiting all NHS Boards at least once per year to review stroke care with NHS Board representatives to assess performance, highlight achievements and good practice and to formulate an improvement plan for areas of concern where necessary.

The Scottish Government has not set a minimum standard of performance but expects NHS Boards to deliver the best possible care for those who have experienced a stroke. We expect care provided to be safe, effective and person-centred and reflect the needs of local populations.

The Scottish Government supports our healthcare support workers (HCSWs) to train to become registered nurses while remaining in the workforce in their local NHS Board area. The Open University offer this pathway and Scottish Government provides £10,000 backfill funding to NHS Boards per student for each of the three years of study. For the 2022-23 academic year, the Scottish Government has increased the target number of Open University places by 12% to 123 places.

The Scottish Government also provides support to enable HCSWs to undertake a HNC Healthcare Practice programme by providing £8,000 in backfill funding to NHS Boards per student per year. Completion of the HNC programme can lead students to progress to nursing or allied health pre-registration degree programmes, on which there may also be the opportunity for advance entry to year 2.

On behalf of the Scottish Government, and as part of their review of career pathways, NHS Education for Scotland have produced a Development and Education Framework for Bands 2-4 nursing, midwifery and allied health professional HCSWs. The framework is available at the following link: https://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/our-work/health-and-care-support-worker-development-programme/

This ongoing work has focused on a national framework as a ‘Once for Scotland’ approach which outlines the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to enable HCSWs to deliver safe, effective and person centred care. The framework also provides information on how to progress into a registered practitioner role, including as a nurse.