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The Scottish Government operates 3 Marine Protection Vessels (MPVs) and 2 inshore protection craft. These are tasked on a risk basis within Scottish waters, and monitor compliance with relevant marine legislation including Marine Protected Areas.

The latest information held by the Scottish Government on these type of payments relates to 31 March 2021. The impact of the current inflation rate will be reflected within our next annual data update exercises which are planned to be undertaken later in the year.

The latest payment information relating to Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) contracts is available from the Scottish Government website by way of the following link www.gov.scot under ‘NPD/hub programme’ and ‘NPD projects pre-November 2010’. The majority of the NPD/hub programme payments, including those relating to original construction costs and financing costs, are not indexed linked, making them less sensitive to increased inflation rates.

In some of the earlier PFI contracts, especially within the health sector, up to 100% of the annual payment was indexed linked meaning that payments therefore can increase with inflation each year. The latest payment information collated by the Scottish Government relating to PFI contracts as at 31 March 2021 has not yet been published by HM Treasury. The associated information relating to this from 2023-24 onwards is however included within the following tables.

Estimated PFI Unitary Charge Payments 2023-24 to 2027-28

The Women’s Health Plan recognises that it is important all women know about the menopause, including perimenopause, and have access to consistent information and care when they seek help with menopause symptoms.

The Scottish Government launched a menopause resource on the NHS Inform Women’s Health Platform in October 2021 to ensure women have access to information on menopause, including the signs and symptoms of perimenopause. The resource includes 11 videos including common myths around the menopause, and personal stories. The resource is accessible in five language translations and an Easy Read version of the content. A British Sign Language translation will be available very shortly.

In addition, a series of webinars on menopause have been taking place in partnership with the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland. Webinars aimed at women and people who experience menopause have been held on menopause myth busting and menopause and the workplace with a third planned for October on menopause and sexual wellbeing. In August 2022, a webinar on menopause and the workplace aimed at employers was also held by Close the Gap, an organisation which seeks to address the causes of women's inequality at work.

One of the key aims in the Women’s Health Plan is to ensure that all women will have access to a healthcare professional with an interest in menopause through primary care, and that in the longer term, we build a basic understanding of menopause, including perimenopause, amongst all healthcare professionals.

The Scottish Government has recently commissioned NHS Education for Scotland to create a bespoke training package and framework focussed on menopause, including perimenopause, and menstrual health for GPs and others working in Primary Care.

The National Records of Scotland published the latest life expectancy statistics on 22 September 2022. The report shows that COVID-19 deaths accounted for the vast majority of the fall in life expectancy in 2020 and 2021, in both men and women. However, there were also some increases in other causes of death, including drug related deaths and deaths due to circulatory problems in men.

The Scottish Government expresses its deepest sympathies to everyone who has lost a loved one as a result of the pandemic.

Ministers’ charging policies and Objectives for the water industry are clearly set out in the key framework documents that can be found on the Scottish Government’s website. Current circumstances facing the industry, indeed the country at large, are undoubtedly challenging and the Scottish Government will maintain regular dialogue with Scottish Water to support the continued delivery of all of Ministers’ Objectives over the current regulatory period. The affordability of charges is a matter for Scottish Water’s Board to consider alongside the requirement to meet its other statutory obligations. WICS has no powers to require a particular outcome in the charge setting process beyond setting the charge caps which are established to protect customers.

To the end of financial year 22-23 the Scottish Government expects to have spent around £210m on the initial delivery of the Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan.

The answer to question S6W-11007 on 4 October 2022 explains the current Rail Decarbonisation projects underway .

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 .

Management of reimbursement for energy costs associated with medical machines in individuals homes are decisions made by NHS Boards. The Scottish Government continues to work with NHS Boards to address financial pressures across the healthcare system, including the increase in energy costs. In May 2022, we published our Resource Spending Review that set out investment of £73 billion in health and social care to 2026-27.

The Scottish Government will also use the Emergency Budget Review to increase the Fuel Insecurity Fund to £20 million in 2022-23. The Fuel Insecurity Fund is aimed at helping people who are at risk of self-rationing their energy use, or self-disconnecting entirely because they cannot afford their energy bills.

Following the emergency budget review announced by the First Minister on 11 August 2022, the Scottish Government took the difficult decision not to provide funding for the Scotland’s Winter Festivals Fund in the 2022-23 season. This decision was considered carefully and taken based on the need to focus the Scottish Government’s finite resources in order to mitigate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, where possible.

Round 46 of Event Scotland’s National Events Programme is providing approximately £280,000 for 29 events taking place from September to December 2022 (inclusive). Additionally, over £600,000 has been provided to support 21 events to take place during 2022 through the Year of Stories 2022 Open Events Fund, with 181 community events supported by over £700,000 through the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund, which is funded by the Scottish Government, National Lottery Heritage Fund and Museum Galleries Scotland.

The programme board overseeing delivery of the forthcoming ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste by 2025 is chaired by senior Scottish Government officials and comprises representatives from SEPA, Cosla, Solace and Zero Waste Scotland. Scottish Ministers do not attend meetings of the board, though are regularly updated on its progress.

The programme board has met five times since its inception, on the following dates: 17 March 2021, 08 July 2021, 05 November 2021, 01 June 2022 and 06 September 2022.

NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government remains focused on delivering high-quality care in the safest possible way for patients of all cancer types, including blood cancers.

The National Cancer Plan, published on 9 December 2020, includes actions to improve access to treatments for all cancers.

The Covid-19 National Cancer Medicines Advisory Group (NCMAG) was established to oversee interim governance arrangements for cancer medicines in response to the impact of Covid-19 on the health service. These arrangements include two new medicines approved for use with patients with leukaemia, a type of blood cancer.

We have established the Scottish Cancer Network, which is a dedicated national resource to support and facilitate a ‘Once for Scotland’ approach to cancer services. Its aim is to enable equitable access to care and treatment across Scotland.

Lastly, an updated Framework for Effective Cancer Management was published on 3 December 2021. It supports clinicians and NHS managers to drive improvements in cancer pathways, including blood cancers, providing Health Boards with the tools to effectively manage cancer patients and ultimately recover waiting times.