Seòmar agus comataidhean

The stroke care guidelines in question were developed by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN). Information and archived guidelines are available at: https://sign.ac.uk/our-guidelines/ . The dates for withdrawal of these stroke guidelines are in the following table:

Both prior to and throughout the pandemic, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service have prioritised domestic abuse trials. During the pandemic this has included supporting the running of a Specialist virtual Domestic Abuse trial pilot Courts in Inverness and Aberdeen which allowed the re-commencement of trials taking advantage of technological advances. As part of the recovery programming generally to manage the backlog of cases created by the pandemic, 10 additional Summary trials courts have been running since 6 September 2021. Pre-covid the optimal waiting period for domestic abuse trials was eight to ten weeks, but due to the impact of the pandemic this has increased to around thirteen weeks nationally at this time.

The latest statistics published by the Sottish Courts and Tribunals Service on 2 December 2021 indicate that in Q2 (between July to September 2021), domestic abuse cases accounted for 34% of Sheriff Summary trials called and 43% of those Sheriff Summary trials in which evidence was led. Three in every ten, of the 14,286 complaints concluded in court were domestic abuse cases, an increase of 24% compared with Q1 2021-22.

This is a matter for Stirling Council. However, for the 2018-19 academic year, Stirling Council reported they had purchased 22,752 period products in total. The number of period products purchased and distributed since Sept 2019 is not held centrally.

ScotRail's review, the first of its kind in over 30 years, proposes changes to contribute to the modernisation of Scotland’s stations and offer passengers a more efficient and cost effective service for the future.

The consultation has enabled rail users including (a) (i) disabled, (ii) women, (iii) visually impaired and (iv) digitally excluded passengers and (b) passengers with mobility concerns to get involved in the process where all contributions will be considered before a final decision is made.

ScotRail has commenced a Diversity Impact Assessment (DIA) regarding the ticket office opening hours consultation, the DIA process will reflect all feedback received and takes account a range of potentially impacted groups.

The purpose of the public consultation is to enable passengers and stakeholders to provide specific feedback on how the proposals impact their journey compared to ScotRail’s current ticket office opening hours. It is worth highlighting Abellio ScotRail do not plan to reduce current staffing levels and have committed to improve staff visibility and customer assistance.

Following the completion of the ticket office consultation and analysis, I will consider its recommendations, including those from the Diversity Impact Assessment.

Discussions with the Rail Trade Union representatives are underway and I look forward to personally having the opportunity to discuss this topic at my meeting with all Rail Trade Unions on Thursday 10 February.

The Scottish Government recognises and values the importance of careers information advice and guidance. As part of his recommendations for the implementation of the Young Person’s Guarantee Sandy Begbie requested Skills Development Scotland consider how best a career advice service could operate from early years right through until a young person enters employment.

The Review and the Scottish Government’s response to the recommendations have now been finalised. The Review outlines ten recommendations for continuing to improve the delivery of careers advice and guidance. It has been informed by extensive consultation with young people, users and stakeholders.

The Review and the Scottish Government’s response can be found at www.CareerReview.scot .

The First Minister has met Councillor Susan Aitken on the following occasions:

29th July 2021 (Meeting with Pladis Global)

12th October 2021 (Launch of the Barclays site in Glasgow)

19th October 2021 (COP26 Ministerial Roundtable)

31st October 2021 (Industrial Action in Glasgow – phone call)

GP practices which are run by independent contractors must have arrangements in place which operate in accordance with section 15 of the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011. Patients should raise their concerns in the first instance by phoning, writing to or emailing the practice manager.

If patients are not satisfied with their GP practice's response, they can then raise their concern with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. Any complains about a GP or GP practice that are upheld by the Ombudsman are directed to their contracting Health Board and are followed up by the Ombudsman's office to ensure that the actions and recommendations are implemented.

While the Scottish Government has not met or corresponded with UK Government on this question specifically, we meet and correspond with UKG regularly about funding in general. Over the course of the pandemic we have worked closely with the self-catering accommodation sector and Scottish Tourism Alliance on the recovery and support for the sector and we will continue to do so.

The Scottish Government recognises that the self-catering accommodation sector, alongside many other businesses across Scotland has been adversely affected by Covid-19. In addition to the regular Strategic Framework Business Fund which previously supported small accommodation providers, a range of tailored support to meet the needs of tourism businesses was developed. This included the Small Accommodation Providers Paying Council Tax Fund (SAP-CTF) which eligible Bed & Breakfasts, Guesthouses, small serviced accommodation providers and other self-catering businesses that paid council tax were able to access. Other targeted funds included the large self-catering grant and support for the B&B sector via a fund of up to £3 million to support those B&Bs with no business bank account. Equivalent tailored funds have not generally been available in England.

We will continue to engage in dialogue with the UK Government on issues of funding and to monitor the impacts of COVID on Scotland’s tourist industry.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05691 on 9 February 2022. 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 .