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Through the consultation, Scottish Government is keen to understand what further support mechanisms, and practical measures, could be explored within a collaborative framework to reduce the time needed to provide consultation responses.

In February 2022, an application under section 36 of the Electricity Act seeking consent for construction and operation of the Peterhead Low Carbon Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Power Station was formally lodged with the Energy Consents Unit. This is currently before Ministers for determination and as such, it would be inappropriate for Ministers to make any comment.

Improving the resilience of the Parliament’s IT systems is an ongoing endeavour. This includes a regular maintenance schedule of software updates on network hardware and end user devices. Hardware refreshes balance the risk of old components failing against cost and exercises to look at the design of the network and configuration of end user devices are commonplace to ensure that we are in the best place for the future and have resilience built into any solution.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body supports the reimbursement of pedal cycle mileage expenses for MSP staff in relation to business travel as part of its commitment to sustainable and eco-friendly travel options.

Members may also claim for reimbursement of pedal cycle mileage expenses that occur because of their parliamentary work. The reimbursement rate for bicycle travel is set at 20p per mile which is in line with current HMRC approved mileage rates. This policy aligns with broader efforts by the SPCB to promote green initiatives and supports MSP staff in making environmentally friendly travel choices.

The latest data on people living with HIV in Scotland and not attending for HIV treatment and care can be found in Public Health Scotland’s HIV in Scotland surveillance report, which is available at: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/hiv-in-scotland/hiv-in-scotland-update-to-31-december-2023/. It is important to note that changes to service delivery during and since the COVID-19 pandemic mean that the reported proportion of diagnosed individuals receiving treatment may be an under-estimate and work is underway to ensure the accuracy of this reporting.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people living with HIV receive the care and support they need, and we are working with partners across public service and the third sector to ensure that this happens. Our HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan sets out our approach to ensuring equitable access to high quality care and treatment.

Through our Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults we are funding a number of projects offering peer support and practical assistance which can help people living with HIV to stay well and engage or re-engage in care.

Through our 10-year cancer strategy, the Scottish Government continues to focus on improving cancer survival rates and provide excellent and equitable care for all people facing cancer.

As clear cell carcinoma is not confined to one organ, there is no single management pathway for this type of cancer. Clinical management and treatment of such cancers will be determined by the organ of origin and should therefore follow existing clinical guidelines for those.

We know that person-centred care and support is important and we are committed to supporting patients to deal with the financial, emotional, and physical health effects of cancer. We are working in partnership with Macmillan through the Transforming Cancer Care Programme. The programme ensures that every person with cancer in Scotland has access to a specialist key support worker, who can provide emotional, financial, and practical support to those who need it.

Early intervention and prevention are key priorities for the Scottish Government in taking forward our approaches to mental health and wellbeing, and HIV transmission elimination. We recognise that physical and mental health can be influenced by many factors, including home life, work, physical environment and housing, income, communities, relationships, difficult or traumatic life experiences and inequalities.

We are therefore working across government and with partners from a range of different sectors to better understand and address the social determinants of health. In relation to HIV, this specifically includes working with public sector and third sector partners to address barriers to prevention, testing and treatment and investing in interventions to ensure equitable access to high quality care that supports people to live well.

The SPCB can confirm that temperatures will be maintained to allow building users to work comfortably within their specific work areas.

We are aware that the temperature in the building recently was below comfortable levels.

We are currently undertaking a major replacement project for the Building Energy Management System (BEMS) which controls and monitors the heating, ventilation, and cooling throughout the building. The outside temperature had taken a sudden dip; this was the first time the new controls were stress tested. We had expected the building to react more quickly to the drop in temperature; clearly this was not the case. The parameters have now been adjusted to take this into account and a faulty external sensor has been re-calibrated.

In order to manage resources across parliamentary staff teams and the campus on busy business nights – as well as the impact on Members’ diaries – agreement was given by the Corporate Body to limit the number of Member-sponsored events accordingly.  The Events and Exhibitions Team currently deliver and support a maximum of between nine and ten Member-sponsored events weekly on behalf of Members, with two of those slots being for Thursday lunchtime events. 

A clinical refresh of the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer is currently underway to help ensure the right person is on the right pathway at the right time and are due to be published in Spring 2025.

As part of this update, a guideline will now be included for those patients presenting with symptoms that do not follow the specific tumour referral pathways. This non-specific symptom guideline is closely aligned to the referral route for those who are referred to a Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service (RCDS) or through a direct access to CT pathway.

The RCDS programme has a role to support these referrals and we are committed to achieving population based coverage by 2026, with a sixth service being established early 2025.

In addition, national guidance developed by Scottish Clinical Imaging Network provides primary care clinicians with information on when to refer for direct access to CT or an existing RCDS.