Seòmar agus comataidhean

Scotland's Road Safety Framework to 2030 sets out a vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030 and an ambitious long-term goal where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads by 2050. However, the number of fatal casualties in 2024 are tracking 21% above the same period in 2023.

The reasons behind this are varied, with speeding and driver frustration being a persistent factor in a number of injury collisions on Scotland’s roads. It is therefore timely that Transport Scotland have undertaken a National Speed Management Review. This review seeks to ensure speed limits on Scotland’s roads are appropriate and help contribute to a reduction in injury and death on our roads.

The review examined a range of approaches, including HGV-specific speed limits, drawing insights from both national and international case studies. This includes the impact of the 50 mph speed limit trial for HGVs on the A9 single carriageway sections between Perth and Inverness. Since this trial there has been improved driver behaviour on this section of the route, a greater compliance with speed limits and a reduction in deaths and serious injuries.

I can therefore announce that a public consultation on proposed changes to speed limits has launched and will be open until Wednesday 5 March 2025. It invites feedback on proposals to lower the national speed limit on single carriageway roads from 60 mph to 50 mph and to increase speed limits for goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes on single-carriageways from 40 mph to 50 mph and dual carriageways from 50 mph to 60 mph. Analysis from the review indicates that these changes could significantly reduce injury collisions while maintaining journey times and enhancing journey time reliability.

I urge all elected members to encourage constituents and stakeholders to participate in the consultation at: https://www.transport.gov.scot/consultation/national-speed-management-review-consultation/

There are three key parts to our national approach to achieving improvements in treatment options and recovery pathways for residential rehabilitation; Investing in a significant increase in the capacity of residential rehabilitation services; Improving pathways into, through and out of rehabilitation services, in particular for those with multiple complex needs; Developing a standardised approach to commissioning residential rehabilitation services.

Scottish Government asked Public Health Scotland (PHS) to investigate the apparent decline in alcohol treatment numbers and PHS will publish their findings on 3 December 2024.

We are continuing to work with partners and stakeholders to develop a national specification for alcohol and drug treatment in Scotland. The national specification will build on the forthcoming UK Clinical Guidelines for Alcohol Treatment which will support the improvement of alcohol treatment in Scotland, mirroring the use of the Orange Book Guidelines for drug treatment.

In 2024-25, £112.9 million is being made available to ADPs. This funding is used to ensure that local services meet the needs of people who experience alcohol and drugs harms.

In 2023-2024, the number of statutory-funded residential rehabilitation placements increased to 938, the majority of which included alcohol use or co-dependency. This shows that we are on track to meet our commitment to 1000 people accessing public funding for residential rehabilitation by 2026.

Delivering sustainable, resilient, accessible and efficient services for the population, as highlighted by myself during the debate on NHS reform, can only be achieved by a significant change in the way we plan, organise, deliver and fund services. In response, we have begun over the past few months to reset and reform our ways of working to ensure coherence across our various levels, nationally and regionally. As a component of reform, this includes development of a new construct for our clinical networks, aligned to portfolios of care.

Our clinically led national and regional networks are an important vehicle in how we meet the challenges of implementing the National Clinical Framework and the wider reform agenda across NHS Scotland. The aims of the refreshed approach to the National Networks in NSD (and other areas which host networks) is to provide a clear and collaborative mechanism for planning and delivery of our services across Scotland and to ensure this valuable resource is supporting delivery of the National Clinical Framework and our wider programme of reform.

The First Minister wrote to Friends of the Earth Scotland on 21 August and again on 25 October to set out his detailed considerations of their allegations and his conclusion that the Code had not been breached.

The application under consideration in these exchanges and as noted above was received on 18 February 2022 and that this application has yet to be determined.

The Scottish Government recognises that the prescribing of methadone, and all forms of OST, is a matter for clinicians in consultation with individuals and that the risks of prolonged use and any possible side effects are a matter for clinicians who are bound by professional codes and evidence-based UK-wide clinical guidance on this.

The Scottish Government agreed with recommendations made by the Drug Deaths Taskforce who recommended that more choice should be available on the types of OST offered where appropriate and notes that a significant proportion of people have chosen to move from methadone and oral buprenorphine to long acting injectable buprenorphine since the introduction of the medication Assisted Treatment standards in May 2021.

However, methadone remains a recommended, evidence-based first line option for clinicians and individuals according to independent codes and clinical guidance.

The Scottish Government remains committed to funding local services who make decisions on commissioning and planning services for people impacted by drugs, including heroine. Funding to local areas where decisions on preventative measures are taken remains at an all-time high, supplemented by additional funding over the life of the current Parliament through our National Mission. It is important that decisions are taken and plans are made locally to take account of local need.

Section 45 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 has been used once since 2012 to issue a direction specifying minimum compensation.

In 2019 the Scottish Government published a case study of this instance, highlighting the use of compulsory purchase powers to take ownership of a listed building along with such a direction at Roseangle in Dundee.

The Scottish Government is working closely with NHS Education for Scotland (NES), to identify and deliver training opportunities for health and social care workers in rural and island areas. Through the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care, housed within NES, 30 practitioners have undertaken the MSc in Rural Advanced Practice in 2023 and 2024, supporting career development, increasing equity in education and supporting the sustainability of primary healthcare services. The Centre will continue to develop new rural specific recognised qualifications to address skills gaps and drive innovation.

We are currently funding a dedicated resource in NES to scope the current skills landscape and identify where earn as you learn programmes could be expanded and where further development work is required with the aim of widening the pathways into health and care careers.

The Open University already provides distance learning Nursing degree education, which is accessed by Healthcare Support Workers already employed by NHS Boards, enabling them to train in their local area and continue to work.

Further, work is being explored via the Allied Health Professional and Healthcare Science education reviews’ recommendations and the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce on how best to diversify the delivery and flexibility of education programmes.

In November 2021, the former Minister for Drugs Policy announced a commitment to increase the number of people publicly funded to go through residential rehab per year by 300% to 1,000 by 2026.