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The Vacant & Derelict Land Fund is allocated using an established methodology that was agreed with COSLA.

The fund is allocated on a priority basis to the five eligible local authorities in Scotland that have the greatest extent of long-term vacant and derelict land and levels of deprivation. The objectives of the fund, criteria, and methodology for allocation of funds, are not currently up for review.

The objectives of the Vacant & Derelict Land Fund, as agreed with COSLA, are to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, promote environmental justice and improved quality of life, and support communities to flourish and tackle inequalities. The criteria and methodology for the fund, also agreed with COSLA, have been designed to ensure that these objectives are met, supporting the delivery of inclusive growth in Scotland’s most disadvantaged areas.

Whilst eligible local authorities might propose to use their allocation from the Vacant & Derelict Land Fund for remediation of long-term vacant and derelict land with historic contamination issues - and indeed they have used the fund this way before - land decontamination is not a specific objective for the fund.

The extent of long-term vacant and derelict land in Scotland’s local authority areas, as shown by the vacant and derelict land register, is a key factor (together with deprivation levels) in how the eligibility for funding and allocations are determined.

The Vacant & Derelict Land Fund, which is a ring-fenced capital grant fund included in the overall annual local government finance settlement, is the only designated fund for the regeneration of long-term vacant and derelict land. It is allocated to the five local authorities in Scotland which have the greatest extent of long-term vacant and derelict land and highest levels of deprivation.

Regeneration of vacant and derelict land might, however, be undertaken as part of other projects supported by Scottish Government that are not in scope of the Vacant & Derelict Land Fund. For example, through the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund.

The vast majority of the 2019-20 local government settlement funds are provided by means of a block grant and it is the responsibility of local authorities to allocate the total resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities. This could include any additional funding that local authorities wish to allocate to the regeneration of any vacant and derelict land.

We are currently in the process of agreeing proposals from the five eligible local authorities in relation to use of their 2019-20 Vacant & Derelict Land Fund allocations. These eligible local authorities will then be responsible for making use of the funding allocations accordingly, and reporting back to us on their delivery of projects and spend.

The Vacant & Derelict Land Fund is limited each year to the five local authorities in Scotland which have the greatest extent of long-term vacant and derelict land and levels of deprivation.

The criteria and methodology, which includes prioritising five local authorities, was agreed with COSLA. It ensures that the fund will deliver on its objectives and support the delivery of inclusive growth in our most disadvantaged communities in Scotland.

All blood sample deliveries from GPs to laboratories must comply with section 5.4.5 of ISO15189:2012. This, alongside individual laboratories transport monitoring and acceptance/rejection policies, exists so that all blood samples taken in GP surgeries are delivered, received and tested within a time frame and temperature appropriate to the examinations requested. As such the impact of faulty storage of original blood samples on NHS resources and waiting times for patients should be minimal.

The requisite number of frontagers for the adoption of a private road by a local authority is specified in section 1(7) of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984.

Guidance is available regarding new street design and the adoption of streets within a policy statement for Scotland “Designing Streets” which is available via the following link:  https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/corporate-report/2010/03/designing-streets-policy-statement-scotland/documents/0096540-pdf/0096540-pdf/govscot%3Adocument/0096540.pdf .

All blood sample deliveries from GP’s to laboratories in NHSGGC are bound by the regulations set out in the NHSGGC Transport and Disposal of Specimen Containers and Specimens Policy (Oct 2016) and the Transport of Specimens management manual and guidance. In addition to this all laboratories in NHS GGC are accredited under ISO15189:2012 and as such are required to comply with section 5.4.5.

In order to fulfil the ISO standard, each accredited laboratory within NHSGGC will have local policies detailing the steps the individual labs take to monitor the integrity of samples as they arrive in the lab e.g. local transport and acceptance and rejection policies, use of haemolytic indices, delayed sample comments and other safeguards against transport/ storage conditions impacting patient results.

If the specific conditions required for the examination requested are not met then the policies will detail what remedial steps are taken to ensure patients do not receive inappropriate results. For example if a blood sample is received in South Biochemistry and is more than 12 hours old, the potassium result will be removed.

The local specimen transport policies will also detail how the laboratory audits sample transport from source in order to fulfil standard 5.4.5 as above.

The NHSGGC sample transport policy and guidance along with the individual laboratories transport monitoring and acceptance and rejection policies exist so the laboratories, their regulators and the users can be assured that all blood samples taken in GP surgeries in NHS GGC are delivered, received and tested within a time frame and temperature appropriate to the examinations requested.

The length of time that information about a criminal conviction is disclosed on the PVG scheme record is provided for in the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 as amended by The Police Act 1997 and Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 Remedial (No. 2) Order 2015 (“the 2015 Remedial Order”) (Scottish Statutory Instrument 2015 No 423).

Currently, a PVG scheme record will contain information about any unspent conviction recorded about an individual. The position regarding spent convictions (as determined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) is different; the reforms made by the 2015 Remedial Order ended the practice of disclosing all spent convictions the PVG scheme record indefinitely. This means that a conviction for many offences is no longer disclosed on the PVG scheme record once the conviction becomes spent. With regard to convictions for other offences, two lists were created. The effect is that a spent conviction for an offence set out in schedule 8A of the Police Act 1997 (“the 1997 Act”) must be disclosed unless a sheriff orders otherwise, and that a spent conviction for an offence set out in schedule 8B of the 1997 Act is disclosed subject to rules.

The rules are that a spent conviction for an offence on schedule 8B will appear on a higher level disclosure for:

• 15 years, if 18 or over at the date of conviction;
• 7 years and 6 months, if under 18 at the date of conviction.

Where a spent conviction for an offence on schedule 8B is present in the PVG scheme record, an individual can apply to have it removed from the higher level disclosure if they think it is not relevant to the purpose for which the disclosure was requested. This application is made to the sheriff, Disclosure Scotland cannot make the decision on removing a conviction.

Where there is a spent conviction for an offence on schedule 8A (which includes serious offences such as rape and other sexual offences, assault to severe injury, and certain terrorism and firearms offences), the law about when an individual is able to make an application to a sheriff is different. Schedule 8A offences must be disclosed for 15 years (or 7 years and 6 months if under 18 on date of conviction) before the individual can apply to the sheriff.

Further details on the process of making an application to a sheriff can be found on Disclosure Scotland’s website at https://www.mygov.scot/convictions-higher-disclosures/ .