- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 16 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to provide for exemption schemes in the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill for people undertaking respite breaks.
Answer
As set out in the Policy Memorandum, accompanying the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill, the policy intention is that a local authority can establish exemptions to a visitor levy scheme in its area as it believes are appropriate. The Bill therefore provides for a local authority to put such exemptions in place, which will be informed by advice in national guidance being developed by local government and business organisations in the Visitor Levy Expert Group.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 16 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to provide for exemption schemes in the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill for school, college and university trips.
Answer
As set out in the Policy Memorandum, accompanying the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill, the policy intention is that a local authority can establish exemptions to a visitor levy scheme in its area as it believes are appropriate. The Bill therefore provides for a local authority to put such exemptions in place, which will be informed by advice in national guidance being developed by local government and business organisations in the Visitor Levy Expert Group.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 16 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to provide for exemption schemes in the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill for youth groups.
Answer
As set out in the Policy Memorandum, accompanying the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill, the policy intention is that a local authority can establish exemptions to a visitor levy scheme in its area as it believes are appropriate. The Bill therefore provides for a local authority to put such exemptions in place, which will be informed by advice in national guidance being developed by local government and business organisations in the Visitor Levy Expert Group.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 16 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to provide for exemption schemes in the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill for workers and business travellers.
Answer
As set out in the Policy Memorandum, accompanying the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill, the policy intention is that a local authority can establish exemptions to a visitor levy scheme in its area as it believes are appropriate. The Bill therefore provides for a local authority to put such exemptions in place, which will be informed by advice in national guidance being developed by local government and business organisations in the Visitor Levy Expert Group.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have participated in clinical trials for haematological conditions in each year since 2017.
Answer
Data from the NHS Research Scotland Haematology Specialty Group and Cancer Research Network presented in the table below show the number of patients who have been recruited to clinical studies, including clinical trials, for non-malignant and malignant haematology conditions, respectively in each year since 2017.
Year | Non-malignant | Malignant |
2017 | 2103 | 133 |
2018 | 1849 | 238 |
2019 | 1743 | 187 |
2020 | 242 | 74 |
2021 | 214 | 108 |
2022 | 552 | 138 |
2023 (complete to 31/10-2023) | 613 | 113 |
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the number of centres that can provide CAR T-cell therapy.
Answer
Following National Services Division (NSD)’s national review of CAR-T services, NHS Scotland Health Board Chief Executives have recently endorsed a regional service model for CAR-T cell therapy to be delivered across three centres within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Grampian and NHS Lothian.
Work is underway to progress establishing the two further centres with an aim for the regional service model to be delivered across all three centres by financial year 2024-25.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Scotland about establishing a Scottish cancer trials register to increase awareness of clinical trials among clinicians and patients.
Answer
The Scottish Government published the independently produced Improving Equity of Access to Cancer Clinical Trials in Scotland report in February 2023, which includes a recommendation for the establishment of a national register for cancer clinical trials in Scotland. The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office has established an Equity of Access Implementation Board, which includes clinical research expertise from NHS Scotland, to consider this and other recommendations in the report.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve access to clinical trials for blood cancer patients living in rural and remote areas.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office has established an Implementation Board to prioritise and take forward the recommendations of an independent report on Improving Equity of Access to Cancer Clinical Trials in Scotland that was published in February 2023: Improving equity of access to cancer clinical trials in Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . Implementation of recommendations is anticipated to improve access to cancer clinical trials in Scotland.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans have been developed with NHS Scotland and local authorities for mobility aids to be collected and provided to medical charities operating in war zones.
Answer
The Scottish Government currently has no specific plans to provide mobility aids to medical charities operating in war zones. However, we will work with NHS Scotland and local authorities to respond to such requests from recognised partners, including WHO and UN bodies.
The Scottish Government has provided significant financial aid to humanitarian efforts in war zones in Gaza and Ukraine. We also donated a significant amount of medical supplies to Ukraine last year as part of the UK humanitarian response, coordinated by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 14 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to whether the
introduction of a Building Safety Levy would be an obstacle to investment in
the construction sector.
Answer
The primary objective of a devolved Building Safety Levy is to raise revenue to support the funding of cladding remediation for multi residential properties where cladding may present a risk to life. This will also ensure that homeowners and residents do not have to meet those significant costs themselves, directly.
The Scottish Government will balance this objective with minimising the impact on housing supply. We will also work with stakeholders and across the public sector to understand the cumulative impact of existing costs and regulations on the residential property and construction sectors.