Seòmar agus comataidhean

All eligible individuals will be offered a safe and effective vaccine that has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and in line with Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice. JCVI have consistently said that ‘simplicity is the cornerstone of a successful public health vaccination programme’ and allowing a choice of vaccine is not possible for logistical and planning reasons.

For Winter 2022, the JCVI has advised using Moderna and Pfizer bivalent vaccines that target the original and Omicron strains of Covid-19. For those with specific allergies, or conditions which contraindicate these vaccines, an alternative is available in exceptional circumstances. If an individual has concerns about a medical condition or allergy then they should highlight this to the local vaccinator who would be best placed to advise.

We recognise the importance of the Scottish Events Campus as one of the world’s top conference and events venues, as recently exemplified in the successful hosting of COP26. It is clear that the SEC makes a vital contribution not just to Glasgow’s economy, but to Scotland’s economy as a whole.

As Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, I engaged with Peter Duthie, the CEO of the SEC, with regards to the SEC expansion plans and broader matters affecting the events sector. These discussions have necessarily been paused due to emerging budgetary pressures and reassessment of budget priorities as set out in the Resource Spending Review. We are therefore unable to commit to the provision of funding support via a capital finance package for the expansion of the conferencing centre at the current time.

However, we are keen to continue to engage with the SEC and the wider business conference and events sector on how the review of the National Event Strategy Scotland: The Perfect Stage, can enable us to build on its success, and to deliver on the priorities of our National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10578 on 27 September 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

Pulmonary rehabilitation services are made up of multidisciplinary teams which can include the following professions: physiotherapists, nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and doctors.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of graduates from each profession who work in pulmonary rehabilitation services. However, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) collects and analyses data relating to the provision of further and higher education in Scotland and a breakdown of the number of overall graduates from each profession over the past five years is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (BIB number 63608). This is broken down by domicile: Scottish, rUK, EU, international.

Scottish Ministers have carefully considered the findings of the 2021 National Marine Plan Review. In our Programme for Government 2022-23, Scottish Ministers committed to start the process of developing a new National Marine Plan, to address the global climate and nature crises by carefully managing increasing competition for space and resources in the marine environment. Scottish Ministers will formally commence this process via the publication of its Statement of Public Participation and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy in the coming weeks.

NHS Boards are expected to provide those who have a survived a stroke with the appropriate multi-disciplinary assessment, and are required to demonstrate their provision of access to acute therapy assessment during Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme (SSIP) annual reviews. Exploring ways to drive improvements in early access to assessment and rehabilitation is a key aspect of the work underway to develop the refreshed Stroke Improvement Plan.

Scottish Government are working with the UK Health Security Agency to secure further allocations for Scotland from additional vaccine supplies arriving in the UK, to protect high risk groups against monkeypox. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will be able to request vaccines from these to meet their service delivery requirements.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10987 on 27 September 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

The information regarding the value of each local authority's reserves in real terms in 2022-23, and how this compares with the equivalent value in 2006-07 is set out in the following table.

The Scottish Government would expect the Scottish Stroke Care Audit (SSCA) to aim to raise the Scottish Stroke Care Standards to drive improvements when a standard is being met or exceeded by most services. In line with this, the SSCA standard for CT brain scanning was raised in 2020. Changes in standards are highlighted in the annual Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme (SSIP) reports.

Further information on the Scottish Stroke Care Audit can be found at: https://www.strokeaudit.scot.nhs.uk/index.html