Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08571 on  30 May 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 Scottish Government is working with Public Health Scotland to develop an online platform for members of the public to access information on the average waiting times for a range of treatments within their health board area. We expect the platform to be available this summer.

The R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) is a key strand of R100 programme delivery. As of May 2022, 1,847 properties on Shetland were eligible for a voucher worth up to £5,000 through the R100 SBVS.

As of May 2022, 33 applications had been received for properties located in Shetland for the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme’s interim voucher, which offers up to £400 to secure a temporary superfast connection. Twenty six of these vouchers have been issued so far.

A total of 4 applications have been received for the R100 SBVS main voucher which offers up to £5,000 to secure a permanent superfast connection. Three of these vouchers have been issued so far.

As I said in March, we are committed to delivering the powers under section 34 of the 2019 Act before the summer recess to enable local authorities to run their own bus services in a way that they see fit within the wider context of their obligations. This power sits alongside their existing ability to subsidise services. We intend to deliver that commitment and are currently working with local transport authorities on the development of an information note to help implement the provision.

The requested information is not centrally held. NHS Education for Scotland publishes annual data on joiners/leavers, but this information does not specify start date or professional background of joiners.

Information on joiners/leavers by staff group for each financial year can be found (turnover tab) here: https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/data-and-reports/official-workforce-statistics/all-official-statistics-publications/01-march-2022-workforce/dashboards/nhsscotland-workforce/?pageid=6429 .

Whilst Scottish Ministers set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, responsibility for service delivery rests locally with Health Boards. Scottish Ministers expect satisfactory specialist and condition-specific support and care to be delivered for the benefit of all patients.

The requisite education and training to support people with neurological conditions, including MS, is provided to NHS Western Isles specialist nursing staff, in collaboration with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Neurology Service.

The Board's Lead Nurse for Specialist Nursing provides leadership and management to its neurology service, to ensure that clinical standards are met and the caseload is effectively managed.

To support the delivery of the Neurological Framework, the Scottish Government has commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to support quality assurance of the implementation of the HIS General Standards for neurological care. Condition-specific third sector organisations will be an integral part of this evaluation and will help us understand how these standards are being implemented for people across Scotland.

The Scottish Government recognises that some people have found the application process for their National Entitlement Card complex. We therefore continue to work closely with the Improvement Service, which is ultimately responsible for the National Entitlement Card, to make further improvements to this process. Once these improvements have been implemented, we aim promote the scheme with a national marketing campaign.

In the meantime, we have undertaken extensive communications activities to increase awareness of the scheme; including sharing our robust communications toolkit with over 300 organisations who directly engage with young people and their families, and launching freebus.scot - providing simplified information regarding the application process and additional resources to promote the scheme.

My officials in Transport Scotland have been working with bus operators to monitor the impact on service levels and changes in vacancy levels. Officials are also in regular contact with the Department for Transport, DVLA and DVSA regarding issues about delays to licence applications and driver testing, which have affected recruitment and training of potential drivers.

In addition, Transport Scotland officials have convened a short-life group with operator reps, Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), COSLA, Skills Development Scotland, DWP and Scottish Government employment and skills officials to seek and facilitate solutions to workforce issues through the Labour and Skills Shortages Action Plan, as well as connecting Local Employability Partnerships with bus operators (through the Confederation of Passenger Transport) who are aware of opportunities in their areas.

The Scottish Government engages with the sea angling community through Angling Scotland, the umbrella organisation formed by the three Scottish Angling Governing Bodies: the Scottish Anglers National Organisation, the Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling and the Scottish Federation of Sea Anglers.

Recent engagement has concerned the commencement of angling activities in the run-up to and following the lifting of covid restrictions, with angling being recognised as a low impact activity that improves health and well-being. The last engagement with sea angling stakeholders concerned the use and usefulness for Scotland of the UK-wide Sea Angling Diary, however there was limited feedback.