Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07664 on 19 April 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

We have written to the Comhairle setting out our view on the issues raised by Tighean Innse Gall and continued delivery of home insulation schemes in the Western Isles. The Scottish Government has proposed practical solutions and remains open to receiving proposals from the council that aim to further strengthen the local supply chain. This year we will allocate £64 million in funding to local councils to support local delivery of Area Based Schemes.

Help and support for fuel poor households continues to be available through our national Warmer Homes Scotland service. Warmer Homes Scotland has installed insulation measures in 17 homes in the Western Isles since last September. Likewise there is a range of cashback and loans available to householders, as well as advice and information, through our Home Energy Scotland helpline.

The successful implementation of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 is dependent on the engagement of clinical staff groups and the Health Board managers firstly in contributing to the development of the 2019 Act’s Guidance and subsequently in understanding and applying the relevant provisions to their services. The NHS’s main focus has been prioritising, managing and providing services throughout the pandemic. The movement towards remobilisation is now presenting the opportunity for officials to engage with the relevant stakeholders to coproduce an implementation strategy and timetable which the Government will subsequently publish.

The Scottish Government regularly reviews its plans for public awareness campaigns. We do not intend to run a public awareness campaign for deep vein thrombosis at this time.

The Scottish Government notes the position from the British Social Attitudes survey (BSA) which asks members of the public to rate how satisfied they are with “the way in which the NHS runs nowadays”.

We recognise that the NHS has been under significant pressure in recent years, in particular due to pressures arising from COVID-19.

The ongoing impact of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that many health services had to be suspended or reduced in scope and scale. This has affected almost all aspects of NHS planned care and as a result of this there are many people who are waiting longer for the care they need. Addressing the backlog of care, while continuing to meet the ongoing urgent health and care needs of the country, is a top priority for the Scottish Government.

We continue to prioritise investment in our NHS to support remobilisation and reform and to deliver world-class, sustainable services for the whole of Scotland. This is underlined by our latest Budget which provides £18 billion for Health and Social Care and takes forward our commitment to increase spending on the NHS in Scotland by at least 20% over the course of this parliament.

As part of our 100 days commitments, we published an NHS Recovery Plan in August 2021 which commits more than £1 billion of targeted investment for the recovery and renewal of our health service. This sets out our plans and key ambitions to address the backlogs of care by March 2026, which includes supporting an increase in capacity to deliver inpatient and day case procedures, outpatient activity, and diagnostics, which will be supported by the implementation of sustainable improvements and new models of care.

Alongside this, NHS Scotland staffing levels are at a record high and have increased for ten consecutive years. However, we recognise that our NHS has experienced unprecedented pressures since the Covid-19 pandemic. Our £300m of new support to help services deal with system pressures over recent months along with the £1bn-backed NHS Recovery Plan introduced a range of direct workforce investments and new measures to enhance Boards’ capacity for both domestic and international recruitment. Various commitments from these plans, such as the recruitment of 1,000 additional healthcare support workers, have already been achieved. We are continuing to implement vital workforce investments at speed.

In terms of the wider situation in Scotland, the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey (SSAS) asks similar, but not identical, questions to the BSA and is due to report in Autumn this year. The SSAS did not run in 2020 due to COVID restrictions and was run in 2021 as a telephone survey which means that results for the 2021 SSAS may not be directly comparable with the previous SSAS findings from 2019.

Other sources reporting information of this kind are the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) and the Health and Care Experience survey (HACE).

The most recent Scottish Household Survey asked participants to rate satisfaction with “local health services”. Whilst this question does not exclusively focus on the NHS, satisfaction was generally positive in Scotland with around 88% of those surveyed reporting they were satisfied with the quality of local health services in 2020. Also from the SHS, 93% of adults trusted “the Health System”, making it the institution that adults were most likely to express trust in. Similarly to the SSAS, the SHS ran in 2020 as a telephone survey, meaning that results for 2020 may not be directly comparable with previous SHS findings.

Scottish Household Survey data collection is ongoing, with 2022 data currently being collected. 2021 data is being processed and is due to be published later in the year.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-household-survey-2020-telephone-survey-key-findings/

The Health and Care Experience survey (HACE) asks people to rate their experience of using Health and Care services in Scotland which is not the same as asking about people’s attitudes towards health and care services. Similar to the SSAS, the HACE was last run in 2019 with results published in October 2020. The next set of results from the 2021-22 HACE survey will be published in May 2022.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/health-care-experience-survey-2019-20/

Building regulations do not apply retrospectively to existing buildings. The regulations apply to new buildings, conversions and to existing buildings where building work is proposed. From 1 June 2022, if remediation is required following a Single Building Assessment, a building warrant will be required for replacement cladding systems (other than minor repairs) and require to meet the amended regulations.

Scottish Ministers are considering how the ScotWind revenues should be invested to maximise the benefits for the people of Scotland. As part of these considerations, Scottish Ministers will evaluate whether these revenues should fall within the scope of the existing 9% agreement with Crown Estate Scotland.

The Scottish Sarcoma Network is tasked with looking at this issue more closely for the whole of Scotland, particularly regarding any educational shortfalls that may exist.

The Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer were published in 2019 and support primary care professionals in identifying patients with potential symptoms of cancer who require urgent assessment by a specialist. These include guidelines for suspected sarcoma.

The use of the Picture Archiving Communications System (PACS) enables all radiologists to work together to ensure patients with scans indicating suspicion of sarcoma can be discussed with a sarcoma specialist radiologist. The responsible GP or consultant can refer the patient to the nearest sarcoma specialist centre.

We recognise that the high-level ambitions we have to tackle the twin nature and climate crises need to be supported with adequate funding. This is why we have already committed to invest an additional £500 million in the natural economy over the course of this Parliament. This includes £250 million on peatland restoration over the current decade, £65 Million on the new Nature Restoration Fund over the course of this Parliament, and £100 million to increase forestry planting,

‎ £30 million to expand Scotland's national forests, and £20 million to increase nursery stocks. The Resource Spending Review will reflect these priorities.

In line with the Test and Protect Transition Plan, testing changed on Scotland on 18 April.

Thanks to vaccination coverage and new Covid treatments, most people no longer need to test when they don’t have COVID-19 symptoms. Lateral flow device (LFD) tests are now being used in a targeted way to support clinical care and protect high risk settings.

Up until the end of April 2022, LFD tests can be ordered online or by phoning 119 for:

• anyone eligible for Covid treatments,
• an unpaid carer,
• anyone visiting a hospital or care home,
• a contact of a positive case and are fully vaccinated, or,
• a positive case who is self-isolating and are eligible to end self-isolation early (take an LFD test from day 6 as advised in guidance for ending self-isolation early).

From the 1 May LFD tests can be ordered online or by phoning 119 for:

• anyone eligible for Covid treatments,
• an unpaid carer, or
• anyone visiting a hospital or care home,

PCR testing for those with symptoms remains available until the Test and Protect transition period ends on 30 April.