Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-30595

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with Scotland’s Improvement Districts regarding the possible introduction of a non-domestic rates public health supplement on retailers prior to the announcement in the 2024-25 Budget, and what discussions it has had since.

Question reference: S6W-30594

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the possible introduction of a non-domestic rates public health supplement on retailers, as set out in the 2024-25 Budget, whether it (a) has assessed and (b) will assess the potential impact on support for new or renewal ballots for business improvement districts from those firms liable for the new levy.

The Scottish Government has not assessed the specific impact of a non-domestic rates public health supplement on support for new or renewal ballots for Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and there are currently no plans to do so. However, the Scottish Government continues to engage with a broad range of stakeholders to understand the impact of Non-Domestic Rates policies and would welcome any contributions from Improvement Districts.

Question reference: S6O-03835

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it will review any guidance in relation to the teaching of gender identity in schools, in light of the Cass report.

Question reference: S6O-04021

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government TEST.

Question reference: S6O-03784

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will increase funding to enable more trees of commercial species to be planted in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-03655

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the economy secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding support for any businesses impacted by the ban on wood burning stoves in new build homes.

Question reference: S6W-28689

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the current GP contract, which has required, as of March 2023, the transfer of vaccination services in rural areas from GPs to NHS boards, has been a success; what its position is on whether this policy has resulted in any potential increased risks of death in infants, and, if so, whether it plans to take any action to address any such risks.

The 2018 GP Contract was negotiated on a national basis with the BMA’s Scottish GP Committee which represents all Scottish GPs. The Contract is based on the transfer of some services to Health Board delivery to allow GP practices to focus on what only GPs can do. This means that GP practices are no longer the default providers of vaccinations.

The Scottish Government agreed a process with the GP committee to allow the continued delivery of vaccines, and other services intended for transfer, by GP practices where, due to remoteness and rurality, Health Board delivery would be difficult.

The seven key principles of service design are that any redesigned services should be:

? safe for patients and staff;

? person-centred;

? equitable;

? outcome focussed;

? effective;

? sustainable; and

? affordable

The vast majority of vaccinations are now delivered by Health Board employed staff with a consequent release of capacity for GP practices.

If vaccination rates drop in any Health Board area, the Scottish Government would expect that board to examine its vaccination arrangements and make any necessary adjustments, including the full use of the flexibilities provided under the GP contract, to ensure a proper level of vaccination. This is a continuation of the expectation the Scottish Government would have had of Health Boards when delivery was mostly in the hands of GP contractors; Health Boards were still responsible for ensuring that a proper level of vaccination was met.

The decline in childhood uptake we are seeing nationally is of course a cause for concern. On 16 July, Public Health Scotland published a report on ‘Understanding and addressing declines in childhood immunisations’. This research provides valuable insights into various aspects of childhood immunisation delivery in Scotland.

The Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme are working together to take forward the recommendations in the report. This will ensure that the learning and good practice highlighted in this report is put into action to improve uptake, and ensuring that the delivery of immunisations across all childhood programmes is equitable and accessible.

Question reference: S6W-28668

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason, according to the latest information in March 2024, the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government earns a salary of £170,000 to £174,999 per annum, while the Director-General for Health and Social Care earns a salary of £190,000 to £194,999, and whether it will publish all (a) memos, (b) documents and (c) internal reports that justify the award of a higher sum to a less senior civil servant.

Director General is a senior grade within the Senior Civil Service (SCS) and pay and terms and conditions of employment are reserved to the UK Government. The Director General for Health and Social Care’s salary remains within the overarching pay range set by Cabinet Office for Directors General, which has a ceiling as at 1 April 2023 of £208,100. The salary for the current Permanent Secretary was also set by Cabinet Office when they were appointed to the Scottish Government and was set to be cognisant of the salaries of other Permanent Secretaries across the UK.

The Director General for Health and Social Care’s salary reflects the fact she serves as both NHS Scotland’s Chief Executive and the Scottish Government’s Director-General Health and Social Care. As such the salary is set in relation to relevant market rates in Scotland and the wider UK, and at a level that ensures the role is attractive to candidates with relevant experience, particularly senior healthcare leaders in the NHS. The Senior Leadership Committee in the Cabinet Office, and the Civil Service Commission both approved the salary approach for this role.

It is not unusual both in the public and private sectors for there to be overlap between salaries and grades where salaries for individual roles need to be set to compete in a specialist market.

Question reference: S6W-28536

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the advanced works for the dualling of the A9 between Tomatin and Moy, whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the (a) total cost and (b) cost of any (i) preparatory work and (ii) consultancy fees for the creation of an ecological pond to accommodate a fly species.

Advance works to a cost of £22.6 million have been undertaken for the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project, to de-risk the main construction works contract.

This cost is broken down as follows:

A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy Advance Works	Final Cost
Archaeological Investigation	£0.6m
Tomatin Distillery Advance Worksand Local Road Improvements Project	£1.5m
Ground Investigation Works 2016-2022	£9.5m
Network Rail Lynebeg Underbridge Advance Works	£10.5m
Intelligent Transport System Advance Works (Variable Message Signs and CCTV)	£0.5m
Total	£22.6m

The figures above are exclusive of land acquisition costs and design fees.

The Lynbeg Railway Underbridge advance works contract included construction of a new ecological pond to support local ecology, including a nationally rare sub-species of the Caddisfly, which is encountered at only nine locations in the UK, including Lynebeg. The new ecological pond was constructed to meet the commitments set out in the Environmental Statement for the Tomatin to Moy project, specifically Mitigation Items P12 to W32 and P12 to E31, found on pages 21 to 42 and 21 to 50 of the Environmental Statement respectively. The new pond was constructed during the Lynebeg Railway Underbridge advance works contract to de-risk the programme impact on the main works contract.

The cost information available does not enable a breakdown of costs to be provided in the exact form requested.

Question reference: S6W-28537

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the advanced works for the dualling of the A9 between Tomatin and Moy; whether it will specify what upgraded active travel works have been undertaken, what the total cost was for this work, what consultation it undertook, whether this work has been completed, and, if this is not the case, when it anticipates that this work will be completed.

It is important to recognise that the dualling of the A9 between Tomatin and Moy and indeed, the whole A9 dualling programme seeks to enhance journey reliability and safety for all road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and bus and coach passengers, as well as vehicle drivers and passengers. The design of each project builds in these elements, for example, the provision of new bus stops is integral to the contract for the Tomatin to Moy section.

The advance works listed in the response to S6W-28536 on 7 August 2024 include the following elements of work that will make improvements for pedestrians, cyclists, and bus and coach passengers.

? Tomatin Distillery Access and Local Road Improvements Project:

This advance works contract provided new facilities for pedestrians, cyclists, and bus and coach passengers to facilitate more reliable and safer travel in the area. This included footpaths, a new footbridge which replaced an existing footbridge over All na Frithe watercourse, and new bus stops and bus shelters. Public lighting was also provided along the new footpaths. These enhancements were completed in autumn 2022.

? Lynebeg Railway Underbridge:

This advance works contract included the provision of a new bus lay-by and bus shelter, and associated sections of new footpath, to provide better facilities for pedestrians and bus and coach passengers. This enhancement was completed in Spring 2022.

The cost information available does not enable a breakdown of costs to be provided for each of these measures included in these advance works contracts.

These works have been delivered early as part of the advanced works contracts for the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project, which was the subject of statutory consultation following publication of draft Orders and the Environmental Statement on 18 May 2018. Prior to that date, consultations on developing proposals were undertaken with a number of individuals and organisations and those findings helped to inform the nature of and design of the measures set out above that have been undertaken to improve reliability and safety for pedestrians, cyclists and bus and coach passengers who travel on this section of the A9.

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 .

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