Chamber and committees

As set out in our response to S6W-04807, we are working with industry, local government and environmental groups to develop the route map to deliver our waste and recycling targets for 2025. This work is critical in determining how the waste and resources sector will contribute towards lower carbon emissions in the period to 2030 and beyond, including considering the use of carbon-based recycling targets for local authorities.

It would be wrong of me to pre-empt that process, including formal consultation on findings and proposals, planned for the first half of 2022.

We have not made a direct assessment of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the detection of atrial fibrillation. However, we regularly assess statistics on Covid-19’s impact on cardiovascular services more widely to inform our work.

Public Health Scotland Statistics on COVID-19’s impact on the health care system including cardiovascular procedures can be found at:

https://scotland.shinyapps.io/phs-covid-wider-impact/

To address the wider impacts of the pandemic our NHS Recovery Plan, backed by over £1bn of investment, sets out our plans for health and care over the next five years. Through the plan we will take forward our aim of increasing NHS capacity by at least 10% as quickly as possible to address the backlog of care and meet the ongoing healthcare needs for people across the country.

At the heart of our licensing scheme is a set of mandatory standards which will help to protect the safety of guests and neighbours in short-term lets across Scotland. Provided an operator continues to comply with their licence conditions, which will often just be the mandatory safety conditions, their licence would normally be renewed. As the licensing scheme requires licence holders to comply with mandatory safety conditions, and they cannot continue to operate if they do not, it is reasonable to assume that lenders will have regard to this as part of their due diligence, alongside other considerations such as turnover and profitability.

In developing proposals for the regulation of short-term lets, the Scottish Government has conducted three public consultations. Our most recent consultation closed on 13 August 2021, and we received 1,026 responses.

We carefully considered suggestions for changes to the legislation from working group members, and stakeholders responding to our third consultation, including the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers. The changes set out in the consultation report align with the policy objectives of ensuring all short-term lets comply with basic safety requirements, without undermining protections for guests, neighbours and local communities. These include significant and pragmatic changes in response to concerns from the tourism sector, such as the removal of overprovision and stronger guidance on fees.

Two sets of regulations amending the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 were made today.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Amendment (No.6) Regulations 2021 amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 (“the principal regulations”).

These Amendment Regulations introduce physical distancing requirements in hospitality and indoor leisure premises, requirements for table service and also introduce a capacity limit for live events. These regulations provide the following requirements;

• Physical distancing – a requirement to take measures to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that a distance of 1 metre is maintained between people in or waiting to enter hospitality and leisure premises and that only enough people are admitted to the premises to allow the 1 metre distance to be maintained.
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• Table service - a requirement for table service in premises where alcohol is sold for consumption on the premises, and that the customer must remain seated whilst consuming food and drink on the premises.
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• Capacity limit for live events - a requirement that live events held indoors and outdoors do not exceed capacity limits set in the regulations - 100 people at indoor standing events, 200 people at indoor seated events and 500 people at outdoor events (whether seated or standing).

The requirements in relation to capacity limits at live events will take effect at 5.00 a.m. on 26 December and the requirements in relation to physical distancing and table service will take effect at 5.00 a.m. on 27 December.

These regulations have been published at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ssi/2021/496

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Requirements) (Scotland) Amendment (No.7) Regulations 2021 also amend the principal regulation and will take effect at 5.00 a.m. on 27 December 2021.

These Amendment Regulations have the effect of closing nightclubs, dance halls or discotheque premises from 5.00 a.m. on 27 December 2021. It would remain open to these businesses to operate the premises with distancing and table service, rather than as a nightclub, dance hall or discotheque.

These regulations have been published at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ssi/2021/497

The Scottish Government announced in January 2020 that it intended to establish a licensing scheme for short-term lets using powers under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 and we have been engaging with local authorities on implementation of a licensing scheme since then. Local authorities have experience in licensing other activities under the 1982 Act and we made changes to our proposals in response to their views.

In setting timescales for establishing a licensing scheme, and for existing operators to have made an application, the Scottish Government has been mindful of striking a balance between giving local authorities and operators sufficient time to prepare, whilst moving quickly enough to address what remains a pressing issue for many residents and communities.

We will be working closely with local authorities, and other stakeholders on the working group, to review and update guidance and prepare for implementation.

Claims of bullying behaviour by civil servants are untrue. All members of the National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain (NACCP) are free to make whatever contribution they wish to discussions.

All committee members are required to abide by the behaviours set out in the Terms of Reference, including the values of respect and mutual collaboration to agree recommendations to help improve care for people with chronic pain. If these behaviours and values were not met, this would be taken very seriously and addressed.

As at December 2021 four representatives of the Chronic Pain Patient Reference Group attending the NACCP had written to officials to resign their positions. Two resignations took place in June 2021, with one in each of October and November 2021. It would not be appropriate to divulge the specific reasons cited by each individual, however I am clear that officials acted on the relevant feedback provided.

For example, as a result we are currently reviewing existing stakeholder engagement processes and structures around our work on chronic pain, including the role of the NACCP. The outcome of this work is intended to ensure meaningful engagement to support the future delivery and implementation of the Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery following completion of the current public consultation.

The Scottish Government published our Heart Disease Action Plan in March 2021. This sets out a number of actions to enable us to achieve our vision of minimising preventable heart disease and ensuring equitable and timely access to diagnosis, treatment and care for people with heart disease. It is relevant to a number of the recommendations of the CPG inquiry report.

Within Priority 1 of the Action Plan, there is a focus on improving the detection, diagnosis and management of risk factor conditions, including atrial fibrillation. Work is underway to deliver the commitments outlined.

In particular, the Scottish Primary Care Information Resource (SPIRE) is developing reporting on atrial fibrillation. This will allow GP practices to monitor patients on particular medications and make sure they are getting the right follow-up care.

The Action Plan also makes commitments to addressing the challenges facing the cardiac physiology workforce. Work is progressing on this. Furthermore, we are progressing commitments in the Integrated Health and Social Care Workforce Plan (2019) for Scotland to promote recruitment of cardiac physiologists over the next 3-5 years into Scientist Training Programmes and Practitioner BSC Programmes.

The CPG inquiry report also identifies the importance of improving access to data to drive improvement. In April 2021 we commissioned Public Health Scotland to develop the Scottish Cardiac Audit Programme. Extensive clinical and patient engagement is currently underway to develop the audit. Two key work streams within that engagement are atrial fibrillation and cardiac devices.

The 2022-23 Scottish Budget delivers record funding of £18 billion for the health portfolio to support our vital health and care services, including those services that are supporting the needs of people living with long COVID, chronic fatigue syndromes and chronic pain.

We have published ‘Scotland's long COVID service’, which sets out our approach and 16 commitments to improve care and support for people with long COVID in Scotland.

In addition, our £10million ‘long COVID Support Fund’ will provide NHS Boards with additional resource to respond in a flexible and tailored manner to the needs of people with long COVID.

In light of the final National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ME/CFS being published, we are pleased to confirm that a formal stakeholder consultation project will begin in early 2022. The main focus of this is to work collaboratively with key stakeholders towards implementing the recommendations within these guidelines, in Scotland.

We are continuing to work with Health Boards to ensure the remobilisation of appropriate pain management support as quickly and as safely as possible. As part of this we providing funding to enhance the capacity of pain management care through the Chronic Pain Winter Support Fund. We will shortly announce the outcome of this funding call. The projects we fund will boost the support available for people with chronic pain at the national and local level to help them maintain their health and wellbeing over the months ahead.

The following formal flood protection schemes are complete.