Chamber and committees

The Lord Advocate is responsible for the investigation of all sudden, suspicious and unexplained deaths which occur in Scotland. Where a death requires investigation, this is undertaken by COPFS on behalf of the Lord Advocate.

The Crown provides advice, support and direction to investigators from Police Scotland, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Local Authorities and other regulatory agencies throughout the course of an investigation.

The investigations led by COPFS into this incident are continuing under the direction of a Senior Advocate Depute. Incidents of this nature mean that detailed and lengthy investigations are required, often involving complex technical issues which require expert opinion.

A decision as to whether there should be a prosecution can be made only when the investigations are complete and final reports have been submitted by Police Scotland and others to the Crown. That stage has not yet been reached.

Officials continue to keep the families of the deceased updated in accordance with the Family Liaison Charter which the Lord Advocate laid before the Scottish Parliament in September 2016.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) have recommended that quadrivalent vaccines for use in the 2018-2019 northern hemisphere influenza season contain the following:

• an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus;
• an A/Singapore/INFIMH-16-0019/2016 (H3N2)-like virus;
• a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus (B/Victoria/2/87 lineage); and
• a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage).

It is recommended that the influenza B virus component of trivalent vaccines for use in the 2018-2019 northern hemisphere influenza season be a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus of the B/Victoria/2/87-lineage.

Whilst WHO have made these recommendations, it is difficult to predict what the circulating strains will be this season as this can change throughout the season. Health Protection Scotland coordinates a surveillance system to monitor circulating virus and their impact in the population, and published an weekly report on this throughout the season.

Information provided by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advises that 12 beds have been identified in Vale of Leven Hospital for this winter.

In 2018-19, the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is being supported with additional investment of £31.8 million, increasing the Board’s resource budget to £2,154.5 million. The Board’s latest monthly report sets out that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is working towards a balanced financial position for 2018-19 and as such is not anticipating a requirement for brokerage. It is not unusual for Boards to report a projected adverse variance against budget over the course of the year which then reduces through the year as further savings are delivered and patterns of expenditure becomes more certain.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with all Boards at a national, regional and local level to ensure that they continue to work towards a balanced and sustainable financial position, whilst ensuring that there is no impact on patient care. This will include more than £850 million of investment to substantially and sustainably improve NHS waiting times by the Spring of 2021.

In addition, as announced in October, a new 3-year financial planning and performance framework will be introduced which will require NHS Boards to deliver a break-even position over a 3-year period, and a clean slate will be provided for those Territorial Boards with outstanding brokerage. This will provide additional financial flexibility for NHS Boards to deliver the measures set out in the in the health and social care delivery plan.

Information provided by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advises that an additional 26 beds have been identified at the Royal Alexandria Hospital for this winter. The Board also plans to extend the availability of 18 existing beds at the RAH to create additional overnight and weekend capacity. An additional 20 beds have been identified at Inverclyde Royal Hospital and an additional 12 beds at Vale of Leven Hospital.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are making full use of the activity they have been allocated by the Golden Jubilee in the current year.

As you will be aware the Scottish Government has committed to expand the Golden Jubilee National Hospital to help meet future need. The Golden Jubilee will be significantly expanding its current capacity over the coming few years to help meet future capacity demand for the west of Scotland Boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

There is a fundamental difference why Fair Start Scotland contracts apply for a longer period of time. This is because many of the people who participate in Fair Start Scotland require a much longer period of support. Fair Start Scotland offers 12 to 18 months of pre-employment support and up to a year of in work support, depending on an individual’s needs.

Whilst both Fair Start Scotland and the Employability Fund are designed to offer person centred support, tailored to the needs of the individual, the Employability Fund is designed to support people who require less intensive support, over a shorter, sharper period.

We have recently begun the journey to examine a more effective employability system, and whilst it is not envisaged that we will radically alter elements of the system that we have in place now, if it is felt to be an issue of significant concern, it is incumbent on us to listen to that.

As I explained in my answer to question S5W-19293, Scottish Water presented its consultation report to a multi-stakeholder group on
‎25 October 2018. It is currently awaiting feedback from these stakeholders. Scottish Water intends to publish the updated ‘Shaping the future of your water and waste water services’ document in 2019 alongside its Strategic Plan.

Separately, the Scottish Government will publish a summary of responses to the consultation ‘Investing in and paying for your water services from 2021’ by the end of the year.

There have been no community buyouts of piers in the last 10 years.

Marine Scotland have a Harbour repair fund which can be used for urgent repairs to fisheries ports/harbours/piers/landing sites. This is a modest fund with a yearly budget of £400k, support can only be given to the owner/operator of the harbour.

If the pier is considered to be of significant architectural or historic importance, groups may be able to apply to Historic Environment Scotland for a Historic Environment Repair Grant. However, this grant is only available to the owner of the pier.