Chamber and committees

We do not hold this information in the Transport Scotland injury road collisions database. We only have information about whether an animal was involved in a collision on the carriageway and we only collect information about the severity of people who are injured in the collision.

The Scottish Government has established a Strategy Steering Group to oversee the development and delivery of a Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy, and aims to publish a draft strategy for consultation by the end of 2023.

Scottish Government Directors General wrote to the chief executives of most public bodies in early 2023, setting out expectations for sustainable and impactful public services. As part of this, public bodies were encouraged to consider where savings and benefits can be achieved by working together, including for example through shared approaches on estates. Public bodies have since provided feedback and we expect Directors General to write again shortly.

The Resource Spending Review re-affirmed the Scottish Government commitment to minimise cost and maximise best value in relation to the Scottish public sector estate, which includes to increase co-location, collaboration and the interoperability of offices. A new programme of public sector property improvement work, being the Single Scottish Estate, is helping with delivery of these commitments and will support publicly-funded bodies to, where appropriate, co-locate as well as with other ways to optimise the estate footprint. I wrote to Chief Executives of public bodies on 24 May to update them on this work.

There are no plans to expand eligibility of The Young Patients Family Fund at this time.

With respect to what further support is needed to support young cancer patients and their families, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11449 on
‎ 4 November 2022.

In addition to support available under the Young Patients Family Fund, financial support for travel to hospital is available via the patient travel expenses reimbursement schemes. Under those schemes, patients and authorised escorts can reclaim reasonable costs of travel associated with attending a hospital appointment, in line with eligibility criteria and medical requirements.

Where travel outside Scotland is necessary, Boards are expected to support patients to identify and access support available, taking account individual circumstances and ensuring patient care is at the centre of all decisions.

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’s Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy is being developed with an overarching aim that everyone in Scotland receives well-coordinated, timely and high-quality palliative care, care around death and bereavement support, based on their needs and preferences.

We will develop a strategy that reflects what matters to people experiencing serious illness or who are near the end of life. We are reviewing the information and evidence we have about people’s experiences of palliative and end of life care to inform our strategy going forward. This will include the values, preferences, and priorities of people facing additional risks and challenges, including prisoners.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role of primary care teams in delivering care to patients living with advanced, serious illness or at the end of life, and their loved ones.

The Daffodil Standards are one initiative to support general practice teams to improve the care that they provide to people near the end of life. The Scottish Government does not collect data centrally on participation in the Standards. Further information about the Standards and the GP practices working with them is available on the RCGP website.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information, however, it may be available from local Health Boards.

The delivery of the actions in the Report of the City Centre Recovery Task Force 2021-22 is being carried out under the auspices of the Scottish Cities Alliance, in agreement with our local authority partners. As a member of the Alliance, the Scottish Government will work with the cities to progress the strategic objectives in the report as part of the Alliance’s Operational Programme 2022-2026.

In addition, the Scottish Government has also adopted the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) in February 2023, which references the ambitions of the Report and directly influences all planning decisions. NPF4 recognises that our cities and towns are a national asset and their centres bring together a wide range of functions and land uses. Its policies help centres adapt and be vibrant, healthier, creative, accessible and resilient places for people to live, learn, work and enjoy. In March 2023 we also introduced new permitted development rights that provide greater flexibility to change the use of buildings and place furniture outside specified hospitality premises.

In setting the total level of local government support, Scottish Ministers consider local authorities' on-going responsibilities and any new burdens or transfers of responsibility, including those imposed by Parliament through changes in statute. These issues are discussed on a regular on-going basis between the Scottish Government and COSLA.