Chamber and committees

Members should be aware this question is about flood management . Scottish Ministers approved the revised set of Potentially Vulnerable Areas submitted by SEPA in September 2018 and these were published on SEPA's website on 22 December 2018.

Working closely with partners, SEPA will draft Flood Risk Management Strategies for the period 2022-2027. These strategies will identify objectives and actions to help protect communities in potentially vulnerable areas, and they will be published following a full public consultation.

Scotland’s Climate Change Plan sets out an ambitious trajectory for decarbonising heat, where, by 2032, low carbon heat would supply 35% of domestic buildings’ heat and 70% of non-domestic buildings’ heat. Our Energy Strategy further commits us to ensuring that by 2030, the equivalent of 50% of the total energy for Scotland’s heat, transport and electricity consumption would be supplied from renewable sources. As of 2017, between 5.9% and 6.1% of Scotland’s non-electrical heat demand was already being met by renewable sources.

As we acknowledged in the Scottish Energy Strategy, the structure of Scotland’s energy system will look significantly different in 2050 with the mix of technologies deployed depending on how we collectively respond to challenges and opportunities along the way. We anticipate our energy system will be more diverse and well-balanced than at present, so as to better support the supply of clean and affordable heat. As such, at this stage we have not sought to produce estimates for specific technologies. However, our proposed Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES) will soon allow our partners in local government to take an evidence-based approach to identifying the most appropriate energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation solutions.

In response to the statutory advice from the Committee on Climate Change, we are focusing on prioritising those ‘low regrets’ heat decarbonisation options that fall within our powers. These are measures that will continue to make sense regardless of what types of decisions the UK Government will take on the future of the gas grid, which as you know is a reserved matter. Among other actions, we are:

• promoting energy efficiency to cut the heat demand in buildings through Energy Efficient Scotland and associated measures such as the development of Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES) ;
• supporting district heating, through our District Heating Loan Fund and by taking leading steps to regulate networks ahead of the rest of the UK; and
• planning how we can best support the installation of low carbon heat in off-gas grid areas, a process starting with a call for evidence in January 2019.

Until April 2016 wholly private dental practices were not subject to any scrutiny or inspection. They are now subject to the same level of scrutiny and inspection as their NHS counterparts. Non-NHS dental practices, which provide only private services, meet the definition of an independent clinic and are therefore regulated (which includes inspection) by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS). HIS will use the Combined Practice Inspection process which has been in use for all NHS general dental practices in Scotland since 1 January 2014.

The Scottish Government’s policy is that the regulation of independent healthcare in Scotland should be entirely funded through the fees paid by those providers who are being regulated. The rate of the fees, which is based on a cost recovery basis, was subject to public consultation and the adopted fee rates were the preferred option of the majority of respondents from the 500 service providers contacted. The fees are calculated in relation to the type of work being carried out in the service.

NHS dental practices and practices with a combination of NHS and private work are regulated by the local health board. using the Combined Practice Inspection (CPI) checklist for regulation and inspection which has been in place since 1 January 2014. The CPI Checklist combines Health Board and Vocational Training inspection items and includes items from the National Standards for Dental Services. Healthcare Improvement Scotland now regulate wholly private dental practices and will use the CPI process. If HIS did not undertake inspections for wholly private dental practices, there would be no inspection regime in place for these providers because they are not affiliated to a health board.

The Scottish Government, together with the Lyme Borreliosis Group are actively engaged in raising awareness of the materials produced to educate people on Lyme disease. This includes a social media video campaign which ran throughout Summer 2018 encouraging young people to check for and remove ticks safely, an article on the Visit Scotland website and an outdoor health workshop held in Stirling in October 2018. All of which signpost to the ‘avoiding bugs and germs outdoors’ web pages on NHS Inform ( www.nhsinform.scot/bugs-and-germs ).

The Scottish Government and the Lyme Borreliosis group are currently working on promotional activity for 2019 which will include the distribution of branded tick removers which signpost to the ‘avoiding bugs and germs outdoors’ web pages on NHS Inform.

Routes to raise awareness of Lyme disease discussed at the symposium in Benbecula included social media, community pharmacies and production of educational materials.

The independent inquiry into mental health services in Tayside launched its public call for evidence in September 2018. Its remit is to inquire into the accessibility, safety, quality and standards of care provided by all mental health services in Tayside. Given the scope and nature of its remit, it is important that the Inquiry takes the time necessary to complete its valuable work. The inquiry is chaired by David Strang and is ongoing. No date has been set for the publication its report.

The farmer has received compensation for the market value of the cattle that were humanely destroyed. The Scottish Government has no plans to pay further compensation.

The creation of school counsellors in school education across Scotland is part of a package of measures to ensure that children and young people get the support that they need. We know that early experiences have lasting impacts for childhood and beyond so early intervention is crucial.

We have developed a suite of aims and principles for the delivery of this commitment and are taking forward discussions with key partners. To ensure that the commitment is met in full by September 2020 we are providing a package of around £27 million in the first two years of implementation. This will support the delivery and employment of counsellors across Scotland.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) publish numbers of laboratory confirmed cases of Borrelia burgdorferi as part of the annual surveillance report on Zoonotic disease in Scotland. The most recent report can be accessed here: https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/resourcedocument.aspx?id=6891

These numbers are likely to underestimate the total number of cases of Lyme disease because current guidance recommends that health care professionals treat patients presenting with the erythema migrans rash immediately with antibiotics, without requiring laboratory testing.

It should be noted that the data in the report for 2017 is provisional. The total number of laboratory confirmed cases of Borrelia burgdorferi in 2017 is 167.