Chamber and committees

The level of financial penalties incurred by CalMac Ferries Ltd since October 2021 is detailed in the following table:

With widespread international interest in our work, the Scottish Government receives a great number of invitations, across all portfolios and both formally and informally, for Ministers to attend international events. As many of these requests are made personally at engagements, domestically or at different points across our international network, and are addressed in the moment, there is no way to provide an exact number of invitations received.

The Scottish Government is working to develop a sustainable healthcare workforce. We continue to look for opportunities to increase levels of recruitment and retention of healthcare staff in rural areas and we will develop a Remote and Rural workforce recruitment strategy by the end of 2024. This will support employers to ensure that the Health and Social Care needs of people who live in remote and rural communities are met.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17310 on 4 May 2023. 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 stakeholder engagement during this initial phase of policy development, when no sites have been identified, was conducted online to enable wide participation. See the answers to S6W-16733 on 28 April 2023 and S6W-17046 on 15 May 2023 for more details of specific engagements. Meetings which took place prior to the launch of the consultation allowed stakeholder feedback to be taken into account as we developed our initial proposals. Meetings held during the consultation period were designed to assist stakeholders, including individuals and businesses, to complete the consultation and answer any questions.

The intention is to undertake in-person sessions during the next phase of the project in relation to the development of site proposals. I, along with other Ministers, will be visiting island and coastal communities around Scotland to hear their views directly before setting out our next steps.

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 did not pay for advertisements in relation to the public consultation on our overall approach to Highly Protected Marine Areas. The consultation was publicised online via social media – see the answer to
‎ S6W-17045 on 15 May 2023 for more details. Additionally emails were sent out to the over 200 stakeholders who had signed up for our mailing list.

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 has undertaken a range of measures to promote the guidance for displaced people from Ukraine. At the point of publication, the guidance was issued via direct mailing to a wide range of stakeholders and delivery partners, including local government and third sector. It has also been promoted on Scottish Government social media channels including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. We have engaged with external stakeholders such as ScotHosts, Help Ukraine Scotland and Barnardo’s to have the guidance promoted directly on their social media channels. This ensures the guidance is sent directly to Ukrainians as well as Hosts who support Ukrainian families.

In addition, Scottish Government subsequently published a stakeholder toolkit to support our partners to further promote the guidance. This, too, was issued to a wide range of stakeholders and delivery partners. The toolkit, which is available online to download, contains information on the guidance alongside a range of assets for use, including key messages, social media posts and videos focusing on accommodation, showcasing Scotland, and rights and protections.

The Scottish Government has produced posters promoting the guidance and worked closely with local authorities and our partner organisations such the Scottish Refugee Council, Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain and Volunteer Edinburgh to have the posters displayed at arrival points, in welcome accommodation, or other places where our partners meet with people displaced from Ukraine.

The guidance was also promoted in Scottish Government’s Scottish Government: ‘Supporting Ukraine’ monthly newsletter, with a call to action for those subscribers to share the content widely.

We are grateful to our partners for their work in helping to ensure displaced people from have access to the guide and we are committed to continuing to work in partnership to further promote it widely.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data. Guidance was issued to Health Boards in April 2022 setting out our expectation that Health Boards will ensure Ukrainian refugees have access to GP practices.

The Scottish Government will update the guidance regularly to ensure displaced people from Ukraine have up to date information. Updates have been made since the guidance was first published in 6 th April 2023. We will continue to review the guidance – and listen to our stakeholders, partner organisations and displaced people from Ukraine living in Scotland – to ensure it is up to date and meets needs.

The Scottish Government engages closely with NHS Highland on dental service delivery matters and has put in place a framework of support to facilitate local solutions.

This includes Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI) grant support, which pays out a potential £100,000 for the first surgery, and £25,000 per additional surgery to practices setting up a new practice, or extending an existing practice; and making available recruitment and retention allowances with payments of up to £37,500 over a three year period. Both mitigations apply across the whole of the Highland Health Board area.

In this particular case the Board is working with the practice to facilitate recruitment resting on the incentives available. In the meantime a locum dentist will provide cover at the practice, pending recruitment.

Unregistered patients can access emergency and urgent dental care via the Public Dental Service, Argyll & Bute Dental Helpline.