- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 22 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what data from the fishing industry will feed into any current or future assessments of fish stocks in the River Clyde, and whether any such data will include information from randomised checks of fishing boats.
Answer
The stock assessment mentioned in the response to S6W-18907 is still at a developmental stage. Before it could be used as the basis for advice, it would need to a) be finalised and published, and b) undergo a rigorous benchmark process conducted under the auspices of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas [ICES]. There are therefore as yet no firm plans for increasing monitoring coverage of commercial fishing vessels in the Firth of Clyde, over and above what is routinely done now. Should the assessment model be accepted for advisory use, then consideration would need to be given to how to ensure adequate data for it.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many properties have been provided with new connections of superfast broadband by the R100 build scheme since 2017, broken down by (a) lot and (b) year.
Answer
As outlined in response to S6W-18910, the R100 commitment comprises of three strands of activity - the R100 contracts, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) and continued commercial build.
The R100 Central and South contracts were awarded in December 2020 with the R100 North contract awarded in December 2021. As a result, build did not commence through the R100 contracts until 2021. The table below provides the number of connections built in each year since 2020 through the R100 contracts.
R100 Contracts | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023* | Total |
North Lot + | 0 | 151 | 4238 | 2032 | 6421 |
Central Lot | 0 | 2174 | 3895 | 2294 | 8363 |
South Lot | 56 | 3007 | 3126 | 1448 | 7637 |
*Figures up to 30th April 2023 | | | | | |
+ North Lot deployment was delayed by 12 months due to a legal challenge | | | |
The R100 SBVS is a demand-led initiative and it is ultimately a decision for residents and property owners whether to pursue a connection through this route. The R100 SBVS launched in September 2020 and an annual breakdown of connections delivered in each lot since that date is provided in the following table.
R100 SBVS - Vouchers Delivered | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023* | Total |
North Lot | 0 | 372 | 374 | 64 | 810 |
Central Lot | 0 | 680 | 970 | 209 | 1859 |
South Lot | 0 | 312 | 166 | 25 | 503 |
*Figures up to 1st June 2023 | | | | | |
It is not possible to provide a breakdown of commercial build by year or by lot as we do not collect this level of detail from suppliers.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many properties have been removed from the R100 build scope since 2017, broken down by (a) lot and (b) year.
Answer
Our Reaching 100% (R100) commitment is delivered through three strands of activity – the R100 contracts, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) and continued commercial build.
While a property may move between these strands, for example properties can move from being eligible for R100 SBVS to being delivered commercially, no properties are removed from the overall scope of the programme.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of delays to the R100 programme on access to digital healthcare services for remote and rural patients.
Answer
Our investment through the R100 programme will be transformational for many of Scotland’s most rural communities and is providing a full fibre backbone that will enable reliable connectivity services to be delivered.
An individual’s ability to access digital healthcare can be impacted by a number of factors, not just their rurality and the availability of digital infrastructure in their area.
That is why, while recognising the importance of access to digital healthcare, it should be promoted as one choice for patients but not the only available option. Digital healthcare programmes are subject to Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs) to assess the impact of accessibility.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many properties are expected to receive new connections of superfast broadband through the R100 build scheme by its completion.
Answer
The R100 contracts are expected to connect over 114,000 premises upon completion. Around 99% of those connections will be fibre to the premises (FTTP) which is capable of delivering gigabit download speeds, over 30 times faster than our original superfast commitment.
For those who live or work in premises that are outwith the reach of commercial and R100 contract build plans, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) remains available and offers up to £5,000 to secure a superfast broadband connection. As this is a demand-led scheme it is not possible to provide dates by which people might be connected.
There is also on-going delivery of commercial superfast broadband networks and we continue to engage with the industry to understand their future plans.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to "support the constitutional protection of the specific interests and needs of island communities", as outlined in its latest Building a New Scotland paper.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of accelerated home working and flexible working practices on the health of the working population, and of any consequential impact on the NHS.
Answer
Good quality employment contributes to good health. We know that home and flexible working can have both positive and negative impacts on workers’ health and wellbeing. ONS data has found positive and negative health impacts vary by socio-demographic characteristics and factors, such as an employee’s work satisfaction and personal circumstances. Our understanding of the range of factors which may impact health system pressures remains informed by the latest emerging evidence.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to ensure that digital access to medical records, with appropriate safeguards, is facilitated between neighbouring NHS boards, and to other medical services, such as community pharmacies.
Answer
We continue to work with key partners across Scotland to ensure that information, with the appropriate safeguards in place, is available to all staff when and where they need it. Regional Clinical Portals support NHS Boards to allow clinicians to access different pieces of information about an individual patient as a single electronic record including those patients from other NHS Boards if and when required.
The portal will scan the many clinical systems searching for records pertinent to the patient and assemble the results into a meaningful view on screen. The portal also allows a clinician with suitable access scrutinise the clinical information presented for a more detailed view, and to move into other systems without having to re-authenticate or reselect the patient.
Community Pharmacy gained access to the Emergency Care Summary (ECS) for all community pharmacists and registered technicians during COVID 19. It remains available in all NHS Boards, and is an effective tool to deliver enhanced and efficient patient care.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact that the reported scarcity of NHS dental care availability in Dumfries and Galloway will have on the (a) oral and (b) general health of the population.
Answer
The Scottish Government is aware of emerging access issues within NHS Dumfries and Galloway, noting that this is an area which has suffered disproportionately with dental workforce issues in the past – an issue has only been heightened by the significant loss of EU workforce as a result of Brexit.
While an overall assessment of the impact of local access issues has not been undertaken, as it is a matter for the NHS Board, Scottish Government is working closely with the recently appointed Board Dental Taskforce to help understand and mitigate against the drivers of access issues. This includes strategic planning on the design and implementation of more sustainable dental services across the Board area. While this work continues, unregistered patients will continue to be able to access emergency and urgent care via Public Dental Service clinics.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that there is equal access to women's health services across all parts of Scotland.
Answer
The Women’s Health Plan sets out actions which aim to address women’s health inequalities by raising awareness around women’s health, improving access to health care for women across their lives, and reducing inequalities in health outcomes for women and girls.
NHS Boards are responsible for determining and delivering the services required by their local populations. For NHS Boards that cover remote and rural settings, local planning is expected to take account of the particular needs of these populations. Integration Authorities also engage and consult with a range of stakeholders, and work with local communities and professionals to improve outcomes and sustainability of provision through service redesign.
