Chamber and committees

We have recently consulted on Low Emission Zones in Scotland. Local authorities have responsibility for designing Low Emission Zones, and will work together with Regional Transport Authorities and the Scottish Government to introduce Low Emission Zones that are designed to consistent national standards. Low Emission Zones will support the adoption of both low and zero emission vehicles, including buses. We envisage a steady growth in the proportion of low emission buses in the fleet to 50% by 2032 but have no current plans to set annual targets, including in relation to zero emission buses within the wider low emission category.

We fully support the aims of Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2018 and we congratulate Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust on leading yet another successful awareness raising initiative to highlight the importance of cervical screening and its role in preventing cervical cancer. We encouraged people to take part in #SmearForSmear by promoting the campaign on our 'wee c' Twitter and Facebook pages.

The Scottish Government works closely with Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust on developing initiatives to improve participation within the Scottish Cervical Screening Programme. To enable the charity to expand their reach we are funding their innovative new outreach service targeting women less likely to attend cervical screening.

Thanks to cervical screening and the HPV vaccination programme cervical cancer is now preventable.

Cervical Screening is offered to women aged between 25 and 64 and we encourage all eligible women to take up their invitation. Cervical screening saves around 5,000 lives in the UK every year and prevents eight out of 10 cervical cancers from developing. Since the start of the programme in 1988 the incidence of cervical cancer has decreased by 26.8%, exceeding the 20% target set.

The HPV vaccination programme in Scotland started on 1 September 2008 with the vaccine being offered to girls at secondary schools across Scotland. It offers very good protection against the two types of HPV that cause 75% of the cases of cervical cancer. Uptake rates for the vaccine in Scotland are amongst the highest in the world, with uptake consistently exceeding 80%. However the vaccine does not protect against all cervical cancers, so regular screening is still important.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) report on the provision of forensic medical services, states that as of March 2017, there are 81 doctors across Scotland who undertake the role of forensic physician, 63 of whom are involved in the forensic medical examinations of adults and children. Of these, 19 are women.

In December 2017, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, commissioned by the Scottish Government, published the first Healthcare and Forensic Medical Services Standards for people who have experienced rape, sexual assault or child sexual abuse. Standard 2 is focused on NHS boards providing person centred and trauma informed care – this includes providing people with the opportunity to request the gender of the forensic examiner who will be involved in their care.

The Scottish Government has established a Taskforce for the improvement of services for adults and children who have experienced rape and sexual assault, chaired by the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland. As set out in the Taskforce’s five year work plan, key priorities include increasing the number of (particularly female) forensic physicians who are able to carry out this work and developing a consistent, national data set (in line with Standard 5 of the national standards). The Scottish Government has commissioned National Services Scotland to develop the national data set.

The Scottish Government has also committed funding of £0.25m in the current financial year and a further £2m in 2018-19 to support Health Boards to embed the new standards and to drive immediate improvements in this area – informed by the priorities set out in the work plan.

The Taskforce’s 5 year work plan can be accessed here: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/rape-and-sexual-assault-victims-taskforce-high-level-work-plan/High%20Level%20Work%20Plan.pdf?inline=true

The HIS standards can be accessed here: http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/our_work/personcentred_care/resources/sexual_assault_services.aspx .

Based on the returns that we receive from bus operators claiming the additional low carbon BSOG payment there are 22 zero emission buses in public service. This includes 10 Hydrogen and 12 fully electric buses.

Funding through the Scottish Green Bus Fund has seen the introduction of 361 low carbon vehicles to the fleet across Scotland, 8 of which are zero emission fully electric buses.

As stated in the Programme for Government commitment, 40 Community Link Workers were appointed in 2017 and were placed in practices in Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh, Inverclyde and North Ayrshire. In total we now have 53 Community Links Workers in post.

From April 2018 Health and Social Care Partnerships will have responsibility for allocating funding for the Community Link Workers.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

In December 2017 Healthcare Improvement Scotland, commissioned by the Scottish Government, published the first Healthcare and Forensic Medical Services Standards for people who have experienced rape, sexual assault or child sexual abuse. These standards will ensure consistency in approach and high-quality care across Scotland.

Standard 2 is focused on NHS boards providing person centred and trauma informed care – this includes providing people with the opportunity to request the gender of the forensic examiner who will be involved in their care.

The standards can be accessed here: http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/our_work/personcentred_care/resources/sexual_assault_services.aspx .

The Scottish Government has established a Taskforce for the improvement of services for adults and children who have experienced rape and sexual assault, chaired by the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland. As set out in the Taskforce’s five year work plan, key priorities include increasing the number of (particularly female) forensic physicians who are able to carry out this work, as well as on ensuring consistent, national data collection (Standard 5 of the national standards). The Taskforce’s 5 year work plan can be accessed here: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/rape-and-sexual-assault-victims-taskforce-high-level-work-plan/High%20Level%20Work%20Plan.pdf?inline=true 

The Scottish Government will provide £250k in 2017-18 and £2.0m in 2018-19 to support Health Boards to embed the new standards and support delivery of the work plan.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

In December 2017, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, commissioned by the Scottish Government, published the first Healthcare and Forensic Medical Services Standards for people who have experienced rape, sexual assault or child sexual abuse. These standards will ensure consistency in approach and high-quality care across Scotland.

Standard 3 states that each NHS board ensures that the facilities and equipment for forensic examinations are appropriate, safe and effectively managed. This includes a criteria that forensic examinations take place in facilities that are located in health or designated multi-agency settings with health and social care facilities. Standard 5 requires that the details of the examination are recorded using consistent documentation and data collection. The standards can be accessed here: http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/our_work/person-centred_care/resources/sexual_assault_services.aspx

The Scottish Government has established a Taskforce for the improvement of services for adults and children who have experienced rape and sexual assault, chaired by the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland. As set out in the Taskforce’s five year work plan, an early priority is to support health boards to have the equipment they need and to move any forensic medical examination facilities from police settings to health and social care settings. The Taskforce’s 5 year work plan can be accessed here: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/rape-and-sexual-assault-victims-taskforce-high-level-work-plan/High%20Level%20Work%20Plan.pdf?inline=true

The Scottish Government will provide £250k in 2017-18 and £2.0m in 2018-19 to support Health Boards to embed the new standards and support delivery of the work plan.

The Scottish Government has led the rest of the UK by setting a minimum standard of hospital food, and we expect our NHS boards to meet those standards. We are committed to spending the right amount on meals for NHS patients, and any fluctuations in the cost of providing a meal to a patient does not mean one health board is providing lower quality food than another. Some boards may show a lower level of spending than others, which can be due to a number of factors including lower-cost ingredients of locally sourced products, economies of scale and other efficiency savings.