Chamber and committees

There were 25 companies (in 2017) and 51 companies (in 2018 to date) that have received investment under the Scottish Growth Scheme. There is no centrally held information on whether these companies have previously received funding from other Government schemes.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-18269 on 4 September 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

I have written to Homebase outlining my concerns about the closure of the Homebase stores in Scotland and seeking reassurances that staff will have access to the full range of support services for those facing redundancy.

The Scottish Government's PACE team have already been in touch with Homebase to offer its full support to staff in all affected areas.

We continue to monitor the situation very closely and in the unfortunate event of any employees facing redundancy, we will provide support for the affected individuals through our PACE initiative. By providing skills development and employability support, PACE aims to minimise the time individuals affected by redundancy are out of work.

This information is not held centrally.

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government has not conducted any specific assessment into the benefits of electric bicycles but is currently developing an evidence base around active travel which will include electric bicycles.

The increased budget for active travel in 2018-19 to £80 million has allowed the Scottish Government to launch the new E-bike Grant and Loan schemes through £1.3 million funding to the Energy Saving Trust, with the aim of encouraging more people to start using electric bicycles for everyday journeys. Monitoring and evaluation of the grant and loan schemes will be carried out in due course and will cover affordability and accessibility for all users.

NHS Boards are required to demonstrate that they have adopted, implemented and monitor compliance with the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual as part of the Healthcare Environment Inspections. As part of these inspections, NHS Boards are measured against Healthcare Associated Infection Standards, which detail what patients and the public can expect of healthcare services in Scotland.

In addition, NHS Education for Scotland has developed the Scottish Infection Prevention and Control Education Pathway to enable NHS staff to continuously improve their knowledge and skills.

To support our twin approach of investment and reform, the 2018-19 budget increases the health resource budget by more than £400 million, taking it to a record high of over £13.1 billion and providing additional investment in frontline NHS Boards of 3.7%. In addition, in 2018-19, NHS Boards will receive capital allocations of £142 million in total for maintaining and upgrading the NHS estate and equipment, along with a further £209 million held centrally to support infrastructure investment across the sector.

NHS Boards are expected to make the best use of these resources to ensure that health services and facilities best meet the needs of the local population and that they comply with their legal and statutory responsibilities and accessibility is part of that consideration.

NHS Boards either have their own community engagement/equality access groups, and/or regularly consult with their local Access Panels, or their umbrella group: Disability Equality Scotland. There is no set interval for these meetings/consultations and NHS Boards will meet with relevant groups as regularly as is required by new or revised policies, practices, services and investments and, as a minimum, every 2 years to report on progress of equality outcomes (as required under the Equality Act 2010).

Under the Equality Act 2010, NHS Boards have a duty to ensure that people with relevant protected characteristics, including disability, are not placed at a disadvantage or treated less favourably than those who do not possess that characteristic. This duty includes making reasonable adjustments, where necessary, which could include adjustments to facilities or to services or roles to ensure accessibility. Under the Act, NHS Boards need to develop and publish equality outcomes and to report on progress every two years. In setting these outcomes, Boards must consider relevant evidence and take steps to involve people with protected characteristics, including disability.

Under the NHSScotland guidance, NHS Boards complete an annual assessment and corresponding report that includes their high level in-house assessment of the current statutory and functional condition of their facilities, as well as their strategy for future service provision. Each Board’s return is reviewed annually by the Scottish Government and the returns are summarised in the annual State of NHSScotland Assets and Facilities report which is published each year.

For new premises or major upgrades to premises, Equality Impact Assessments ensure that relevant evidence on equality is gathered and informs decision-making. In addition, the NHSScotland Design Assessment Process assesses compliance with statutory (including equality) and other and mandatory requirements.