Chamber and committees

Hearthstone provided initial private finance loan investment to Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association (CRE) to enable delivery of social rent homes through this scheme. CRE subsequently repaid the loan to Hearthstone but continue to work with the local authority partners to develop the originally planned social rent homes which will contribute to the Scottish Government’s 50,000 affordable homes target. CRE is also delivering a number of other affordable and social rent developments and has accessed financial support from Scottish Government to support these, which is in addition to the initial £6 million investment allocated to the Hearthstone scheme.

The impact of Scottish Government investment in delivery of the 50,000 affordable homes will be captured as part of the More Homes Scotland approach, and will help inform future investment plans beyond this Parliamentary period. Analysis will take account of the various funding schemes, considering value for money and the wider impacts of Scottish Government investment, including the funding to the Hearthstone scheme. Scottish Ministers are regularly updated on this work.

The monitoring of funding to CRE is captured in regular meetings between Scottish Government officials and the relevant Local Authorities to review progress on the delivery of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme. In April 2018 the Scottish Government announced it is committing nearly £1.8 billion of funding over the 3 years to March 2021 to local authority areas for the provision of affordable housing across Scotland, which includes grant funding to Registered Social Landlords. This is part of the wider £3 billion investment in the delivery of 50,000 affordable homes over the lifetime of this Parliament through the Affordable Homes Supply Programme.

We also remain committed to encouraging and enabling partnership working between the public and private sector to increase the supply of housing across all tenures and are using government guarantees, loans, grant recycling and new sources of private funding that complement our conventional funding routes to support this objective.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-18753 on 27 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 .

Transport Scotland formed the parking stakeholders working group, consisting of parking managers from all local authorities, who have met a number of times to discuss parking issues including the need for a publicity campaign regarding Disabled Persons' Parking Places. The most recent meeting was held in August this year.

The Transport (Scotland) Bill will prohibit double parking and parking on pavements and it is our intention to undertake a national publicity campaign to promote these important changes. As part of that campaign we will also be highlighting the effect that the misuse of Disabled Persons' Parking Places has on individuals who are reliant upon them to perform their everyday tasks.

We continue to support local authorities and work with stakeholders to address the issues faced by disabled drivers and passengers and are currently considering legislative changes to ensure better enforcement can be achieved.

It is already a criminal offence to misuse a blue badge. The Disabled Persons' Parking Badges (Scotland) Act 2014 provided greater powers to local authorities to enforce the rules of the blue badge scheme, including allowing spot checks by non-uniformed authorised officers to check blue badges are being used by the rightful holder. Use of these powers is the responsibility of individual local authorities.

The Transport (Scotland) Bill does not include a provision to make the misuse of Disabled Persons' Parking Places a criminal offence. It will however prohibit double parking and parking on pavements and is aimed at promoting, supporting and advancing the rights of pedestrians to ensure our pavements and roads are accessible for all.

The Scottish Government has recently undertaken a review of the Disabled Persons' Parking Places (Scotland) Act 2009 (DPPPA) and the former Minister for Transport and the Islands appeared before a committee regarding post legislative scrutiny and the ways in which things can be improved.

We are continuing to work with stakeholders to address the items raised by the Committee and are currently considering legislative changes to ensure better enforcement can be achieved. Consideration is also being given to a publicity campaign to highlight the issues faced in relation to parking for people with disabilities.

The Scottish Government has agreed to offer HIV Scotland £231,000 over the next three years. This funding will support the organisation to move to a sustainable financial position. The Scottish Government’s grant offer to HIV Scotland brings the total financial support for third sector organisations working in organisations working to address the issues associated with sexual health and blood borne viruses in Scotland to £2.13 million in the period 2018-21.

The Scottish Government has two Cancer Waiting Times (CWT) standards that apply to the most common cancers, these are:

• a 31-day target from decision to treat until first treatment for new cancers regardless of the route of referral
• a 62-day target from urgent referral with suspicion of cancer, including referrals from national cancer screening programmes, and direct to A&E until first treatment.

A rolling programme of short term audits on tumour types not included in the current CWT standards has been taken forward by ISD and are monitored for management and information purposes only, these are:

• Endometrial (2012)
• Neurological Cancers (2013)
• Sarcoma (2014)
• Subsequent Radiotherapy (2015-2016)
• Multiple myeloma (2017)
• Mesothelioma (2018)

The recommendations from the Clinical Review of Cancer Waiting Times (CWT) Standards in Scotland was published on 2 May 2018. These included recommendations to review the tumour types monitored through CWT standards. An implementation group is in the process of being formed to drive these recommendations forward, to ensure the Cancer Waiting Times Standards best meet the needs of patients and the NHS for the future.

There are currently no plans to restrict the use of mesh in hernia repair.

Following consultation in 2008 with patients, voluntary sector, clinicians and individuals within NHS Boards, the scope of cancer waiting times targets in Scotland was extended from 2010 as announced in Better Cancer Care: An Action Plan (2008). The views of clinicians were integral to this review – equally the comments from patients and the public influenced the new definitions as there was an extensive consultation process during implementation. A new 31-day target was introduced at this time. The 62-day target was changed to focus on those patients who were referred urgently with a suspicion of cancer – and those referred via national screening programmes.

The Cancer Waiting Times (CWT) Standards are applicable to adult (over 16 at date of diagnosis) NHSScotland patients with a newly diagnosed primary cancer against ten major cancer types.

Further information can be accessed via the ISD website https://isdscotland.scot.nhs.uk/Health-Topics/Waiting-Times/Cancer/Historical-Data/

The Scottish Government has two Cancer Waiting Times (CWT) standards that apply to adults over 16 years, these are:

• a 31-day target from decision to treat until first treatment for new cancers regardless of the route of referral
• a 62-day target from urgent referral with suspicion of cancer, including referrals from national cancer screening programmes, and direct to A&E until first treatment.

a) The Cancer Waiting Times (CWT) Team within NHS ISD monitors and publishes performance on the following most common cancer types:

• Breast
• Colorectal
• Head & Neck
• Lung
• Lymphoma
• Ovarian
• Melanoma
• Upper Gastro-Intestinal (hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) and oesophago-gastric (OG))
• Urological (prostate, bladder, other)
• Cervical

b) The following cancer types are not currently monitored:

• Bone & Connective Tissue
• Neurological
• Leukaemias
• Multiple Myeloma
• Female Genital Organs (excluding ovarian and cervical)
• Testes
• Penis

A rolling programme of short term audits has been taken forward by ISD and are monitored for management and information purposes only, these are:

• Endometrial (2012)
• Neurological Cancers (2013)
• Sarcoma (2014)
• Subsequent Radiotherapy (2015-2016)
• Multiple myeloma (2017)
• Mesothelioma (2018)
  

Further information can be accessed via the ISD website https://isdscotland.scot.nhs.uk/Health-Topics/Waiting-Times/Cancer/

The use of mesh to treat hernia repair is accepted practice across the UK and there is presently no medical evidence to suggest it should not be used. The Scottish Government therefore has no plans to carry out a review into its use.