Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07910 on 25 April 2022. 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 remaining Covid-19 specific legal requirements have been removed, but regulators will continue to engage to support businesses in managing their risks and applying any relevant guidance. While Covid-19 specific spot checks may no longer be carried out, pre-existing regulations are still in place, for example on fresh air/ ventilation and cleanliness. Regulators will be conducting inspections as they would have before the pandemic. As part of these visits, Covid-19 risks and adaptations may be discussed.

As part of the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Green Party, the Scottish Government has committed to undertaking a Programme of Work and analysis to better understand our energy requirements as we transition to net zero and how this aligns with our climate change targets and the goal of the Paris agreement to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. This work is detailed in the Scottish Government’s response to question S6W-03953 on 25 October 2021.

The Programme of Work’s evidence base and some of its initial outputs will feature in the Scottish Government’s draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan (ESJTP) which will be published in Autumn 2022. The ESJTP will consider the whole energy system as part of the strategy and indicate the change required in electricity generation, heat, transport and all energy demand across Scotland.

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

Information on NHS Scotland performance against the 62 and 31-day standards has been published by Public Health Scotland (PHS).

Information on NHS Scotland performance from 2012 to Q1 2020 is available on the Information Services Division site, which has since become part of PHS, located here: Latest Publications | ISD Scotland

Public Health Scotland has since June 2020 published quarterly breakdowns, located here: Publications - Public Health Scotland

The integration of care across emergency and community mental health services is vital to ensure that anyone in crisis receives continuous, compassionate care.

At the end of last year, the Government appointed the former chief executive of Penumbra, Nigel Henderson, as National Lead for suicidal crisis responses, with responsibility for driving forward the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group (NSPLG)’s recommendations on suicidal crisis responses. The NSPLG’s recommendations did not prescribe a fixed model for crisis support, but highlighted the need for people in crisis to receive Time, Space and Compassion wherever they present – be that in statutory services, front line services, and across our communities.

In taking forward this work, the National Lead has established an action group, which includes a range of statutory and third sector partners, including Penumbra; he is also engaging with statutory partners and communities. This engagement is focussed on identifying models of good practice (including pathways between services), that reflect the diversity of people and places in Scotland, This learning will inform a Scotland wide programme to further embed compassionate crisis responses right across our communities.

The Edinburgh crisis centre is an example of an established crisis support service. There are other community based services, such as the recently established Neuk in Perth. A Ministerial visit has not taken place to either service, however good engagement is happening at official level to ensure learning is shared.

Finally, the Government’s national Distress Brief Intervention programme is a world-leading example where compassionate support is provided for people in distress within their communities; with direct referrals from emergency services, where appropriate. The Government’s investment in alternatives to emergency care will also ensure that every GP practice has access to a mental health and wellbeing service by 2026, with 1,000 additional roles.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07731 on 25 April 2022. 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

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The Scottish Government and SPS are committed to continuing work on modernising and improving the prison estate which includes the construction of a new Women’s National Facility, 2 Community Custody Units and replacement prisons for HMP Barlinnie and HMP Inverness.

Since the commencement of the SPS Estates Development Programme, 75% of the prison estate has either been replaced or modernised. in line with relevant guidance and standards for building accessibility. The completion of these further major infrastructure investment projects will represent another significant step in improving accessibility across the prison estate.

SPS establishments also continue to work collaboratively with local NHS Health Boards to put in place care plans which may include utilising services and aids to improve accessibility, for individuals who require additional support.

There are no jobs related to the National Care Service which are being recruited by Scotland Excel at this time.

The information you have requested is publically available at the Scottish Energy Statistics Hub (shinyapps.io) taken originally from National Grid - : https://carbonintensity.org.uk/ .

In addition to that, the recent announcement of ScotWind has seen aspirations from consortia to develop up to 25GW of offshore wind capacity. This will allow us to make huge progress in further decarbonising our energy supply while securing commitments from ScotWind developers to invest at least £1bn in Scotland’s supply chain for every gigawatt of power.

The Scottish Government is clear that nuclear energy represents a bad deal for consumers and our priority continues to be to support energy efficiency, develop Scotland’s huge renewable resource and to promote storage and flexibility.

This is a matter for individual NHS Boards. The information requested is not held centrally.