Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not create investment plans for specific healthcare facilities in particular health board areas. The creation and implementation of such plans is properly the role of the local health board, in this case NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The Scottish Government's NHS Capital Investment Group meets on a monthly basis to consider investment proposals submitted by health boards. The Scottish Government understands that Port Glasgow Health Centre is one of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's priorities for investment in community infrastructure. However, no proposals have been submitted to the Scottish Government to date. We will review any proposals which are submitted in due course. The member may wish to seek further information directly from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde as regards its plans for the delivery of healthcare facilities in Gourock and Port Glasgow.

This is a matter for NHS Boards, who have their own internal legal support and access to the Central Legal Office, and the information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The information requested is not collected or held centrally by the Scottish Government and would require to be obtained from Health Boards.

The information requested is not collected or held centrally by the Scottish Government and would require to be obtained from Health Boards.

Our Diabetes Improvement Plan contains specific commitments to support increased access to diabetes technologies, with significant focus on equity of access to care and services. We expect clinicians and NHS Boards to follow all relevant clinical guidelines and provide anyone with type 1 diabetes with a closed loop system, if they are clinically suitable.

Whenever someone is issued with any diabetes technology device, including closed loop systems, specific training and education on how to use it will be provided by a diabetes specialist nurse. Training is given to the individual and/or their carer, who will also need to confirm that they are competent in its use.

Patients are also encouraged to contact their diabetes clinical team if they have any concerns around the device’s function and its use.

Patient education is also a key priority of our Diabetes Improvement Plan Refresh, published in February 2021.

On 4 November 2021, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans chaired a roundtable on spiking to discuss how we can achieve the right balance of targeted and universal intervention to ensure the safety of the public. Twenty-six partners attended including representatives from Police Scotland, SPA Forensic Services, Health services, Night Time Economy, Further and Higher Education, Local Authority, and Third Sector organisations.

A further roundtable was convened on 8 December 2021 at which time Police Scotland reported a downward trend in recorded spiking incidents. Key outcomes focussed on consistent messaging, training and prevention, with the Violence Reduction Unit supporting partners to continue roll out of the bystander training for night time industry staff to raise awareness and help keep people safe.

In January 2022, Police Scotland subsequently noted that there has been no corroborated evidence to support claims of needle spiking in Scotland, and forensic analysis has found no traces of drugs used for spiking in any alleged victims. ‎

We continue to work with partners to strengthen our response to spiking, and ensure that women feel safe and are supported to report. This includes continuing to implement our Equally Safe Strategy.

The treatment of biogenic carbon is detailed in Section 2.1 of the technical note to the report, which was carried out in line with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodology. Both the report and technical note are available on the Zero Waste Scotland website: The climate change impact of burning municipal waste in Scotland | Zero Waste Scotland .

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living in Scotland with Cystic Fibrosis is able to access the best possible care and support for their mental health.

As Cystic Fibrosis is a complex condition that affects individuals in different ways, people of all ages will have access to Specialist Cystic Fibrosis Centres and be cared for by a team of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals with specialised knowledge. Cystic Fibrosis Centres in Scotland include a Clinical Psychologist as part of the multidisciplinary team who can provide mental health support to the patient and their family.

Further emotional support can be accessed via the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and a resource detailing support for people on the impact of Kaftrio is available online via their website.

I welcome the reports from Royal Society of Chemistry on making Polymers in Liquid Formulations (PLFs) more sustainable, helping to raise awareness of the complex issues around sustainable paint, and waste management.

Zero Waste Scotland provide further detail on what to with used paint and paint cans here: What to do with used paint | Recycling | How to Waste Less . Zero Waste Scotland also work through Revolve to promote the wider reuse of items and materials and help raise awareness of responsible consumption.

This service provision supplements social enterprise and third sector initiatives running paint collection and redistribution reuse networks for waste paint.

The safety of children, young people and education staff remains our overriding priority. All school pupils have already been impacted dramatically over the course of the pandemic so we remain committed to minimising any further disruption to learning.

New data and evidence is regularly emerging, informing our understanding of virus transmission in different settings, including schools and nurseries. This is considered very carefully by the Advisory Sub-group on Education and Children’s Issues alongside rates of vaccination and the specific level of risks associated with education environments and in wider society. This means that Scottish Government guidance for schools is developed in close consultation with clinical and public health experts, as well as taking into account the views of a number of education and other stakeholders who sit on the Covid-19 Education Recovery Group (CERG).

The guidance has recently been updated to reflect the advice of the Advisory Sub-group, including the removal of the requirement for staff and pupils to wear face coverings in the classroom and the easing of specific mitigations relating to assemblies and transition visits for learners who are to be starting Primary or Secondary school in August 2022. This represents the most up to date position in relation to protection measures in schools, which will commence from 28 February.

We will continue to be guided by the evidence in assessing any continued risk from COVID-19 and take into consideration any new evidence linking the development of other conditions, such as type 1 diabetes in children, to infection with COVID-19.