Chamber and committees

Public Health Scotland have advised that the findings of their investigation into the decline in alcohol treatment numbers over the last decade is due to be published in late Summer 2025.

Under the new model Neonatal Intensive Care will be delivered in three Units - the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Aberdeen Maternity Hospital. The change was recommended in the Best Start report published in 2017 and was supported by a review of evidence carried out by Dr Anna Gavine, Dr Steve MacGillivray and Prof Mary Renfrew of the University of Dundee and published alongside The Best Start.

The approach to high volume neonatal intensive care for the smallest and sickest babies is further supported by the publication in 2021 of the British Association for Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) Framework for Practice.

On the basis of this evidence, and data for Scotland, three units would be the best model for Scotland. The decision on the location of the final three units was based on advice from clinical experts who undertook an options appraisal to identify the units. The appraisal was published in July 2023.

The Scottish Ministers have decided to recall the Lomond Banks appeal as the proposed development raises issues of national significance in view of its potential impact on Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. Ministers will make the decision on this appeal and will give full and proper consideration to it.

The economic impact of a proposed development is one of several factors considered when determining appeals. In reaching a decision, Ministers are required by law to have regard to the development plan and to all relevant material factors, including all submissions made by parties involved in the case and all representations made.

This remains a live appeal, and it would not be appropriate to comment on the merits of the case, nor on any specific issues that may be involved in the consideration and decision-making process.

This remains a live case and each case is considered on its individual merits.

Scottish Government commissioned Consulting firm RSM UK Consulting LLP to undertake detailed modelling work to fully map the capacity requirements across the system to inform capacity building and implementation of the new model. The report was published on the 29 May 2024.

Each of the three Regional Planning Chief Executives has produced a plan outlining how they will move to the new model of care in their region. The plans are based on the capacity modelling work undertaken by RSM-UK and describe how the units will increase cot capacity to deliver the new model. Wishaw and Glasgow babies are included in the West Region, and are reflected in the capacity building in that plan.

The UK Clinical Guidelines for Alcohol Treatment is a document being drafted by the Westminster governed Office for Health Inequalities and Disparities (OHID). The document is being drafted on a 4-nations basis in which Scottish Government is fully involved, however the decision on when to publish sits solely with OHID.

SG officials have spoken to their colleagues within OHID and have been advised that OHID intends to publish this document in Summer 2025.

The information requested on how many vacancies currently exist in (a) radiology and (b) oncology posts can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence (Vacancy tab).

Data are available on the number of SMEs operating in Scotland, that are registered for VAT and/or PAYE, broken down by Scottish parliamentary constituency. These estimates, sourced from the Businesses in Scotland 2024 publication, are shown in the following table.

Table 1: Number of registered SMEs operating in Scotland, by Scottish Parliamentary Constituency, 2024

Scottish Government commissioned Consulting firm RSM-UK to undertake detailed modelling work to fully map the capacity requirements across the system to inform capacity building and implementation of the new model. The report looked at current establishment and expected additional workload and describes a required increase of 10 cots at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, 4 cots at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and one cot at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital,

We are working with Regional Planning Chief Executives to plan and deliver this service change, informed by the testing that has been underway since 2018 in Ayrshire and Fife, and supported by SG funding of over £6m since 2019.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. More detailed information on cancelled appointments will be held locally by NHS boards.

It is not possible to assess how many new green jobs have been created by region and sector, however the PwC Green Jobs Barometer shows that 5.6% of all job adverts in Scotland in 2024 were for jobs that have a positive impact on the environment, up from 4.0% in 2023. This helped Scotland once again retain first place among 12 nations and regions of the UK in the overall Green Jobs Barometer, once again showing that Scotland is leading the way in delivering a green jobs revolution and unlocking the tremendous potential that our energy transition and wider net zero journey holds.