Chamber and committees

Clinical guidelines are intended to support and inform professional clinical judgement, not to replace it. Decisions regarding any specific clinical procedure or treatment must always be made on the basis of the individual patient’s clinical condition, personal circumstances, and expressed preferences, alongside the professional judgement of the responsible healthcare team.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01334 on 13 July 2026. 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.

Waiting to access gynaecology related treatment can cause women anxiety and delays are unacceptable. Last year we allocated £13 million of additional funding to health boards to target long waits for gynaecology. We are beginning to see the impact of that investment, with waits going down and we are determined to build on that momentum, ensuring women receive the treatment they need as soon as possible. Phase Two of the Women’s Health Plan was published in January 2026 which includes specific actions and steps to help reduce waiting times.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) publishes statistics on stages of treatment waiting times for gynaecology by board and length of wait. The most recent report can be found here:

Stage of treatment waiting times – new outpatients, inpatients and day cases 30 June 2026 - Stage of treatment waiting times - Publications - Public Health Scotland

Public Health Scotland does not hold the required information relating to waiting times for endometriosis- and adenomyosis-related care.

Responsibility for health and safety arrangements rests with individual colleges, which are required to meet their legal obligations and maintain safe environments for staff and learners.

Whilst health and safety regulation and enforcement is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive, the Scottish Government expects colleges to have robust policies and procedures in place.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) seeks assurance on this through its ongoing engagement and monitoring of the sector.

CMAL, in collaboration with CalMac and Transport Scotland as part of the project working group, are currently reviewing the design and scope of the upgrades required to support the continuation of ferry services to Arran. Based on the current stage of the project; minimal spend is expected within this financial year (2026-27) with increased spend expected within future years from 2027-28 onwards.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01058 on 13 July 2026. 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.

We are grateful for the work of all six Advisory Groups in developing their recommendations. These recommendations were made for Scottish Ministers to consider. It is for Scottish Ministers to decide whether and to what extend any of the recommendations become government policy.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01099 on 13 July 2026. 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 consultation carried out as part of the compulsory purchase reform programme included questions on Compulsory Sale Orders and responses are currently being analysed. The Scottish Government will publish a summary of responses to that consultation and associated analysis report, as well as an update on the compulsory purchase reform programme shortly.

The Scottish Government commissioned an independent evaluation of the first two years (2022-2024) of the Just Transition Fund (JTF), which was published in 2025. This assessed the economic, social and environmental impacts of the JTF through a combination of interviews with project leads, an online survey and a review of project reports. We intend to undertake a fresh evaluation of the project impacts over the course of the last Parliament, which covers the first four years of the Fund, and this will include evidence-based figures on the number of jobs created and safeguarded as a direct result of the Fund.

In April 2025 the Scottish Government published a review of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020, considering the provisions of the 2020 Act and any requirements for additional animal welfare, animal health and wildlife offences. The review concluded that the closely targeted provisions in the 2020 Act are functioning as intended and that no legislative changes are required.

Additionally, the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission (SAWC) is currently carrying out a review of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, with the report scheduled for completion by the end of 2026. The Scottish Government will give full consideration to SAWC's report in due course.