The management of access rights is a matter for access authorities, who have a statutory duty and powers to ensure access rights are upheld. This is done within the framework of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) which provides specific guidance for event organisers, land managers and the public in respect to responsible access. Clearly all events of the kind mentioned vary in scale, sensitivity and location and there may, therefore, be the appearance of this guidance being applied differently. Examples of Guidance associated with outdoors events include Outdoor events in Scotland and Commercial access to the outdoors.

The Scottish Government is working at pace with participating NHS Boards and Public Health Scotland to deliver our Programme for Government commitment to roll out emergency department opt-out testing for blood borne viruses. Following a successful pilot at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, the first phase of the programme has been expanded to include NHS Grampian, where testing began in early October. Preparations are also underway in NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, where we expect testing to begin by March 2026.

Ensuring equitable access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) remains a priority for the Scottish Government. Our assessment of PrEP delivery models is informed by multi-sector engagement, expert advice from the HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan Implementation Group and surveillance data published by Public Health Scotland (PHS).

The latest HIV in Scotland report from PHS highlights increased uptake of PrEP among women and trans people, alongside sustained demand among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. However, we recognise that further action is needed to increase awareness and uptake of PrEP, particularly among people who may face barriers to accessing sexual health services. In addition to funding the online PrEP (e-PrEP) clinic pilot, the Scottish Government’s HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan sets out a range of actions to increase awareness of PrEP and explore alternative access routes, including primary care, community pharmacies and outreach-based models.

The Scottish Government continues to build on the landmark national anti-stigma campaign launched in 2023, alongside targeted efforts to raise awareness and reduce HIV-related stigma within health and social care settings. As part of our Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan we committed multi-year funding to NHS Education for Scotland to develop training resources for healthcare professionals in non-HIV specialist roles. This included the establishment of a specialist educator post to support provision of training across Scotland. That funding concludes during this financial year and we will consider future funding thereafter. We also recognise the crucial role of the voluntary sector in tackling stigma. To support this, we have provided funding to Waverley Care to lead a workforce education project aimed at reducing stigma in health and social care settings. We are currently working with Waverley Care to consider the next phase of this project.

Menstrual health, which includes polycystic ovary syndrome, was a priority in the first phase of the Women’s Health Plan.

To support women with symptomspolycystic ovary syndrome of we have;

• improved access to comprehensive information on menstrual symptoms and PCOS through our Women's Health Platform on NHS Inform.
• worked with the Health and Social Care Alliance deliver a series of webinars for women on menstrual health including a session on PCOS.
• published a workplace policy for NHSScotland on menstrual health and menopause, which can be adapted for use in other employment sectors.
• worked with NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to develop eLearning on menstrual health, including PCOS, for those working in primary care.

Menstrual health, including PCOS, will continue to be an important area of focus in the next phase of the Women’s Health Plan.

Public Health Scotland’s NHS Waiting Times – Diagnostics report holds data on the number of ongoing waits for echocardiograms at the end of each calendar month, including data on ongoing waits of more than 52 weeks. This can be found in the publication's non-key diagnostic test data tables.

Our Waiting Well resources offering support to patients currently on a waiting list can be found on NHS Inform at Waiting well | NHS inform.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving access to blood borne virus (BBV) testing across all NHS Board areas as part of our BBV elimination efforts. While we are taking a phased approach to implementing emergency department opt-out testing – initially focusing on areas of higher prevalence - we will consider further expansion if evidence emerges to support this.

All NHS Boards and other relevant services are encouraged to adopt approaches to BBV testing which are appropriate to their local contexts. These include testing in primary care, drug and alcohol services, custodial settings, community pharmacies and through outreach initiatives. This year, for the first time, the Scottish Government has set targets for BBV testing in prisons and drug and alcohol services to encourage uptake.

In addition, work is underway to increase testing for patients who present with symptoms that may indicate a BBV. This includes the development of a national HIV indicator condition action plan and local adoption of tools such as intelligent liver function testing to support earlier diagnosis of hepatitis.

In 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 the Scottish Government provided annual funding to Health Boards for smoking cessation and prevention services as part of a wider Outcomes Framework allocation, whereby budget was provided to Health Boards to cover a range of outcomes and individual Health Boards decide how much of this funding to allocate to each outcome.

The value of the Outcomes Framework allocation was £74.1 million (2022-23); £74.1 million (2023-24); and £72.2 million (2024-25).

Officials are engaging with UK Government counterparts with regard to the legislative competence of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill and discussions on proposals to resolve the issues the Scottish Government has raised are ongoing.

The Scottish Government will continue to keep the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee informed of progress. A copy of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care’s most recent correspondence with the Committee is publicly available on the following webpage under 'Stage 2 Correspondence': Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill | Scottish Parliament Website.

Scottish Government decisions are informed by appropriate analysis of any legal considerations. All legal advice is confidential. It is a long-established convention that legal advice provided to the Scottish Government is not disclosed, and that the Scottish Government does not disclose the source of legal advice other than in the most exceptional circumstances.