Chamber and committees

Implementation is already underway in the East region with Fife babies transferring to Edinburgh, and in the West Region with Ayrshire babies being transferred to Glasgow.

The Scottish Government has requested progress updates from the three regional chief executives in response to the timelines indicated within the three regional plans. These updates are expected to be provided by 31 May 2025.

Over the course of this year we will continue to work with the Regional Chief Executives and NHS Boards to continue to implement this service change.

Scotland is currently the only part of the UK offering financial support to consumers, small businesses and the third sector to purchase electric vehicles. Since 2011 we have provided over £230 million in interest free loans to support the purchase over 8,700 zero and ultra-low emission vehicles saving an estimated 230,000 tCO2e.

In 2025-26 we aim to provide a further £20 million in interest free loans to support the purchase of electric cars and vans. There was an announcement about the reopening of this fund on 27 May.

In addition, since 2011 Scottish Ministers have also provided over £19 million for the installation of over 23,000 lower powered charge points at homes and at workplaces, complementing the £65 million invested in Scotland’s public charging network.

The Energy Savings Trust, an independent organisation working to address the climate emergency, provides free and impartial advice on electric vehicles to both businesses and consumers and my officials regularly meet with stakeholders from Scotland’s automotive trade.

The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards to record and report incidents through their existing adverse events reporting systems and investigate as required including escalation to Police Scotland, if necessary.

We strongly encourage staff to report all instances of violent and aggressive behaviour, including sexual violence, through their local reporting systems. We expect Health Boards to record and report all instances of violent behaviour, including sexual assaults. These should be investigated and reported to the police where appropriate.

For NHSScotland Staff, the Managing Health at Work policies include guidance on preventing, reporting and dealing with violence and aggression. This staff policy is being refreshed under the NHSScotland ‘Once for Scotland’ Workforce Policies Programme.

We expect all health boards to be actively committed to protecting staff from violence and assault, including sexual violence, and make sure that any employees who are victims of violence or aggression have access to appropriate support.

A Sexual Harassment Guide is also in development to supplement the Gender Based Violence Policy which is currently being refreshed.

As the Care Inspectorate is an independent non-departmental body, it operates at arm’s length from Government. The Care Inspectorate therefore issues its own guidance independently from the Scottish Government to maintain its role as an impartial and objective regulator.

I refer the member to the answers provided in response to S6W-36894 and S6W-36895 on 13 May 2025. 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 Scottish Government remains committed to the 2021 manifesto commitment to deliver a new community hearing service. We recognise the difficulties facing the audiology sector, as highlighted by the 2023 report on the Independent Review of Audiology. Given 80% of audiology care is serviced through the NHS, it is right that we consider Review recommendations in any future work and this, together with the wider financial context, has necessitated the rephasing of our manifesto commitment.

Alongside evidence from existing models across the UK, our decision making will be informed by working with the NHS, third sector, private providers and those with lived experience.

Since the launch of the Energy Skills Passport in January 2025, Scottish Government officials have met regularly with the industry leads for the project, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and RenewableUK (RUK), with approximately seven such meetings happening over the period to May 2025. UK Government officials have also attended these meetings.

Trade unions have been involved in the development of the Passport since its inception. Scottish Government officials attended a roundtable meeting about the Passport with trade unions in April 2025 – this was led by OEUK and RUK. The Minister for Climate Action met with trade unions, alongside the Just Transition Partnership, in February 2025 to discuss the Passport.

The Scottish Government is looking forward to seeing the Passport develop further in ‘Phase 2’ of its development; providing more options and pathways for workers to transition between sectors. Success in Phase 2 will require the Passport to be fully supported from a range of bodies, including the UK Government.

Audiology is considered a clinical priority area and the Scottish Government remains committed to its vision for an integrated and community-based hearing service in Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not capture patients on waiting lists for hearing aid replacements specifically and it is the responsibility of Health Boards to manage these lists appropriately.

Scottish Government officials and the Centre for Sustainable Delivery national planned care team meet monthly with Chief Operating Officer and Health Boards to review performance and delivery across all Planned Care specialities, including ENT. In addition, Local Health Board Action Plans in relation to the Independent Review, which has been published online, are reported and monitored by the NHSS Planning and Delivery Board.

A number of process are in place to support those who may need additional assistance to receive their vaccination. Health Boards maintain lists of those requiring home visits for vaccination, and there are clear instructions on appointment letters on how a person can seek a home visit, if not already on a local list. Boards provide travel advice services to help people get to clinics easily, and also provide interpreting services for those for whom English is not their first language, as well as offering private vaccination spaces for people with specific needs.

The Scottish Government funds the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) mobile vaccination service, a year-round service, covering all vaccination programmes, including the spring COVID-19 campaign. The service is designed to offer accessible vaccination to those in rural and island areas, as well as underserved urban communities, identified by Boards.

Many clinics offer evening and weekend appointments, for those who work during the week, and some Boards are offering drop-in clinics.

More generally, the Scottish Government is working with Public Health Scotland and Health Boards to ensure that those who are eligible are easily able to access a COVID-19 vaccination. Eligible people have been sent an invite via letter, email or text message, depending on their communication preference. People are appointed to their nearest available clinic, with flexibility to reschedule into any clinic in Scotland, via the online booking portal or the national vaccination helpline, should their original appointment be unsuitable. This gives citizens flexibility to get their vaccination outside their own area, should it be easier for them to receive vaccination nearer their place of work or somewhere they visit regularly.