The following table shows the total number of admissions across England, Wales and Northern Ireland for patients normally residing in Scotland, for each financial year since 2021 where complete data is available. Consideration should be given to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic when interpreting these data.

The total admissions includes emergency and elective admission episodes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.

The Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel in Scotland promotes high standards of practice in the ethical recruitment of all international staff and all health and social employers must adhere to the Code.

It provides employers of health and social care personnel with guiding principles that should be adhered to when undertaking international recruitment and states that internationally recruited staff have the same legal rights and responsibilities as domestic staff in terms of employment and conditions of work. This means high standards of induction and support is provided equal to all other employees. It must include cultural and pastoral support to help individuals settle into work and life in Scotland regardless of country of origin.

The code can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at Scottish Code of Practice for Ethical Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to investigate a new rail link connecting Edinburgh airport to the current Edinburgh to Glasgow rail line.

The second Strategic Transport Projects Review, published in 2022, did consider this but did not identify this as a priority for investment given the current opportunities that exist for air passengers travelling by rail from Glasgow and the west, to interchange with the Edinburgh Tram service to the airport.

The Government remains committed to supporting sustainable and integrated transport solutions that strengthen Scotland’s connectivity and economic resilience.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting businesses, including SMEs, to harness the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI). As part of the Programme for Government, we have committed to launching AI Scotland, our national transformation programme, which is founded on a strong partnership between business, academia, public agencies, and government. This programme is designed to accelerate AI adoption across sectors and ensure access to AI tools and expertise.

To support SMEs specifically we are also delivering on:

• The AI Playbook, which is being delivered by the AI Alliance and has been updated to better serve business audiences, offering a one-stop-shop for practical guidance, case studies, and resources tailored to the needs of SMEs.
• The Scottish AI Alliance has hosted a series of workshops with SMEs to understand their challenges and opportunities in adopting AI. Insights from these sessions are informing future support mechanisms.
• We are working with a senior governance group, which includes business leaders, to ensure that the AI Scotland programme remains responsive to the needs of industry and delivers meaningful impact for businesses of all sizes.

Further support is also being explored through enterprise agencies and innovation centres to ensure that SMEs can access the skills, infrastructure, and funding needed to integrate AI into their operations.

Number of paramedics currently working in Scotland:

2,156.6 WTE

Number of Newly Qualified Paramedics who entered the NHS (in Scotland) in each of the last five years:

2020-21 = 24

2021-22 = 58

2022-23 = 47

2023-24 = 179

2024-25 = 181

You should note that the Scottish Ambulance Service received the first applications from Newly Qualified Paramedics with Scottish qualifications in April 2023. The numbers above include NQP applicants from across the UK.

Individuals are currently in training to become paramedics:

985

The Scottish Government does not hold the information on the reasons for patient falls. Each NHS board is responsible for recording, assessing and investigating (if necessary), the reason for a patient fall. This investigation would include whether the condition of the NHS facilities was a factor.

The Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP), hosted by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, provides ongoing practical improvement support to Boards. Since 2021, SPSP has delivered a programme to reduce the rate of inpatient falls. The most recent data from this work (see report published December 2024) demonstrates that the national median rate of inpatient falls in acute hospitals had sustained a decrease of 9% (when compared to baseline data beginning in 2021). This programme of work will continue to support improvement in the years ahead.

As outlined in my letter to the Criminal Justice Committee on 22 July 2025, I remain committed to giving the proposal to introduce a standalone offence of non-fatal strangulation serious consideration. As part of that process our Programme for Government detailed that we will carry out a comprehensive assessment of the relevant law in order to determine next steps. I will keep Parliament updated as this work progresses.

Each year the Scottish Government receives a copy of the Scottish Mountain Rescue (SMR) Annual Review which includes the total number of mountaineering incidents and callouts involving the 25 volunteer teams and 3 Police Scotland teams that are affiliated with SMR. The collated information from the reports for each year since 2021, where available, is provided in the following table:

The Scottish Government wants all care delivered within the NHS in Scotland to be safe, effective and person-centred. As part of that, the Scottish Government established the Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP), hosted by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, which provides ongoing practical improvement support to Boards. Since 2021, SPSP has delivered a programme to reduce the rate of inpatient falls. The most recent data from this work (report published December 2024: 20241211-spsp-acute-adult-collaborative-full-impact-report-v10.pdf) demonstrates that the national median rate of inpatient falls in acute hospitals had sustained a decrease of 9% (when compared to baseline data beginning in 2021). This programme of work will continue to support improvement in the years ahead.

In answering Parliamentary Questions in relation to firefighter numbers, the Scottish Government uses nationally available Official Statistics from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and for comparative numbers, the Welsh and UK Governments.

Current Official Statistics for the SFRS in 2023/24 (statistics for 24/25 will be published on 29 August 2025) show that at 31 March 2024 there were 3,419 wholetime operational staff, 55 Retained full-time and 166 Operational Control staff all of whom are considered to be wholetime firefighters. There were 2,708 Retained Duty and 269 Volunteer firefighters which are considered to be On-Call firefighters. Both the wholetime and on-call firefighter numbers are added together to show the total number of firefighters in Scotland. The full Scottish Statistics can be found at FSOS2023-2024Statistics.pdf. Comparable statistics for Wales and England are available at Personnel (headcount) by employment type and Fire and Rescue Service area and Fire statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

SFRS statistics count individual staff who are on dual contracts twice, once in their wholetime operational role and once in their On Call role as they are two distinct and separate jobs with separate contracts. Scottish Government does not hold details on Scottish or UK firefighters that are currently available for operational service and employed on an FTE or RDS role.