The delivery of the McCloud Remedy is the key priority for the SPPA, balancing the significant and complex work associated with delivery alongside routine administration.

The scale of challenge that SPPA has faced in delivering the McCloud Remedy cannot be overstated and is one shared by other public sector pension scheme managers across the UK. Although progress is being made, SPPA took the difficult decision to extend the target date of 31 July 2025 for delivery to retired officers to the end of 2025.

This did not constitute a regulatory breach as the extension was made in accordance with the legislation. The SPPA CEO has discussed the decision with both the Pensions Regulator and the Scottish Police Pension Board, and SPPA has written to the remaining members directly to ensure they are kept informed.

SPPA has invested time and personnel to address this broader exercise and has introduced new automated processes that will begin to deliver at pace. SPPA has already delivered approximately 98% of RSS to serving officers and 85% of RSS to retired officers. The remaining cases are more complex, and will take longer to complete manually as they cannot yet be produced through automated processes.

The ‘Planning and the Housing Emergency – Delivery Plan’ (November 2024) committed to new guidance on housing land audits (HLAs) and this was published in January 2025. HLAs provide information on past housing completions and future programming of new homes in an area. The guidance will embed a consistent approach to monitoring of housing land across all local authorities, whilst still allowing flexibility to reflect local circumstances. At a national level, approval rates for all planning applications and starts and completions are recorded in official statistics.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested. In relation to pregnancy loss only miscarriages that require hospital inpatient or daycase treatment are recorded by NHS Boards, making accurate data collection impossible.

The number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths in NHS Highland, NHS Western Isles, NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland, NHS Western Isles and NHS Grampian in each year since 2021 can be found in the National Records of Scotland Vital Events publications https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/births-deaths-marriages-and-life-expectancy/# and https://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/20241128121908/https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/general-publications/vital-events-reference-tables

This information is not held centrally. You may wish to contact NHS Highland, NHS Western Isles, NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland and NHS Grampian who may be able to provide this information.

Following work with stakeholders to review the number of specialty training places needed to meet anticipated future service demand and consultant need, since 2014 the Scottish Government has funded the creation of hundreds of additional specialty training places in Scotland across multiple different specialties, including in haematology.

Specialty training expansion has been done in line with recommendations made by the Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group, largely based on workforce modelling taking into account consultant retirals data to support future annual consultant/GP growth of 1% to meet anticipated increases in service demand.

There is a strong tradition of partnership working between local authorities, particularly through Regional Economic Partnerships. This partnership is a key way that services can be delivered more efficiently, and opportunities can be scaled. This is exemplified by the Northeast Regional Economic Partnership, involving Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council, who are delivering the Northeast Investment Zone in partnership with both the Scottish and UK Governments.

Regional Economic Partnerships are delivered via bespoke regional arrangements, and many other examples of joint working are on a case-by-case basis, so formal monitoring of the “level” of joint working would not be possible.

However, the Scottish Government has committed in the Programme for Government to working with local authorities and other key partners, to identify how to strengthen these partnership arrangements. This work is not yet complete, and it would not be possible to comment on outcomes at this time.

The Active Travel Infrastructure Fund (ATIF) to support the design, development, and delivery of active travel infrastructure measures across all 32 Local Authorities has been approved for 2025-26 with the settlement letter issued for £37.5 million. In addition, I announced in May over £26 million for ATIF construction projects with grant offer letters having been issued to the successful Local Authorities accordingly. Sustrans funding for the National Cycle Network and embedded officers has also been approved and will be awarded shortly. ATIF for design is yet to be awarded.

The Scottish Government undertakes annual reviews of the number of specialty training places needed in order to meet anticipated future service demand and consultant need. Since 2014, the Scottish Government has funded the creation of hundreds of additional specialty training places in Scotland across multiple different specialties, including in specific cancer specialities and haematology.

These specialty training places have been created in response to recommendations made by a stakeholder group which includes NHS Education for Scotland, the British Medical Association, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, and various Health Board representatives including regional workforce planners.

The Scottish Government does not have any current plans to review the number of NHS Boards.

In the NHS Scotland Service Renewal Plan, we have already committed to the creation of a new single body called ‘NHS Delivery’, which will bring together the existing functions of NHS National Services Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland, and will allow us to review and consolidate other crosscutting delivery functions.

We will continue to strengthen collaboration across NHS Bodies to ensure a more strategic, population-based approach to planning and keep governance arrangements under review to ensure they support the needs of Scotland's population and deliver best value for public services.

The Scottish Government is acutely aware that many women are experiencing long waits for gynaecological appointments and procedures, including colposcopy, and this is not good enough.

As the first country in the UK to publish a Women’s Health Plan we are committed to reducing health inequalities and improving health outcomes for women and girls. Timely access to gynaecology services must be addressed and the Scottish Government is committed to including gynaecology as a priority in the next phase of the Plan.

As a starting point, the Government has allocated over £8.8 million to Health Boards to target long waits for gynaecology and the Scottish Government expects this to deliver significant improvements to the backlog in the coming year through waiting list initiatives and recruitment.

The investment is part of the £200 million announced as part of the Programme for Government to build capacity, tackle delayed discharge and improve patient flow through hospitals.