Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government welcomes IBD UK’s latest report, Crohn’s and Colitis Care in Scotland: A Vision for Change, and is grateful to the organisation for its work in this area.

We are committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, are able to access the best possible care and support. The 2025-26 Budget, if approved by Parliament, will provide £200 million to help reduce waiting times and improve capacity. This will help ensure no one waits more than 12 months for a new outpatient appointment or inpatient/day-case treatment by March 2026.

Our Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan has so far delivered four mobile endoscopy units across Scotland, providing 5-6 additional endoscopy rooms, and a Dyce facility to provide additional endoscopy procedures for NHS Grampian (ceasing December 2024). The additional mobile endoscopy units have supported patients to be clinically prioritised for endoscopy, ensuring that a range of conditions, including IBD, are diagnosed and managed timeously. Additionally, the national endoscopy surveillance framework, introduced in February 2022, has been implemented in all Health Boards.

We have also funded the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme (MPPP) with a specific workstream continuing to promote improvements in IBD care which is being taken forward through the MPPP’s National Gastroenterology Speciality Delivery Group (SDG). They have developed a national IBD pathway for NHS Scotland which is due to be published imminently. The Gastroenterology SDG is also developing a lower gastrointestinal pathway which will provide primary care guidance about testing and diagnosis for people with IBD and Coeliac Disease in Scotland.

Scottish Ministers are considering all the available information on bovine EID and technology use across the UK. This includes the ScotEID pilot findings into UHF, the results and analysis of the consultation held on Cattle ID and Traceability earlier this year and ongoing close discussions with the livestock sector. All potential impacts, including those on trade, will be fully considered before a final decision is made.

The total estimated remaining unitary charge payments associated with PFI and PPP contracts including NPD (Non-Profit Distributing) across the public sector in Scotland from 2023-24 onwards are contained within the following table.

The total unitary charge payments associated with PFI and PPP contracts including NPD (Non-Profit Distributing) which were paid across the public sector in Scotland from 2006-07 to 2022-23 are contained within the following table.

As the latest associated published data remains unchanged, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26239 on 2 April 2024 and to question S6W-26655 on 15 April 2024. 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

Through the Agriculture Reform Programme, and in collaboration with Scottish Forestry and NatureScot, we are considering opportunities to improve how we support farmers to integrate trees. The integration of trees on farms can take a variety of forms, with the criteria for the Agroforestry Grant Scheme having been amended in 2023 to include support for fruit and nut trees. We have engaged with stakeholders on the progress of that work through Scottish Forestry’s Customer Representatives Group sub-group on Trees on Farms and will continue to seek opportunities for stakeholder engagement as that work develops.

In addition, we are currently undertaking a review of the funding awarded by our Food and Drink Division to support community Grow Your Own initiatives. This funding for new and innovative food growing projects could include community orchards.

The Scottish Government also continues to provide horticulture support through the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme. Orchard fruit and nuts are products covered by the scheme, which enables funding to groups of growers recognised as Producer Organisations.

With the goal of providing a full response to the member, Scottish Government officials have liaised with a range of organisations including those reserved to the UK Government. This includes the UK National Shipbuilding Office - responsible for the UK National Shipbuilding Strategy - who have confirmed that they and UK Export Finance also do not hold a list of financial institutions that offer shipbuilder’s refund guarantees. Officials from both the Scottish Government and National Shipbuilding Office will continue to explore if such information is held centrally by the UK Government.

In England, the standard multiplier in 2025-2026 is being uprated to 55.5p, from 54.6p in 2024-2025. In Scotland, the proposed Higher Property Rate for 2025-2026 is 56.8p, increasing from 55.9p in 2024-2025.

Table 1 shows the estimated cost of setting the Higher Property Rate at 55.5p, compared to 56.8p, broken down by property class. The Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100,000, and may not sum due to rounding.

From 1 August to 31 December 2024, 33 charges under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 have been reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) which make reference to ownership of XL Bully Dogs.

It should be noted that COPFS use a live, operational database to manage the process of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies throughout Scotland. Information provided is at date of extract and may therefore be subject to change as data and systems are updated for operational reasons.

Scottish Ministers are considering all the available information on bovine EID and technology use across the UK. This includes the DEFRA and Welsh Government pilot report, the ScotEID pilot findings into UHF, the results and analysis of the consultation held on Cattle ID and Traceability earlier this year, and ongoing close discussions with industry and the livestock sector. All potential impacts and challenges, over the long and short term, will be fully considered before a final decision is made.