Chamber and committees

The free online Primary Care cancer education platform, Gateway C, was launched in Scotland on 30th of April 2024. Courses focus on cancer symptoms and referral, and we have seen uptake across all of Scotland's Health Boards, in wide ranging job roles in primary care.

The brain tumour course specifically aims to assist primary care staff in effectively assessing and managing patients with a potential brain tumour diagnosis. The course includes interactive video consultations based on patients with differing symptoms, alongside a range of activities to reinforce key learning points. In addition to online courses, there are podcasts and webinars that can be accessed at any time. The latest podcast recorded, 26 November 2024, discussed brain tumours and a communication has been sent out to make registrants aware of this.

In Scotland we will continue to push communications on Gateway C, to build momentum on the successful launch earlier this year.

As set out in the 2024-25 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government has committed to introduce the Natural Environment Bill as part of the year four legislative programme. Due to parliamentary procedure, we are unable to provide the precise date for introduction. The Scottish Parliament will announce the introduction date shortly before the introductory process begins.

When introduced, the Bill will establish the framework for statutory targets to restore and protect nature. It will also include provisions to modernise the way in which national parks and deer are managed and provide powers to update environmental impact assessment and habitats legislation to support delivery of our net zero and biodiversity goals.

We are currently considering all the issues raised in response to our recent consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill. We will confirm our decisions and the nature and timing of next steps as soon as practicable.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The methodology involved analysing the most recently published Housing Land Audit schedules from local authorities across Scotland. The remaining capacity for each site noted as either consented or under construction was totalled. Where the distinction was made, this included Planning Permission in Principle.

This summary statistic gives a broad estimate of the remaining capacity across Scotland of identified housing land with planning consent. It provided contextual information for the development and publication of our Planning and the Housing Emergency Delivery Plan.

Specific consultation was not undertaken in creating this summary statistic. The estimate is based on information published by local authorities as part of their annual Housing Land Audits, and any local consultation processes carried out as they are prepared.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The data is calculated from the published schedules of the most recently available Housing Land Audit for each local authority (in most cases this is the 2023 audit). This is public information, available on local authority websites.

We are carrying out further analysis of the dataset to inform current work with stakeholders on stalled sites and will provide updates on the work as it progresses.

The Scottish Government’s commitment is to progressing towards a 36-hour working week for Agenda for Change staff, building on an initial 30-minute reduction in working hours implemented from 1 April 2024. Whilst extensive guidance has been issued setting out the overarching principles to be applied in facilitating this transition, the Implementation Group and the Scottish Government have been clear that specific decisions on how the reduction will be achieved should be made at a local level and in partnership, based on the needs of a given service.

We have also made clear that the first half hour will be used as a learning process with a national evaluation carried out to identify the challenges and opportunities associated with further reductions. Health Boards (under the 1978 NHS Act) are required to undertake workforce planning and we would expect to see appropriate consideration around the impacts of the Reduced Working Week on services within their planning activity.