Chamber and committees

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

Whilst our response to the Independent Review of Audiology in Scotland is implemented, we will continue to work with the NHS, Third Sector and private providers to identify and cost an appropriate model of community care for any future service reform and ensure that the voices of those with lived experience inform this work.

Scottish Government officials and the Centre for Sustainable Delivery national planned care team meet monthly with Chief Operating Officer and / or Acute Directors from all Health Boards to review performance and delivery across all Planned Care specialities, including ENT.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35250 on 5 March 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

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS have proactively published a range of data relating to Emergency Release (ER) on SPS Website, this includes a recently published a summary report of ER returns to custody data.

We continue to be as open and transparent as possible, whilst continuing to meet our statutory obligation to ensure that those in our care have their personal information protected; as such we have taken the decision not to publish a breakdown of establishments of those released under the ER scheme as some of the data could relate to a small group of individuals, which may lead to their inadvertent identification.

The Scottish Government expects all organisations to comply with the full range of legislation that applies to them, including health and safety legislation. Given the breadth of legislative requirements that there may be across different sectors, it is not feasible for us to list every specific regulation that may be relevant to a particular body’s type of work or premises.

The Scottish Government expects all organisations to comply with the law, including health and safety regulations applying in workplaces. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Workplace) Regulations 1992 are made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the subject matter of Part 1 of which is a reserved matter.

Non-departmental public bodies devolved to Scotland are operationally independent from Scottish Ministers but are ultimately accountable to Scottish Ministers for their performance. The national public bodies directory contains a full list of non-departmental public bodies and shows the amount of Scottish Government funding they receive. The national directory can be viewed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-public-bodies-directory/pages/executive-non-departmental-public-bodies/

The Scottish Government has not contacted public sector organisations to clarify health and safety workplace regulations regarding the use of single-sex toilets and we have no plans to do so. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 make provision on sanitary conveniences in the workplace. These regulations are a reserved matter. The Health and Safety Executive have issued guidance and an approved Code of Practice on the 1992 Regulations: Workplace health, safety and welfare - L24.

The information requested is not held centrally. Decisions on whether or not to grant bail are for the independent courts based on the individual facts and circumstances of each case. As set out in the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, in any given case, bail may, subject to very limited exceptions, only be refused where the court determines there is good reason to do so having regard to a list of specific grounds and the wider public interest.

The bail reforms in Part 1 of the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 will be brought into force on 14 May 2025. This includes a new duty on the court to state the grounds on which it determines that there is good reason for refusing bail in accordance with the new bail test and have those grounds added to the record of proceedings. This will help improve understanding over time regarding the use of remand.

Local authorities are obliged by law to offer advice and assistance to people who are at risk or who are experiencing homelessness, and temporary accommodation if it is needed.

We welcome the UK government’s Timber in Construction road map since this should increase the market for Scottish timber in England. There is considerable scope to increase the use of timber frame house building methods in England unlike in Scotland where 92% of new build homes are already timber frame. Officials at Scottish Forestry have been aware of the road map as it was being developed through discussions with Defra, Confor and the Forestry Commission during that period.

The Scottish Government provided £400,000 to establish an adult ADHD and autism assessment service in Aberdeenshire between 2019-21.

NHS Boards and other local partners are responsible for prioritising funding to ensure that their local population receives the highest quality of care and treatment at the right time and in the right place. Accordingly, funding for adult ADHD and autism assessments in the Aberdeenshire Council area between 2021 and 2025 will have been derived from the overall budget allocated to NHS Grampian.

In 2021-22, NHS Grampian received £1,027.9 million from the Scottish Government. In 2022-23, NHS Grampian received £1,072.2 million from the Scottish Government, an uplift of 4 per cent on the previous year. In 2023-24, NHS Grampian received £1,129.9 million from the Scottish Government, an uplift of 5 per cent on the previous year. Finally, in 2024-25, NHS Grampian received £1,176.4 million from the Scottish Government, an uplift of 4% on the previous year.