Chamber and committees

We understand that the provision of tailored mental health support remains challenging in some areas of respiratory care. We continue to work closely with health psychologists and other key stakeholders to determine how better support can be provided to people living with respiratory and other long-term conditions.

We have invested £51 million in our Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults since 2021, with approximately 3300 grants made to local projects across Scotland in the first two years alone.

A further £15 million was announced on 25 March 2024 for Fourth year of the Fund which means the Scottish Government has made £66 million available since 2021, the funding supports people facing socio-economic disadvantage, people- living with a long-term health condition or disability, older people and people disadvantaged by geographical location.

We also continue to provide a range of resources and raise awareness of how to support mental wellbeing through expanding the range of practical mental wellbeing resources available on our Mind to Mind, Parent Club and Young Scots mental wellbeing websites to complement other supports available in person and by phone.

Improved access to diagnostic tests remains a wider commitment for the Scottish Government and we are working closely with Primary Care colleagues to determine ways to improve spirometry.

The Scottish Government has established a Scottish Expert Advisory Group to support the work of the UK National Screening Committee Lung Task Group and inform the implementation of a targeted lung cancer screening programme for Scotland.

Introducing a new screening programme such as Chest and Lung CT scanning is inherently complex, and the required evidence and information must be fully developed before implementation begins. This is likely to take several years for each UK nation.

The Scottish Government-funded LungScot study, led by the University of Edinburgh, provided further information on the feasibility of lung screening and the influences of sociodemographic and other patient characteristics. The Scottish Expert Advisory Group is incorporating these findings into their business case which will inform the next steps towards implementation.

We recognise the importance of having access to meaningful data in relation to respiratory services and assessing the impact of the Respiratory Care Action Plan.

We work with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that the current programmes for improving respiratory care remain relevant and make an impact. We will continue to monitor progress through various groups, including via our third sector partners, to determine next steps for implementing the Plan.

It is for individual local authorities, as employers, to manage their own practices regarding the employment of teachers and provision of individual employment contracts.

In December 2024 the Scottish Government reached an agreement with local government to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels and we are providing £186.5 million in the 2025-26 Financial Year for this purpose and to give local authorities the support they have requested to increase the number of teaching jobs. In addition we are also providing Local Authorities with £28 million to support ASN provision in schools, which may be used for measures such as the employment of ASN teachers.

As part of our joint agreement Scottish Government and CoSLA will also work together on the establishment of an Education Assurance Board. Improving employment opportunities for Scotland’s teaching workforce will be a key feature of the Education Assurance Board. The board will allow us to work together to review national employment practices, highlight best practice and use this to work in partnership with our councils to improve the availability of permanent teaching contracts nationally.

The Aberdeen – Central Belt 2026 Enhancement Project is now known as the Aberdeen – Central Belt Service Improvement Project.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32369 on 8 January 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

The Scottish Government continues to consider that a) responsibility for building maintenance, including in respect of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), is a matter for property owners, supported by appropriate professionals and b) building owners should continue to follow the guidance of organisations such as the Institution of Structural Engineers.

In developing the Grouse Code of Practice NatureScot established the Grouse Code Working Group to develop the conditions of the licence for grouse moors and the accompanying Code of Practice. This was then introduced in July 2024.

As I set out in response to S6W-34518 on 25 February 2025, NatureScot subsequently added a condition to licences so that certain relevant offences committed anywhere on a landholding can be taken into consideration as to whether to revoke or suspend a licence. No additional engagement was undertaken and it was not considered necessary to carry out further consultation as this addition did not deviate from the policy intention when the licensing conditions and Grouse Code of Practice were initially developed.

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

The next edition of the Disability and Transport publication will be published by Transport Scotland later in March this year.

It is intended that Transport Scotland will update the report on an annual basis in future. However, this is dependent on the availability of data supporting meaningful annual analysis.

Decisions on publication frequency will continue to be made in consultation with the Disability and Transport Monitoring and Evaluation Group: a steering group for Transport Scotland’s work in this area, which includes representatives from the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS), Disability Equality Scotland, and Transport Scotland.

No section 16AA licences have been granted which specify the land to which the licence relates as the area immediately surrounding a line of grouse butts.

I refer the member to answer to question S6W-34926 on 4 March 2025. Our Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland (RCAP) sets out our vision for driving improvement in the prevention, diagnosis, care, treatment and support of people affected by respiratory conditions including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung disease.

There is also a significant respiratory work programme managed by the Respiratory Speciality Delivery Group within NHS Golden Jubilee. They have pathways under development for severe asthma, COPD and sleep apnoea. ILD will continue to be considered within any new respiratory programmes.

Our new Prescribing Guideline set out our ambitions for better access to respiratory care and we also have national workstreams focusing on access to pulmonary rehabilitation and smoking cessation.

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