Chamber and committees

Scottish Government officials had a number of informal discussions with NatureScot in advance of NatureScot introducing guidance and adding a new condition to 16AA licences. NatureScot has the authority to add conditions to grouse shooting licences without requiring approval from Scottish Government Ministers.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) based at the Golden Jubilee Hospital is developing national pathways for respiratory conditions including severe asthma, COPD and sleep apnoea. This work to improve patient journeys aligns closely with the Respiratory Care Action Plan and we are working with CfSD to understand the implications for wider respiratory policy.

The number of vaccinations and percentage of uptake for each of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) priority groups is available via the Public Health Scotland (PHS) Surveillance website PHS Vaccination Surveillance.

This information is correct as of 26 January 2025.

The PHS surveillance dashboard is updated monthly.

The Scottish Government continues to be guided by the expert clinical advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

The JCVI has the responsibility to provide high-quality and considered advice and recommendations to the UK Health Ministers following thorough risk and benefit analysis. They consider vaccine safety, efficacy and look at the impact and cost effectiveness of immunisation strategies.

Upon following this advice, the Scottish Government does not expect the eligibility criteria to differ in winter 2025-26 from winter 2024-25. Should the JCVI eligibility criteria for the flu vaccine change in the near future, we stand ready to implement those changes.

We will continue to work with Public Health Scotland and NHS Boards to ensure that those who are eligible are able to easily access a flu vaccination.

Additionally, the Scottish Government will hold sessions with key stakeholders to look at how we can support improved vaccination uptake among eligible groups in winter 2025-26.

The Circular Economy & Waste Route Map to 2030 provides a framework to tackle the environmental impact of priority products, and take a targeted, coordinated approach to managing materials across the waste hierarchy. This approach recognises the variation in emissions or environmental impact of production, consumption or waste management of different materials and products.

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.

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.

Compensation provisions do exist where land, or rights over land, are acquired by compulsion for the development of energy infrastructure under the Electricity Act 1989. However, there is no statutory provision or process set out in the Act to financially compensate those who consider their property value may be affected.

More generally, the Scottish Government continues to use all levers available to deliver sustainable, meaningful and impactful outcomes from the energy transition, informed by the voices of our diverse communities. Voluntary community benefits schemes from renewable energy developments are well-established in Scotland, enabling communities to benefit from their local resources, as well as helping to foster better relationships with the renewables sector. Despite the powers to mandate community benefits being reserved to the UK Government, over £30 million worth of benefits has been offered to communities in the last 12 months supported by our Good Practice Principles. We continue to press the UK Government for mandatory action in this area.