Chamber and committees

Scottish Government is committed to the trustworthy, ethical and inclusive use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health and social care, where it can help to transform lives, increase healthy life expectancy and reduce health inequalities across Scotland.

There are promising examples of AI being developed to improve the accuracy and speed of diagnosis and in enhancing decision support tools.

The Accelerated National Innovation Adoption (ANIA) pathway is a programme funded by the Chief Scientist Office within Scottish Government. It has been established to provide a national approach to the identification and adoption of research and proven scientific and technological innovations. Governed by the Innovation Design Authority (IDA), it aims to support improved partnership working, system leadership and joint decisions on the progression of AI innovations across any health condition, including cancer.

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 requires Scottish Ministers to have regard to just transition principles in development of Climate Plans. The upcoming Climate Change Plan will outline how this government will take action to reduce emissions in a way which supports environmentally and socially sustainable jobs and supports low carbon investment and infrastructure. It will also set out an estimate of the costs and benefits associated with the polices contained. Furthermore, the final plan will be published alongside a series of impact assessments, which will look at the impact of climate policies on areas such as equalities, island communities and children's rights.

Cancer remains a national priority, within the Scottish Government and across NHS Scotland. That is why we recently published our 10 year Cancer Strategy for Scotland 2023-2033 along with an initial three year Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023 – 2026 in June 2023.

The strategic aim and vision is to improve cancer survival and provide excellent, equitably accessible care across Scotland.

Scottish Government continues to positively engage with the UK Government, including on the development of the new UK Government National Cancer Control Plan 2025.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-36988 on 30 April 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

In regards to part A of the question, the best source for care home closure data sits with the Care Inspectorate (CI) via their ‘service cancellations and registrations publication’. The most recent version was published on 22 January 2025, which you can access via the link below

https://www.careinspectorate.com/images/documents/7934/CI_Stats_Report_RegCanxQtr3_24_25.csv

37 care home services have cancelled their registration with CI since the start of 2024, according to this most recent report. This includes care home services for older people, children & young people, mental health, alcohol & drugs misuse, learning disabilities and respite services.

In order to see those services that have been cancelled you can look at the cancelled services column the publication table.

It is important to note that often the services listed will most likely have been reopened under a different business name and care service number since this data was released. Over the same period, there have been 30 registered care homes services, you can view this in the registered services columns in the same table.

In regards to Part B, to understand the care home services that are at risk of closure you can look at the RAD score – current Scrutiny Assessment Tool (SAT) score, High-Medium-Low – for each service which is available on the Care Inspectorate data store publication. The most recent one was published on 28 February

https://careinspectorate.com/images/documents/8039/MDSF_data_28%20February%202025.xlsx

The SAT is a trigger tool to identify indicators of potential concerns in services. The SAT was developed using feedback from staff, information from our enforcement review, intelligence and learning from the pandemic and the Hull early indicators of concern (which has been widely adopted by the health and social care sector). It only provides a picture of the services that have been inspected, rather than all care homes in the country.

I would highlight that although we have overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, the statutory responsibility for delivering, commissioning, providing appropriate social care capacity at a local level lies with local authorities, NHS boards and Integrated Joint Boards. This includes the responsibility for these organisations to develop contingency plans for each service they commission or provide and to have robust plans in place should a service close. COSLA have provided guidance on how to manage a service closure and under procurement contracts, including the National Care Home Contract, providers are required to have appropriate business continuity plans in place.

However, we do understand that additional pressures have been brought to the sector by the decisions of the UK Government, such as the increase in employers National Insurance Contributions, changes to the social care visa system and salary threshold levels.

Safeguards are in place to support the sector with regulators, COSLA and the Scottish Government available to provide additional support where necessary. We will continue to provide targeted support to local areas through the Collaborative Support and Assurance Group, co-chaired by myself and the COSLA spokesperson on Health and Social Care, Councillor Kelly. COSLA also chairs the National Contingency Planning Group, which can be stood up in the event of a large-scale threat to the sector affecting more than one local authority.

The Scottish Government are undertaking a programme of work to understand and respond to the current financial viability pressures facing the care home and wider social care sectors, and identify where extra support, contingencies and mitigations may be required. This work has included collaboration with COSLA, sector partners and representative bodies. Work remains ongoing but is proceeding at pace.

Offshore oil and gas licensing, consenting and the associated fiscal regime are all matters that are currently reserved to the UK Government.

The Scottish Government is taking the appropriate time to carefully consider the UK Government’s current consultations on Building the North Sea’s Energy Future and a future Oil and Gas fiscal mechanism, and their potential outcomes.

Alongside this consideration, Scottish Government Ministers and officials continue to engage with UK Government counterparts and UK regulators (including the North Sea Transition Authority) on a range of issues relevant to the energy transition.

We are clear in our own support for a just transition for Scotland’s oil and gas sector, that recognises the maturity of the North Sea basin and is in line with our climate change commitments. At the heart of our approach is ensuring a just transition for Scotland’s valued and highly skilled oil and gas workforces to a net-zero future.

I refer the member to the answer provided in S6W-36463 on 29 April 2025 with reference to this question.

NHS Forth Valley is responsible for assessing patient safety risks in its mental health facilities, including those posed by ligature anchor points, and for taking appropriate local action. Local governance arrangements within each Health Board should include clear oversight, regular reporting, and continuous improvement in line with national guidance and patient safety standards.

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 quarterly review which forms part of the Scottish Government’s Assurance cycle to ensure public bodies are operating efficiently and effectively includes an assessment of performance and identifies any areas that may require to be monitored.

In recent years the Scottish Government has invested significantly in manufacturing support infrastructure. The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) represents a £75 million investment by the Scottish Government and its agencies and has a mission to make Scotland a global leader in advanced, sustainable manufacturing. The Advancing Manufacturing Challenge Fund also led to the establishment of a range of facilities across Scotland with either a regional or sectoral focus. These include the Medical Device Manufacturing Centre based at Heriot Watt University, Smart Hub Lanarkshire based at New Lanarkshire College and the Advancing Manufacturing Centre at West Highland College

Meanwhile, we continue to work with the UK Government and local partners on the delivery of tailored regional projects in support of the manufacturing economy. These include the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland and Investment Zone projects within the Glasgow City Region and The Manufacturing Innovation Centre for Moray within the Moray Growth Deal. We also anticipate that our Green Freeports package will have a catalytic effect on advanced manufacturing in the two regions affected.