Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is aware of the Community Syringe Redemption Program pilot schemes currently delivered in New York City and the City of Boston in the United States. However, while this specific scheme has not been assessed, we will continue to monitor it, and other international developments, and are open to reviewing any robust evaluation of such initiatives.

Public Health Scotland are key partners in delivery of our Population Health Framework (PHF). The actions in the PHF – promoting healthy eating, investing in sport and active living, and work to reduce the harms of smoking – are relevant to improving heart health in Scotland.

Our Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework (SRF) includes a focus on early detection to support intervention and treatment to reduce the level of harm. For example, our CVD Risk Factors programme involves working with a range of partners, including PHS, to improve the identification and management of key risk factors (obesity, smoking, high blood sugar, blood pressure or cholesterol).

As part of this programme, we will support 100,000 patients, who may be at risk of cardiovascular disease, with extra GP appointments by March next year, with a particular focus on supporting people living in areas of deprivation.

Social Security Scotland is committed to treating all individuals with dignity, fairness, and respect, including veterans and their families. In line with the Armed Forces Covenant, the organisation works to ensure no one from that community faces disadvantage when accessing devolved benefits.

To support this, Social Security Scotland engages with veterans’ groups and other stakeholders to better understand and respond to their specific needs. This collaborative approach informs the design and delivery of services that are not only inclusive but also rooted in empathy.

Inclusive practices are embedded across the organisation – from accessible application processes to staff training and frontline service delivery. The goal is to foster an environment where compassion, dignity, and fairness guide behaviour, and where clients feel heard, understood, and supported. Social Security Scotland is committed to building a culture that recognises people’s experiences and needs, and ensures every interaction reflects empathy, respect, and understanding.

The organisation also actively engages with the Armed Forces community to build trust and improve accessibility and regularly reviews its procedures to uphold the values of the Covenant. The Scottish Government strongly supports the Covenant’s aims and the wider efforts across Scotland to strengthen support and integration for the Armed Forces community.

Public Health Scotland’s NHS Waiting Times – Diagnostics report holds data on the number of ongoing waits for echocardiograms at the end of each calendar month, including data on ongoing waits of more than 52 weeks. This can be found in the publication's non-key diagnostic test data tables.

Our Waiting Well resources offering support to patients currently on a waiting list can be found on NHS Inform at Waiting well | NHS inform.

Scottish Borders Council is leading on this business case work on behalf of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal Partners. The inception phase has started but the detailed scope has yet to be finalised.

The Scottish Government works closely with the UK Government’s National Shipbuilding Office to ensure that the Scottish Shipbuilding industry benefits from the national and international opportunities of its Shipbuilding Strategy. There are no current plans to develop a Scottish shipbuilding strategy.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40705 on 3 October 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.

Community benefits and social value are part of the ground-breaking Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 which the Scottish Parliament passed over a decade ago. That Act requires public bodies to consider how procurement exercises can improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of their areas, facilitate the involvement of SMEs, the third sector and supported businesses, and promote innovation. It also required them to specifically consider whether to include community benefits in contracts worth £4 million or more.

The £16.6 billion of Scottish public procurement spend in 22-23 is estimated to have generated around £13.7 billion of economic activity for Scotland, contributing £7.5 billion to Scottish GDP, and supporting around 120,000 full time equivalent jobs. £3.3 billion of public sector procurement spend was with suppliers based within the local authority area of the purchasing body. During 23-24 alone, Transport Scotland contracts achieved 613 new entrant positions, 72 graduate positions and 36 apprenticeships.

CMAL as procuring authority look to secure benefits for local communities including local training and employment opportunities.

Ferries, although vital to the islands communities and businesses, do not meet the definitions required to apply Section 45 of the Subsidy Control Act. I would also refer the member to the answer to S6W-40705 on 3 October 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.

CMAL, as procuring authority, received no submissions from UK based shipyards in response to the Single Procurement Document stage for the two new NIFS freight flex vessels.