Chamber and committees

We recognise that being physically active is one of the very best things we can do for our physical, social and mental health and we want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be active, regardless of their circumstances.

Our Physical Activity For Health Framework, published in October 2024, describes our evidence-based approach to achieving our vision of a Scotland where more people are more active, more often. Participation in walking sport is one way in which people can be more active and we recognise the important role of Walking Football Scotland in providing walking football opportunities across Scotland.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway has confirmed that all pregnant women in Wigtownshire continue to receive all of the maternity care that they require. Antenatal and postnatal maternity care, including maternity scanning is delivered by midwives locally via the Oaktree Family Centre in Stranraer. Women can also choose a home birth and will be supported by local midwives. Women who require more complex care may require some of their antenatal and postnatal care at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary and will be advised to birth there.

The Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery (PNM) student financial support review is currently ongoing. This review will take time, as it is important that we clearly understand how we can support our PNM students to complete their studies. The options for consideration will be presented to the me before the end of the year. An equalities impact assessment will be published once the review has concluded.

Prior to 1 September 2024, the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) (Scotland) Order 2007 required all keepers with 50 or more poultry at any single premises to notify the Scottish Ministers (in writing) in relation to those premises. The information required by the legislation was held on the GB Poultry Register, and processes to support the enforcement of this legislation, which is the responsibility of local authorities, were long established.

The amendment of this legislation ((by The Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2024), which extended this legal requirement to all bird keepers (with exceptions) and the introduction of the Scottish Kept Bird Register, has merely meant an extension to the enforcement process already in place. Since 1 September 2024 local authorities have continued to seek information regarding the registration status of keepers, using this data to enforce this legal requirement.

To further support this, Scottish Government, in consultation with Local Authorities has developed draft Local Authority Bird Registration Enforcement Guidance for all Scottish Local Authorities, and this guidance is currently being reviewed by The Scottish Local Authority Animal Health and Welfare Strategy Group.

The draft guidelines are based primarily on an educational approach to enforcement of the Scottish Kept Bird Register, particularly whilst keepers grow familiar with the system. However, prosecution for persistent offenders remains an option.

Enforcement of the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) (Scotland) Order 2007, which is the legislation under which the requirement for bird keepers in Scotland to notify the Scottish Ministers (in writing) in relation to the premises where birds are kept, was extended from those with 50 or more birds to all bird keepers from 1 September 2024. Enforcement is the responsibility of Scotland’s Local Authorities. The measures were enforceable from 1 December 2024. The principal aims of the introduction of the Scottish Kept Bird Register was to communicate risk and best practice to Scotland’s bird keepers, whilst allowing for more efficient and effective surveillance during disease outbreak periods, thereby promoting animal welfare and public health.

This information was previously not available to government and so compliance figures cannot be ascertained by way of a comparison with an established baseline of kept bird numbers, established before the register was extended.

However, prior to the extension of the register to include all keepers, an extrapolation was made from surveillance figures for kept birds, gleaned in previous outbreak periods, and current bird registration numbers are broadly in comparison to these initial estimated number of keepers.

Compliance will continue to be assessed over time as local authority activities disclose non-compliance within their council areas and government communication campaigns encourage those still unaware of their legal requirements in this respect to register their birds.

The Scottish Government, along with our tourism agency VisitScotland, acknowledges the significance of community tourism. VisitScotland has teams strategically located throughout rural Scotland that are instrumental in collaborating with regional stakeholders to identify local needs and opportunities.

Community Led-Tourism

• VisitScotland fully recognises and supports the unique role of community led tourism in Scotland. Community-led tourism enterprises deliver many visitor experiences and services across Scotland, making them an important part of the wider visitor economy. Such enterprises encompass a variety of inclusive ownership models and provide opportunities to generate community wealth. Partnership and collaboration is at the heart of the work that VisitScotland do to grow Scotland’s visitor economy including their work with Scottish Community Tourism (SCOTO) Community Tourism Network CIC, the organisation which connects Scotland’s network of community tourism enterprises.

Business & Experience Development

• VisitScotland’s business support programme is accessible for all tourism and events businesses in Scotland – including SMEs (majority of businesses in the sector) and community-led tourism organisations. Over time, VisitScotland will continue to give community tourism organisations access to practical information and resources to build capability and develop.
• Community tourism is integrated in the Scottish Thistle Awards programme, which celebrates and spotlights the best in Scotland’s best tourism and events sector.
• VisitScotland also promote enterprises of this type through their integrated marketing approach, showcasing the unique and enriching experiences visitors can have by engaging with communities.

Place Development

• VisitScotland’s focus on place ensures that the experiences and welcome offered by industry and communities in destinations are combined with the appropriate investment cases and infrastructure to address issues of quality, sustainability, inclusivity, capacity and drive net zero.
• As part of the place development work, VisitScotland manage the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund (RTIF) on behalf of Scottish Government. The fund aims to improve the visitor experience in rural parts of Scotland that are experiencing visitor management issues. In particular, it aims to help address pressure on local infrastructure or any negative impacts on communities.
• Since 2018 RTIF has awarded £20 million of grant funding to 75 projects. While RTIF criteria and assessment processes consider community issues and concerns arising from visitor pressure points, the purpose of RTIF is to fund visitor infrastructure which addressed visitor and community pressures arising from visitor numbers as opposed to a community fund to support purely local community needs or asks. Only National Park Authorities and Local Authorities can apply for RTIF funding, however more than 63% have done so in partnership with local community groups or third-party agencies and charities (RSBP, FLS, NTS etc.)
• Where community-based organisations are involved in RTIF projects, there are further opportunities to engage with those organisations, to assess the community tourism development opportunities associated with the creation of new tourism infrastructure. This would allow more community benefit and opportunity released from investment, in turn benefitting both visitor and resident.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37556 on 21 May 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 will set out its future approach to alcohol and drugs before the end of this parliamentary term.

To develop this plan we are engaging with partner organisations, including delivery bodies and the voices of those with lived and living experience, over the summer to identify actions that will help develop and deliver a strategic plan that covers alcohol.

I can confirm we will provide an update on the roll-out of the Health and Social Care app in Summer 2025 as set out in our Operational Improvement Plan, as well as in the answer to question S6W-35982 on 28 March 2025.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The Scottish Government fully recognises the need for improved access to detoxification services. This is an issue we are keen to see addressed through our strategy. Improving access to effective detoxification services is essential to ensure people can access help to reduce or stop drinking safely, avoiding acute withdrawal.

We are seeing more residential rehabilitation providers being able to offer in-house detox to prepare people for rehabilitation.

We are working with providers and other partners to discuss a wider set of residential harm reduction support – this includes stabilisation, crisis care, detox and long-term care for issues such as alcohol-related brain damage.

Our forthcoming National Specification for alcohol services will emphasise the requirement to provide a full range of services, including detox.