Chamber and committees

This information is not held centrally.

The non-executive Whistleblowing Champion role has no operational involvement in cases, rather it is an assurance role which helps NHS boards comply with their responsibilities in relation to whistleblowing.

There are currently no vacancies.

The list of current Whistleblowing Champions for each board can be accessed via this link: Public appointments - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

I have asked Janet Egdell, Chief Executive of NRS to respond. Her response is that the National Records of Scotland (NRS) are responsible for the Scottish Register of Tartans website.

NRS remains committed to maintaining a website to support the Scottish Register of Tartans. There are no current plans to update the user interface of the Scottish Register of Tartans website.

NRS are focused on the launch of the refreshed Scotland’s People website during September 2024 and work will then follow to consider all website provision.

Service innovation and redesign are central to the future of NHS, and the CytoSCOT programme is an excellent example of how innovation in diagnostic services can support patients to access alternatives to traditional endoscopy closer to home, helping to reduce demand on health services.

NHS Scotland’s Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) continues to support island Health Boards to implement this service, with NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland expected to begin roll out later this year.

The Scottish Government has allocated £20,000 per annum to support the Makar since 2021.

The First Minister recently met with Kathleen Jamie at Bute House to mark her term and thank her for her stellar work over the last three years as Scotland’s fourth modern Makar, as an ambassador for poetry, in Scotland and overseas.

The next National Makar will again be appointed by the First Minister. The Scottish Government is considering the process and will share more detail in the coming months.

The topic of Scottish independence was not discussed.

The topic of Scottish independence was not discussed.

I confirmed with David McAllister the current position on holding another independence referendum following the supreme court ruling on the subject.

Canals in Scotland were not considered during the second Strategic Transport Projects Review, as water-based transport on canals and estuaries (such as water taxis) were deemed to be out of scope of the review, as noted in the Appendix A of the. Final technical report - December 2022 - STPR2 | Transport Scotland

The Scottish Government laid out their plans for the canal network in the 2013 publication HYPERLINK "" Making the most of Scotland’s canals | Transport Scotland based on the following seven principles:

• Valuing the heritage of our canals
• Fulfilling statutory and regulatory obligations
• Risk management and safety
• Increasing awareness of the potential contribution which canals can make
• Delivering a high quality experience
• Working through partnership and collaboration
• Monitoring and measuring outcomes