Chamber and committees

I have asked Linda Pollock, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS publishes prison numbers on a quarterly basis via the Prisoner Information Page (PIP), the most recent of which can be found here: Public Information Page.

Additionally, SPS publish Prison Population Data Reports which illustrate the population in custody broken down by custody type, gender, and age, the most recent of which can be found here: Data, Research and Evidence | Scottish Prison Service.

The information requested on how many anaesthetist posts are currently vacant, broken down by NHS board can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: 02 June 2026 Workforce | Turas Data Intelligence (Vacancy tab).

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01252 on 23 June 2026. 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 number of Anaesthetic Consultants working in NHS Scotland has grown by 21.6% over the last decade and stood at 895.2 WTE as at 31 March 2026. Following annual reviews of the number of specialty training places needed to meet anticipated future service demand and consultant need, the Scottish Government has funded the creation of approximately 850 additional posts across multiple specialities since 2014, including in anaesthetics.

The Scottish Government’s role is to provide strategic leadership for NHS Scotland to ensure a sustainable NHS workforce. Operational matters relating to staffing including recruitment to specific specialities such as anaesthetists, are the responsibility of individual NHS Boards and will depend on service needs, taking account of national, regional and local priorities. Boards are required to ensure that suitably qualified and competent staff are available in appropriate numbers to support safe, high-quality care and staff wellbeing, in line with the requirements of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The spend to date forms part of the development of the Monklands Replacement Project and includes the purchase of the Wester Moffat site. This funding has supported essential preparatory activity, including site preparation, ground investigations, surveys, planning and design work, and the approvals required to progress an infrastructure project of this scale and complexity.

Development costs are a normal part of major infrastructure planning and have brought us to an informed decision point. The spend to date, will be used to support the revised proposal on the Wester Moffat site.

In terms of spend to date, NHS Lanarkshire have published a Q&A which includes this detail available here: Reset Phase Q & A | New University Hospital Monklands.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01371 on 17 July 2026. 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 Service Delivery Review consultation responses, were published on 15 June 2026, and are available on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service website: Service Delivery Review Public Consultation Survey Raw Data | Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Board took decisions on its Service Delivery Review on 22 June 2026.

I had a meeting with the Chair of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Board on 4 June 2026.