Chamber and committees

Territorial Health Boards are responsible for assessing and planning for the workforce required to deliver their programme locally. Scotland’s winter vaccination programme for Covid-19 and flu is delivered as part of the Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP), which is a partnership between Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland and Health Boards. This supports appropriate workforce planning for operational delivery.

NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) Procurement is responsible for the management and logistics in relation to the Scotland’s vaccine stocks. COVID-19 and childhood flu LAIV vaccine supplies are procured on a 4 nations basis by UKHSA on our behalf, and adult flu vaccine supplies are procured on a Scotland-only basis by NSS. An SVIP Expert Advisory Group is convened, as necessary, to consider stock amounts required each year to meet need and uptake level.

There are sufficient vaccine supplies for the flu and COVID programme this winter and all supplies were made available prior to programme launch.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41171 on 27 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

The Energy Consents Unit does not formally recognise any organisation involved in the submission of representations regarding applications.

All submissions received by the ECU are treated in the same manner, provided that they meet the requirements as set out on our website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/energy-consents-how-to-support-or-object-to-an-application/

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41171 on 27 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41171 on 27 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41171 on 27 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

All material considerations raised in representations and submitted by members of the public are carefully considered before reaching a decision on the application.

This is the case whether or not a representation has been created using template-based text, submitted individually or collectively, generated with the use of Artificial Intelligence, or is close to identical to other representations.

The submission of representations is the most effective means for communities to provide their views on an application, and helps to promote transparency and accountability in the decision-making process.

The Scottish Government remains committed to collaborate with key partners across the NHS in Scotland to ensure that relevant information, with the appropriate safeguards in place, is available to all healthcare professionals, including community pharmacists, when and where they need it. The Scottish Government is continuing to explore the possibility of granting further access to clinical records. Health Boards continue to work with community pharmacists prescribers to ensure the safe and effective prescribing of medicines.

The Digital Health & Care Strategy, published 2021, sets out ambitions for greater access to medical information both for staff and the public. In the medium to longer term, as part of the Digital Health & Care strategy, a National Digital Platform is being developed and has started to bring together service data that is appropriately accessible to the workforce regardless of where they are based.

The Scottish Government receives NHS Scotland sickness absence management information on a fortnightly basis, but this data does not include detailed absence reasons. This sickness absence data enables us to review and compare against the known seasonal pattern, with generally higher sickness absence in the winter months commonly caused by cold and flu.

Furthermore, management information is collected by NES on individual level absence which contains detailed absence reasons, including a cold, cough and flu category. NES have been developing this data to enable more detailed analysis.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Royal College of Psychiatry’s report on meeting the needs of autistic people and people with ADHD in Scotland.

The Scottish Government agrees with the College, that the demand for neurodevelopmental assessment and support now exceeds what Scotland’s current mental health infrastructure can deliver and that a different response is needed, which recognises the complex nature of this issue.

We are grateful to the College for their work in preparing this report and will now take time to consider it fully.