Chamber and committees

NHS Boards are responsible for receiving and approving applications for the Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI). Successful applications are then sent to the Scottish Government for processing.

As such, the Scottish Government does not hold information on how many SDAI applications have been received in the NHS Borders area, and this information is held by the Health Board.

There have been no applications sent to Scottish Government in the last 12 months.

Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Information in relation to the number of dental practices providing NHS dental services in the Dumfries and Galloway area is held by the Health Board.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24861 on 5 February 2024. 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 .

Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Information in relation to the number of dental practices providing NHS dental services is held by each Health Board.

This information is not recorded by the Scottish Government.

Scottish Dental Access Initiative applications are first submitted to the individual NHS Boards for processing and approval. Therefore, the Scottish Government does not have sight of all applications made to the NHS boards.

Following the recent Scottish Government announcement on XL Bully dog safeguards, Scottish Government officials are continuing to engage with Police Scotland about the impact of enforcing this change to the law, including any impact on police dog kennels.

NHS Boards are responsible for receiving and approving applications for the Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI). Successful applications are then sent to the Scottish Government for processing.

As such, the Scottish Government does not hold information on how many SDAI applications have been received in the NHS Borders area, and this information is held by the Health Board.

Scottish Government has provided grant funding to a total of six successful SDAI applicants in the NHS Borders area.

The Scottish Government has awarded the following amounts since the Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI) was granted in the NHS Borders area in 2009:

The Scottish Government has not carried out or commissioned research into the impact that the presence of fire can have on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). However, the Scottish Government works directly with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), is in close contact with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and officials liaise with UK Government colleagues as the issue around fire safety and RAAC is explored.

The condition of RAAC and any risk of weakness or collapse is clearly of critical concern to firefighters. Where RAAC is identified through SFRS Operational Intelligence information gathering or a Fire Safety Enforcement audit, SFRS staff will record information regarding any affected buildings. This allows SFRS to develop a tactical plan to protect firefighters and minimise risk to the wider public in the event of any emergency incident, including those with premises containing RAAC.

More generally, the Scottish Government engages with various academic and building industry organisations which are themselves involved in research work, including through meetings of the Cross Sector Working Group, and would promote awareness of the findings of RAAC related research as and when appropriate.

The Scottish Government does not anticipate that changes to the funding arrangements for regional improvement collaboratives will have an impact on speech and language leads carrying out their objectives.