Chamber and committees

The number of firefighters attending any incident, and the manner in which they operate, is an entirely operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The safety and wellbeing of firefighters is a priority for both the Scottish Government and for the fire service.

Assessment of risk at the attendance of any incident is entirely an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The safety and wellbeing of firefighters is a priority for both the Scottish Government and for the fire service.

Decontamination both during and after any incident is an entirely operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The safety and wellbeing of firefighters is a priority for both the Scottish Government and for the fire service.

The Scottish Government is committed to unlocking the potential of scientific and technological innovation to transform lives, increase healthy life expectancy and reduce health inequalities across Scotland.

The Accelerated National Innovation Adoption (ANIA) pathway has been established to provide a national approach to the identification and adoption of research proven scientific and technological innovations. The ANIA pathway is led by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery, hosted by NHS Golden Jubilee. It is a collaborative venture that also draws on the expertise of NHS National Services Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Public Health Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland.

The ANIA pathway is governed by an Innovation Design Authority (IDA). This brings together senior Scottish Government and NHS leadership to support improved partnership working, provide system leadership and take joint decisions on the progression of innovations through ANIA stage gates.

Following recommendations from the IDA, the Scottish Government has:

• Invested £1.8 million in a national digital dermatology programme to prioritise the most urgent referrals, quickly offer advice for those who do not require a face-to-face appointment, prevent unnecessary anguish and reduce late-stage skin cancer diagnosis.
• Invested £350,000 in a new national team based within NHS Golden Jubilee to accelerate the distribution of Closed Loop Systems for people living with Type 1 Diabetes, increasing effective glycaemic control, and reducing the likelihood of complications, which at their most serious can include blindness, renal failure, and amputations.

There are a range of further innovations currently being evaluated within the ANIA pathway. Scottish Ministers will consider investment in these programmes following any recommendation by the IDA.

The Scottish Government is aware of this matter and appreciates the distress this will have caused to those affected.

The Scottish Government encourages those with concerns to seek advice from the Law Society of Scotland or the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission. If a client is dissatisfied with the service or conduct of a Scottish solicitor, they have the right to complain. The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) is the gateway for all complaints about solicitors in Scotland.

The Law Society of Scotland have published an information page on their website to assist those affected. McClures Jones Whyte FAQs | Law Society of Scotland (lawscot.org.uk)

The Scottish Government has taken proactive steps to mitigate against such a situation in future. The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill introduces the authorisation of legal businesses, bringing benefits such as greater consistency in regulating legal firms, enabling the Law Society of Scotland as the regulator to identify and address deficiencies early.

The Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act made a number of important changes to how trusts are administered and how trustees are appointed or removed, to respond to the practical difficulties that co-trustees may have in removing a trustee who was appointed as a trustee in their professional capacity, and is no longer a member of their profession.

We introduced major NHS dental payment reform on 1 November 2023 which includes a new fee structure designed to make it more attractive for dentists to provide NHS services, and this has generally been well received by the sector.

I acknowledge that access remains challenging in certain areas, including Dumfries and Galloway - which is why we have made tailored funding available, including grants of up to £100,000 for opening a new or extending an existing practice in the area, as well as ‘golden hello’ payments of up to £37,500 for new trainee dentists practising in the area.

Scottish Government continues to work closely with NHS Boards, including NHS Dumfries and Galloway, to ensure they have the necessary support to offer continuity of NHS care to patients.

Updated guidance on the use of mobile phone technologies in schools will be published in the coming weeks. The current guidance to education authorities and schools on this issue remains available from Guidance on Developing Policies to Promote the Safe and Responsible Use of Mobile Technology in Schools (www.gov.scot).

Work is well underway to bring forward a joint National Action Plan with COSLA, setting out the range of actions needed at both local and national level on relationships and behaviour in schools. We will publish the action plan in the coming weeks.

In May 2022 Transport Scotland convened the Zero Emission Truck Taskforce comprising senior leaders from haulage operators, the manufacturing, energy and financial sectors, government, and unions with the purpose of co-designing an ambitious pathway to HGV decarbonisation in Scotland. This pathway was published on 19 March 2024 and identifies four key challenges, including energy infrastructure, with clear actions to address them. The pathway and the evidence that supported it has been shared with the UK Government to inform the development of its HGV and coach energy infrastructure strategy.

As one of the actions within the pathway, the Scottish Government is working with academics and haulage fleets to understand where energy infrastructure will be required for trucks on longer journeys in Scotland. The UK government is aware of this work.

At the Inter-Ministerial Group meeting on transport between the four nations on 5 February, I reinforced the need for close collaboration in both the HGV energy infrastructure strategy and the zero emission HGV and infrastructure demonstrator projects.

Scottish Government officials are participating in a series of working groups that have been set up since that ministerial meeting, working with counterparts from the UK Government and devolved administrations on issues relating to the strategy.

The Scottish Government remains committed to meeting this ambition by 2030 and continues to explore how we can enable a transformational change in the delivery of preventative whole family support and how we can take a cross portfolio approach to supporting work on prevention. In addition, we are currently preparing a Whole Family Wellbeing investment approach on supporting the provision of preventative, holistic family support.