Chamber and committees

The NHS Pharmacy First Scotland Service was launched on 29 July 2020.

This service constitutes a redesigned minor ailment and common conditions service, expanding on the pre-existing Minor Ailment Service and is available from all community pharmacies in Scotland.

The requested information is shown in the following table.

Pharmacy First Service

The Scottish Government commitment to ‘carrying out a clinically led review of latest data and evidence to determine whether there is merit in specific additional or alternative cancer waiting times standards for different types of cancer and cancer treatment’ is underway.

A project steering group is being established which will support the review, determining if any amendments to the standards would enhance patient experience and meet the needs of the NHS for the future.

Evidence review commissions were shared with key partners in April with the full clinical consensus review expected to conclude with recommendations within 18- 24 months.

This is an operational matter for NHS Tayside.

The Scottish Government wants all those accessing health services to be treated as close to home as clinically appropriate. Where travel is necessary, the Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to work collaboratively with transport providers to make suitable arrangements to ensure that the necessary treatment can be provided in a patient-centred way.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02175 on 18 August 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02107 on 17 August 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.

524 houses have been built on sites supported through the Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP) since the fund’s introduction in 2021-22. Of these 48 were delivered on sites that had previously been derelict for more than 25 years.

The SCDS updates make clear the level of projected spend in the Scottish supply chain is very substantial. These projects will spend millions of pounds throughout their development, through activities such as surveys, engineering and construction, which will support jobs across Scotland and the rest of the UK.

We expect developers to help build the resilience of our domestic supply chain and deliver on their SCDS commitments. Failure to do so can trigger remedies ranging from financial penalties to an inability to progress to a seabed lease.

The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit and Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Economics recently published a report showing Scotland’s net zero economy contributes £10.2 billion GVA and supports more than 105,000 jobs, accounting for 4.9% of Scotland’s economic output and 3.9% of employment (The Scottish Net Zero Economy in 2025, CBI).

ScotWind projects have already delivered over £750 million in revenues to the public purse.

The 2026 ScotWind Supply Chain Development Statement updates show that total projected spend in Scotland has increased between 2023 and 2026 by nearly £2.3bn for the 16 projects included in the updates, from an estimated £23.3bn to £25.6 billion.

Developers’ SCDS updates include ambitions to go beyond committed spend which suggests an additional potential £10.5bn manufacturing expenditure in key areas such as foundations, turbine components and electrical infrastructure in Scotland as the supply chain matures.

These insights will support the Scottish Government and our delivery partners in targeting intervention where it is needed most, including through our strategic investment in offshore wind, to drive sustainable growth across Scotland’s offshore energy supply chain.

The Scottish Animal Welfare Commission’s recommendations, following its review on snaring, recommended that the use and sale of snares be prohibited.

A complete ban on the use of snares, as provided for in the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024, came into force on 25 November 2024.

Section 11(3C) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (the 1981 Act” already prohibits the possession and sale of self-locking snares.

In our consultation document ‘Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill: use of snares and powers of Scottish SPCA inspectors’, published in August 2023, we proposed not to extend the offence to possess or sell any other type of snare other than those already prohibited under section 11 of the 1981 Act.

This is because many snares that were set were made by practitioners using readily available materials and therefore a ban on the sale of snares would have a limited affect.

The UK Government has not advised Scottish Ministers that it has any plans to replace the ECO4 Flex scheme when the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme closes in December.

The Scottish Government continues to supports local councils to provide ECO Flex declarations and work with retrofit installers as part of our Area Based Schemes (ABS). In most cases, households that have been provided with a declaration of eligibility through ECO Flex will continue to be eligible for improvements delivered through local ABS schemes; national Warmer Homes Scotland or Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan schemes.

The Scottish Government would encourage households in this instance to get in touch with Home Energy Scotland to determine which scheme they are eligible for.