Chamber and committees

There are no NHS boards in the Highlands and Islands region that have formally established a Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service for patients with non-specific symptoms of cancer.

In line with recently revised Scottish Referral Guidelines for Urgent Suspicion of Cancer all NHS territorial Health Boards now have pathways in place for those presenting with non-specific symptoms of cancer.

All NHS territorial boards in the Highlands and Islands region have been allocated funding as part of the additional £200m Operational Improvement Plan investment to deliver and expand their Hospital at Home services.

All territorial boards are currently providing a Hospital at Home service. Some of these services are more established while others are still developing. What matters most is that these services are proportionate to the population's needs and effectively connected to community support, enabling people to receive safe and timely care, in the most appropriate location.

The Scottish Government regularly engages with waste sector representative bodies, including those representing commercial operators/Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities such as the Scottish Environmental Services Association (SESA), through channels such as the Waste and Resources Sector Forum.

This includes recent engagement with both public (local authority) and commercial sector representatives in relation to policies including the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste (BMW), the proposed expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to include incineration and waste treatment capacity, among others.

Local government is a crucial partner in helping to deliver better outcomes for the people of Scotland. That is why we have provided councils with a record £15.1 billion this year, a real terms increase of 5.5%, and have delivered a wide range of powers for local councils.

Our joint Local Governance Review with COSLA will conclude by the end of the Parliament, setting out how power and resources can be better shared between national and local government and with communities.

In addition, this year the Scottish Government has allocated nearly £2.2 billion for social care and integration, representing an increase of over £1.2 billion since
2021-22. This goes almost £350 million beyond the Scottish Government’s original commitment to increase social care funding by 25% (£840 million) over the lifetime of the Parliament.

The Scottish Government has been investing heavily in the social care workforce through its fair work commitments. We will continue to work with local government partners to ensure the people of Scotland can access the services they need when and where they need them.

The ICP Vessels and Port Plan notes that vessel and infrastructure project design development should consider issues such as wind and wave/swell modelling data to ensure and provide an optimum solution for ferry services to island communities. We will continue to work closely with all port owners and both our subsidised operators to ensure that climate change adaption is an integral part of the design and delivery of all projects.

Both CalMac and CMAL have also conducted wave height analysis at specific ports as part of project development and as part of ongoing service operation. Information is gathered from a number of sources including installed wave buoys to inform day to day operational decisions. CMAL intend to continue gathering wave data at certain ports which will enable monitoring for any trends over time. This will be complementary to the wind, weather and tidal data that CMAL and operators already gather across the network from a range of sources.

CMAL have recently discussed trends in wave heights with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency as part of the SVRP Phase 1 and Phase 2 projects, with data primarily sourced from the Met Office. This approach is also taken on other vessel and infrastructure projects to inform potential service review and design requirements. CalMac will be producing a weather resilience and climate adaptation plan which will look at the wider impact of climate change on services.

Staffing and recruitment are operational matters for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The Scottish Government understands that the roles being referred to were fixed term temporary positions that have come to the end of their contract.

Energy from waste emissions were expected to rise in the short-term as a result of preparations for the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste in Scotland which comes into force on 31 December 2025. As part of these preparations, a portion of currently landfilled waste is diverted to incineration, resulting in an increase in incineration emissions.

However, this is expected to be accompanied by a larger longer-term decrease in emissions from the waste sector as a whole due to lower landfill emissions, driven by the ban.

The independent review on the role of incineration in Scotland’s waste hierarchy (published 2022) found that incineration's current place within the waste hierarchy is correct, meaning that overall, it is preferable to other forms of residual waste treatment, such as landfill but made clear recommendations around limiting future capacity and decarbonisation of energy from waste.

Published figures from Healthcare Improvement Scotland estimated that Hospital at Home services for Older and Acute Adults prevented 15,470 people being admitted to hospital in 2024-2025, reducing pressure on unscheduled care and delayed discharges.

Board level data for the Older Adults pathway is a matter for Healthcare Improvement Scotland who collate and manage this data collection.

Officials are working with PHS Scotland to develop a new national data set for Hospital at Home activity and related admission alternative services. Data collection is due to commence later this year and will be expanded to include other Hospital at Home pathways such as heart failure, respiratory, paediatrics and Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT). Public Health Scotland plan to publish figures as this develops during 2026.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is the regulator for municipal waste incineration. SEPA already publishes summary data on pollutant releases via the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI), site-specific monitoring data on its public register and also requires operators to make up to date emissions information available to the public via their own websites.

The Scottish Government provided funding of £412.2 million the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) for 2025-26. Decisions on how this funding is spent is a matter for the SFRS Board and Chief Officer.

Prevention activities are carried out by personnel at a range of levels and across Scotland and are not restricted to the Community Safety Advocate role.