Chamber and committees

The Scottish National Investment Bank (the Bank) reports on the Scottish local authority areas that have benefitted from its investments through its annual Impact Report. The Impact Report 2023, setting out the impacts of the Bank’s investment to the close of 2022, showed that 20 of Scotland’s local authority areas had benefitted from the Bank’s investments. An update will be published in the Bank’s Impact Report 2024.

Furthermore, the Bank provides a representative map of its investment portfolio on the Bank’s portfolio webpage. However, it is important to note that although a Bank’s investee may be headquartered in a single location, the impact the investment is having can be further widespread.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23822 on 19 December 2023. 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 .

We are working to implement the commitments of our Neurological Care and Support – National Framework for Action 2020-25 , to improve the provision of co-ordinated health and social care and support, develop sustainable workforce models and ensure high standards of person-centred care.

Whilst the Framework is not condition specific, it covers issues affecting people with all types of neurological conditions, including dystonia.

Despite the disruption to health and social care services during the pandemic, we have sustained our efforts to deliver the commitments of the Framework, awarding £2.6 million since October 2020 to fund innovative projects working to improve outcomes for people living with neurological conditions. A midpoint progress report was published in July 2022.

The Scottish Government has been further working in partnership with NHS24 to update accessible public-facing information about dystonia , and other neurological conditions, for the NHS Inform website.

World Expos are regulated by the Intergovernmental Organisation - Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) and membership is reserved. Scotland’s participation is reliant on invitation from the UK Government to be a sponsor partner of the UK Pavilion. Building on Scotland’s successful participation at Expo 2020 in Dubai, the UK and Scottish Government are in discussion about opportunities to showcase Scotland at Expo 2025 in Osaka.

The following NHS Scotland Health Boards are preparing adaptation plans:

• Forth Valley
• Greater Glasgow & Clyde
• Lothian
• Orkney
• Golden Jubilee University National Hospital
• The State Hospital Board for Scotland

All other Health Boards have prepared an adaptation plan.

This is a matter for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The information requested is not held centrally.

In line with its commitment to meet three times a year, the Housing to 2040 Strategic Board has met two further times (29 June and 25 October) since it first met on 22 March 2023.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23762 on 19 December 2023. 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

World Expos are overseen and regulated by the Intergovernmental Organisation - Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). BIE membership is reserved so any bid to host a World Expo would need to be progressed by the UK Government and any participation by Scotland in that process would have to be at their invitation.

We are not aware of any bid being considered by the UK for the World Expo in 2035 and would refer the member to the UK Government for any further information on this.

A member of the third-sector community was identified to join the Pain Management Task Force in October 2022 to represent the needs of people with lived experience.

We are committed to increasing the representation of the needs of people with lived experience in our work and that is why we are currently about to begin the process of recruiting additional lived experience representatives as outlined in the recently published Pain management service delivery framework: implementation plan update.