The Scottish Government is committed to acting in the best interests of Scotland. This includes working constructively with the UK Government and Westminster in order to benefit the people of Scotland.

The Prime Minister has made clear his commitment to rebuild trust and foster respect with Devolved Governments, which the Scottish Government welcomes. The Scottish Government is keen to work together in areas of shared ambition and responsibility, and where the most effective change can be delivered through joint or coordinated action, in a way that is mutually respectful and co-operative.

Further to our previous response Ministers and officials will engage with a range of stakeholders ahead of Stage 2.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government as it is a matter for local Health Boards. Health boards carry out annual asbestos monitoring surveys and asbestos management plans are in place across the NHS estate.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28494 on 19 July 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 .

A copy of the associated data table has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, Bib no. 65175 which provides information on the occupancy rates of acute specialty beds and all beds in hospitals between January 2023 and the end of December 2023. The data are broken down by quarter, NHS board and hospital. These data are from the Acute hospital activity and NHS beds information (quarterly) publication which is available on the Public Health Scotland website Methods used to produce this data release - Acute hospital activity and NHS beds information (quarterly) - Quarter ending 31 December 2023 - Acute hospital activity and NHS beds information (quarterly) - Publications - Public Health Scotland and provides further data on beds and hospital activity in Scotland along with definitions and data quality notes.

Education Maintenance Allowance already contributes to the raising attainment agenda. It seeks to remove financial inequality and give every young person the same opportunity to remain and progress in learning, no matter their financial circumstances.

EMA is one form of key support we have in place for children and young people in education. Additional support measures include Free School Meals, the school clothing grant and free bus travel for those under the age of 22. These measures also contribute to our wider ambition of raising attainment.

The UK Government abolished EMA in 2011 and therefore there have been no discussions with them regarding EMA in recent years.

In January 2024, EMA officials met with the Welsh Government to provide an overview of the current EMA programme in Scotland. The purpose of this meeting was to support the review of EMA being conducted by the Welsh Government which is due to publish later this year.

In October 2023, communities were invited to explore and develop proposals for their local area to be considered for designation as Scotland’s next National Park. The nomination phase closed on 29 February and nominations were received from Galloway, Lochaber, Scottish Borders, Tay Forest and Loch Awe.

The appraisal process considered all nominations against six published criteria. Introduction - New National Parks: nominations guidance and appraisal framework - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . These were:

? outstanding national importance

? size, character and coherence

? meeting the special needs of the area

? strategic contribution

? visitor management and tourism

? local support

The appraisal process concluded in May and the appraisal panel’s report has been published on our website: National Parks - Landscape and outdoor access - gov.scot ( www.gov.scot )

Following the conclusion of the appraisal process, I am pleased to inform Parliament ahead of a public announcement that will take place later today that we are proposing to move to the next stage in the process to establish a new National Park in Galloway.

The nomination from the Galloway National Park Association and the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO biosphere highlights the area’s outstanding natural and cultural heritage and it sets out the potential benefits that designation could make to the environment, the economy and to local communities. The proposal also provides evidence of support for a new National Park from local communities, stakeholders and businesses. The report of the new National Parks appraisal panel concluded that the nomination from Galloway meets all of the published criteria.

The proposal for a new National Park in Galloway has been laid in Parliament this morning and it will be published on the Scottish Government website.

On behalf of the Scottish Government, I would like to offer our thanks for the considerable time, effort and commitment that all the nominating groups and members of these local communities have invested in exploring and developing their nominations.

The next stage in the process will begin with a ‘Reporter Phase’ in which communities will be asked if they want a National Park in the Galloway area. A ‘Reporter’ – in this case NatureScot – will now lead further work on the Galloway proposal, including extensive consultation and engagement with local residents, communities, community councils, local authorities, businesses, relevant public bodies and interest groups. This will include engagement and consultation with the agriculture, forestry and other land-based sectors given their importance within the area. The Reporter’s work will investigate, develop and test the National Park proposal in light of local views and circumstances, taking into account all views expressed during the consultation.

The Reporter is required to provide its findings to the Scottish Government on the proposal by 28 April 2025 and the report will be laid in Parliament. If we decide to proceed with the National Park proposal – with or without modification - secondary legislation will need to be developed, consulted on and approved by Parliament in order to designate a new National Park in Galloway.

This Government is committed to ensuring the people of Scotland can access NHS services that meet their needs and provide the highest standard of care in the right place, at the right time.

Health services continue to face sustained pressure, and this is not unique to Scotland - with similar challenges being felt right across the UK. The 2024-25 Scottish Budget provides more than £19.5 billion for health and social care and an extra £500 million for frontline boards. Additionally, we continue to grow our NHS workforce and as at March 2024, NHS Staffing levels are at record high.

We also continue to grow our capacity through the expansion of Hospital at Home services. By providing care in this way we’re enabling more people to receive treatment in the comfort of their own home rather than on an acute ward, relieving pressure on frontline services in traditional hospital settings.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland report h-h-progress-update-march-2024.pdf (ihub.scot) that H@H services prevented over 14,400 people spending time in hospital during April 2023 to March 2024. This represents an increase in bed days of 52% compared to the same period in the previous year.

The Scottish Government has an existing improvement Programme informed by evidence-based best practice. Through this approach we are working with Health Boards and the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) to implement actions that will improve patient flow through our acute sites, in turn reducing A&E waiting times.

We are working with boards to focus on the greatest areas of productive opportunity, many of which, are in line with the recommendations set out in the RCEM guidance, such as strengthening Same Day Emergency Care services, improving access to clinical decision makers from other services and enhancing the escalation process.

We regularly meet with RCEM to discuss this approach and to collectively improve experience for staff and patients.