Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37351 on 14 May 2025. 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.

The Scottish Government has set up a short life working group to consider existing policies, guidance and legislation which may be impacted by the recent Supreme Court judgment, such as existing guidance on mixed sex accommodation in NHS facilities.

Since 2005, we have expected NHS Boards to ensure that all of their facilities comply with the guidelines and recommendations on the elimination of mixed sex accommodation, including a presumption of 100% single rooms in all new hospital developments. There are limited exceptions for areas such as Intensive Care Units.

The Shingles vaccination programme was first introduced in Scotland in 2013. In 2023, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended the use of a new two-course vaccine and the expansion of the age cohorts to protect individuals at an earlier age. They recommended a phased implementation over ten years. Currently, individuals who are age 65 and 70, over age 50 with a severely weakened immune system and people with certain health conditions are eligible for two doses of shingles vaccine. The second dose is usually offered between 2 and 12 months after the first. Eligible individuals will be contacted by their local NHS Immunisation team. Most Immunisation teams begin inviting patients forward from January onwards.

In due course, those who reach age 60 or 65 years during the period 1 September 2028 to 31 August 2033 will become eligible from 1 September in the relevant year.

Recent research suggests vaccination for shingles with the live attenuated herpes zoster vaccine (Zostavax®) could be linked to a reduction in the risk of developing dementia.

In the UK, Zostavax®, a live vaccine, was routinely offered to those eligible for the NHS shingles programme and not contraindicated to the vaccine.

In February 2019, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that Shingrix® a non-live vaccine, should replace Zostavax® in the routine programme and since 1 September 2023, all newly eligible individuals have been offered the non-live shingles vaccine Shingrix®.

In August, I launched a Strategic Partnership for Scotland’s arts festivals through an open letter to boost their support and promotion. I’m pleased to announce a new open letter has been published on the Scottish Government website.

This letter, developed with arts festivals and other key partners, reflects conversations across the sector and work undertaken to date. It outlines how the partnership will be pragmatic and solutions focused, drawing upon the expertise across the sector and beyond, ensuring it can be in place for the long term.

The first step of delivery was the Scottish Government’s 2025-26 Budget which delivered the biggest increase in culture spending in the history of this Parliament, after Covid recovery support. For Scotland’s arts festivals specifically, the Budget provides £4 million of additional support to develop and deliver work under this Strategic Partnership.

Following the publication of the UK Report in December 2024, the Scottish Government has continued to make progress in implementing the Inquiry’s recommendations through the work of the Oversight and Assurance Group, which involves patient representatives and representatives from the NHS in Scotland.

A second UK Government report provides a further update on implementation of the Inquiry’s recommendations. The report can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-government-response-to-the-infected-blood-inquirys-may-2024-report).

The report includes updates on the approach being taken in Scotland, along with information on progress being made on recommendations being taken forward at UK level, such as on the provision of compensation to infected blood victims. This is in line with the Inquiry’s recommendation 12, that a detailed response to each of the Inquiry’s recommendations should be provided within one year of the publication of the Inquiry’s report of May 2024.

In Scotland, further progress has been made in a number of areas since the December report, with the overall aim of protecting patient safety and working to ensure a similar tragedy can never happen again. In particular:

• The Scottish Government and Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme have continued to ensure additional interim compensation is paid to infected hepatitis C and HIV victims in Scotland and that estates of many of those who sadly died have been able to claim interim payments of £100,000. They have also worked closely with the UK Government and the new UK-wide Infected Blood Compensation Authority to ensure progress has been made on delivering final compensation awards.
• The Scottish Government has now agreed funding specifically for patient advocacy for 2025-26 with Haemophilia Scotland and the Scottish Infected Blood Forum.
• The Scottish Government has provided funding to the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service to update and expand the capabilities of its existing Account for Blood system, which will allow for improved surveillance of blood usage and outcomes across Scotland.
• The Scottish Government is working with the City of Edinburgh Council and campaigners to ensure a Scottish memorial to infected blood victims is in place as soon as is feasible.

In the current parliamentary session to date the Emerging Energy Technologies Fund has spent a total of £15.3 million on grant awards:

• £6.8m to 31 projects, via the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme (details at: Emerging Energy Technologies Fund - Hydrogen Innovation Scheme: successful projects - gov.scot)
• £3.1m to the Storegga Speyside Hydrogen Project (details at: Green hydrogen production - gov.scot)
• £3.4m to 11 projects, following the 2024/25 green hydrogen funding call (details at: £3.4 million for Scotland’s hydrogen future - gov.scot)
• £2.0m to National Gas Transmission Plc. to support the pre-Front End Engineering and Design phase of the SCO2T Connect Project.

Following the cessation of oil refining at Grangemouth, the Scottish Government is backing a proposal by Unite the Union for an asset review at Grangemouth. Understanding what existing assets could be repurposed is critical to securing the transition, therefore I have written to the UK Government expressing support and calling on them to do the same. My officials have initiated work on this however we will need the consent and support of Petroineos and the UK Government to achieve this, and would urge Paul Sweeney MSP to help with those calls to his colleagues in the UK Government.

Decisions on the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) are reserved to the UK Government. The UK Government has published impact assessments and is updating its analysis ahead of a final decision this summer. We are awaiting sight of this updated modelling.

The Scottish Government is clear that all nurse agency workers should be accessed via the relevant national procurement framework operated by NHS National Services Scotland unless in exceptional circumstances. This approach supports efforts by NHS Scotland Boards to ensure that all engagements involving nurse agency workers represent value for money and contribute towards the delivery of high quality patient care.

With regards to the engagement of medical agency workers, our recently concluded Medical Locum Task and Finish Group considered the experience of NHS England in adopting price caps and concluded that such a step was unlikely to aid efforts to ensure best value in respect of such engagements. Instead, all NHS Scotland Boards are asked to operate robust governance processes in respect of decisions concerning the engagement of medical agency workers, ensuring that such workers are only used as a measure of last resort. Where this is the case, steps should be taken to ensure best value is secured in relation to such engagements, including through the development of clear exit strategies where possible.