The Scottish Government is facing the most difficult financial situation since devolution. I therefore wrote to the hospice sector on 17 August 2023 to let them know that, unfortunately, their request for funding of £15.5 million is currently unaffordable. However, the Scottish Government will continue to consider how best we can support independent hospices and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), which are responsible for planning and commissioning palliative and end of life care, including hospices, in their areas.

Private Healthcare Information Network figures for the first quarter of 2023 show Scotland has a lower rate of take up of private healthcare compared to England and Wales. The rate of people self-funding for private inpatient/day-case care is 16% higher in England, 51% higher in Wales and 40% higher Northern Ireland than in Scotland. When people who fund private healthcare through insurance is included, the rate per head in England is 76% higher than Scotland. In Wales it is 15% higher and in Northern Ireland 31% higher than in Scotland.

Scotland has a world-class National Health Service we can all be proud of but people have the choice to pay privately for care if they choose. It is important that all healthcare is safe, effective and person-centred and Healthcare Improvement Scotland have stringent regulation of private healthcare, including private hospitals, to ensure that’s the case.

We welcome the agreements reached with police officers and staff, which sees them receive a 7% pay increase for 2023/24. The agreement reached with officers, through the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland, means that police officers in Scotland remain the best paid in the UK.

The agreements recognise the valuable contribution police officers and staff make to keeping people and communities across Scotland safe, while cognisant of the current economic climate. They provide a fair pay deal amounting to 12% over 2 years, which broadly mirrors wage growth for firefighters over the same period.

Police welfare, wellbeing and morale are matters for the Chief Constable, who has set out a range of support for officers and staff through the Your Wellbeing Matters and Your Voice Matters programmes.

The Scottish Government is aware of concerns raised by clinicians about the impact of social media on women’s contraceptive choices, and we are grateful to them for raising awareness of this important issue. We would always encourage women to seek advice from NHS professionals on their contraception options and the benefits and risks, rather than social media.

We are committed to ensuring that all women can access accurate information regarding contraception and are able to access services in a timely and convenient manner. This is something we continue to work towards improving through the Women’s Health Plan and the forthcoming Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan 2023-26

To support this aim, the Scottish Government has funded a project to develop a new sexual and reproductive health website on the NHS Inform platform, featuring a range of interactive, quality assured sexual health and contraception information.

Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2021-22 statistical bulletin will be published on 24 October 2023.

The dates of all Scottish Government Official and National Statistics publications are pre-announced, and the up to date list of future publications can be found at Official statistics: forthcoming publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government wants to see Scotland’s sea connections to Europe enhanced. We work closely with Scotland’s main ports across a range of issues including the potential for new freight and passenger ferry services. Commercial stakeholders are fundamental to any new service being realised. The former Minister for Business and officials met shipping and freight forwarding companies, port operators and hauliers to explore how Scottish exporters chose their routes to market, and current Ministers and officials continue to meet port operators and haulage and shipping associations to understand future market demand.

The Scottish Government remains confident that the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) is delivering a reduction in harmful emissions and look forward to receiving confirmed statutory air quality reports from Glasgow City Council in due course. Air quality is generally good in Scotland with all our automatic air quality monitoring stations reported to be meeting the air quality objectives in 2022. However there are localised areas within Glasgow’s city centre where poor air quality remains an issue. The enforcement of Glasgow’s LEZ only began on 1 June 2023. It is therefore too early to determine the impact of the LEZ on annual air quality targets for Glasgow.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20927 on 19 September 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 .

The Scottish Government commissioned a review of gene editing for the benefit of plant health, published in January 2022, from the Plant Health Centre. The review included evidence gathering and participation from a wide range of Scottish academics and research providers, as well as from NFUS, and considered implications for the agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors. It included impacts on the natural environment, and a variety of other areas, such as disease resistance, yield, inputs and food production.

The Scottish Government also has access to significant expertise in its advisors, including the Chief Scientific Advisor for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

The total spend on additional support for learning in 2021-22 is set out in the following table.