Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16943 on 28 April 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 does not hold information about the number of NHS dental practices that have stopped offering NHS treatment.

NHS Boards make arrangements with independent dental contractors to provide NHS General Dental Services. Individual health boards should be able to advise on the number of dentists who have resigned their list number for providing NHS services in their area.

As per my answer to S6W-13155, the Government plans to introduce a new Housing Bill as soon as possible after the summer recess. The exact timing and scope of that Bill is currently subject to consideration as we continue to deliver our emergency response to support tenants through the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Our key Affordable Housing Supply Programme performance indicators are linked to our current target to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 of which at least 70% are for social rent and 10% in remote, rural and island communities.

Quarterly statistics on the number of homes, approved, started and completed within the Affordable Housing Supply Programme are published within the Affordable Housing Supply Programme Summary Tables on our website at Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

In addition, we publish an annual out-turn report which shows progress against rural delivery. Out-turn reports can be found on our webpage at Affordable Housing Supply Programme - More homes - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) and the report for 2021-22 is due to be published shortly.

Since the inception of work to better understand the Arrochar litter sink in 2017, we have determined that approximately half of the litter has originated from the River Clyde catchment, and half from the open sea. We are using this knowledge to focus efforts on tackling the source of the litter over which we can have most influence, that from the River Clyde.

As such, the recently updated Marine Litter Strategy for Scotland includes actions on riverine litter, to prevent it and to support its removal. Our key delivery partner Keep Scotland Beautiful and their Upstream Battle project enables communities, businesses, and schools on the River Clyde to develop local solutions to reduce littering, and also support its clean-up. This initiative also supports citizen science and the outputs will inform further riverine litter policy, aiming to reduce and intercept litter before it reaches our seas. In addition, we are also engaging with Glasgow City Council to consider more options to increase litter removal from the River Clyde.

The Scottish Government provides an annual allocation to Health Boards to meet the costs of providing general medical services either through contracting with GP practices or directly by Health Boards. NHS Grampian will continue to receive an appropriate level of funding based on the practice’s registered patients.

Aberdeenshire Health & Social Care Partnership and NHS Grampian are keeping my officials abreast of developments.

Inclusion Health Action in General Practice is a new programme, which will be evaluated. In the first instance funding will be targeted to practices in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde due to it having the most widespread blanket deprivation in Scotland. 81 of the 100 practices serving Scotland’s most deprived communities are within greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Through the introduction of the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014, it has been the responsibility of Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) to plan and resource adult palliative care services for their area, including hospice and hospice at home services, using the integrated budget under their control.

The Scottish Government does not hold information centrally on funding support to help deliver hospice at home since 1999.

NHS Health Boards have a legal requirement through the Organisational Duty of Candour Regulations (2018) to review certain types of adverse events (defined as unintended or unexpected incidents that result in, or could result in, death or harm), record each incident where the organisational duty of candour procedure is followed, meet personally with those affected, offer an apology and consider how the learning can be applied.

Boards are required to record all Significant Adverse Event Reviews commissioned and report them to Healthcare Improvement Scotland. This system has been in place since January 2020.

The Scottish Government’s ambitious 10-year cancer strategy is nearing completion, with publication planned this Spring. The strategy will be under-pinned by action plans which will evolve with the changing cancer landscape. The strategy will take a comprehensive approach to improving patient pathways from prevention and diagnosis through to treatment and post-treatment care.

It will encompass a new earlier cancer diagnosis vision for Scotland and will continue to focus on those cancer types that are the largest burden and have poorer survival, in particular the less survivable cancers, including liver cancer.