Chamber and committees

There are currently no plans to review the funding arrangements for Integration Joint Boards.

I have asked Alison Byrne, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland to respond. Her response is:

Table 1 shows the number of deaths where sepsis was mentioned in the cause of death, either as the underlying cause or a contributory cause, which occurred in Scotland in each month of the past 10 years.

Table 1: Deaths which mention sepsis by month of occurrence, Scotland, 2014 to 2023 [note 1]

Since launch in 2017, over 92,000 people have now been referred to our world-leading Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) programme. DBI is now live in every Health and Social Care Partnership area across Scotland, providing timely support to those in distress and easing pressures on frontline services.

A breakdown of Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) referrals by NHS Board level area for the financial years 2020-21 to 2024-25 is included in the following table. This data is not held at local authority level.

Table 1 – DBI Level 2 Local Referrals Across Scotland by Health Board for Financial Years 2020-21 to 2024-25

The Scottish Government is working with Forth Valley College, UK Government, Skills Development Scotland and Petroineos to track workers affected by the closure of the Grangemouth refinery as part of our jointly funded Refinery Skills Intervention which is currently ongoing. Ministers have persistently requested this information from Petroineos but this has not been received despite the business previous commitments to do so.

Our initial evidence shows that workers are being supported into new employment in in-demand industries, including roles with Scottish Power, Forth Ports and Syngenta. However, we do not have exact figures despite asking PetroIneos to share any data on destinations they may have.

The Scottish Government is continuing to do all it can to support workers at the Grangemouth refinery through the funding of training, tailored specifically to their future career needs.

The NAIT guidance has not been reviewed since publication.

However, we have begun work to look at the issue of shared care agreements for adults with ADHD which would simplify the process for medication to be prescribed by GPs following a private diagnosis.

We will review NAITs’ guidance to reflect the outcome of this work.

Social Security Scotland is committed to delivering services with dignity, fairness and respect for all people, including veterans and service members. This includes activities to advance its equality outcome to improve the service and experiences of diverse clients, including veterans. Progress will be formally reported in the organisation’s Mainstreaming Equality Report in 2027.

The Scottish Government is supportive of innovations developed in Scotland being commercialised in Scotland.

Through Scottish Enterprise we have established the Medical Device Manufacturing Centre(MDMC) which is a pan-Scotland collaboration with five universities (Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Robert Gordon). This provides Scottish medical device developers and manufacturers with free advice, technical expertise, and facilities essential for companies that are seeking to translate medical device concepts to commercial products. Technology specialists assist companies with the translation of medical device concepts into small-batch prototypes by offering technical expertise, state-of-the-art equipment and access to health informatics and NHS collaboration. Additionally, the MDMC provides support for clinical trial design.

As well as commercialisation, the Scottish Government also wants to see patients in Scotland benefit from Scottish innovations. The Scottish Government fund three NHS Regional Innovation Hubs to facilitate the development of new technologies, products and services. They enhance the NHS's capacity and capability to engage in innovative activities across the triple helix of industry, academia, third sector and the NHS to develop and scale innovative solutions that address the evolving needs of our healthcare system.

The review for specialist interventions for managing chronic non-malignant pain in adults was commissioned by Scottish Government but is being led by the Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG), part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS). HIS and SHTG operate independently and neither the Pain Management Taskforce or the Scottish Government have a role in undertaking the review.

SHTG provides evidence-based advice to NHSScotland on health technologies to support informed decision making that improves health and care for people in Scotland. Its advice is underpinned by Health Technology Assessment (HTA) methodology which is a formal, internationally recognised, systematic and transparent process that considers the best available evidence. This includes clinical effectiveness, safety, cost-effectiveness, and the views of patients, healthcare professionals, and wider system implications.

SHTG have determined that they will make recommendations on the following four questions:

1. Is radiofrequency denervation effective, safe and cost effective for treating chronic non-malignant joint pain in adults?

2. Are injections (spinal axial blocks, sacroiliac joint injections, facet joint injections) with or without steroids effective, safe and cost effective treatment options for adults with chronic non-malignant pain?

3. Are lidocaine intravenous infusions effective, safe and cost effective for treating chronic non-malignant pain in adults?

4. What are patient views and experiences of chronic pain treatment in specialist secondary care settings?

The findings will be published on their website and are currently anticipated to be published on 28 November 2025. You can find more information here: Specialist interventions for managing chronic non-malignant pain in adults | Scottish Health Technologies Group.

While not appropriate for most homes, bioenergy, including renewable liquid biofuels, is a low carbon, renewable energy source which may prove the best solution to decarbonising heating in some rural communities. We intend to ensure that sustainable bioenergy and biofuels remain an option for these communities, Heat in Buildings policy takes a technology-neutral approach so that building owners are able to choose the technology which is right for them.

We are currently consulting on proposals for a Heat and Energy Efficiency Technical Suitability Assessment (HEETSA). The consultation will remain open until 29 August 2025. The HEETSA will include a technical suitability assessment methodology that allows for the comparative assessment of different clean heat options in a property and provide information on when the installation of a system would not be suitable.

Scotland’s valued and highly skilled oil and gas workers must be at the heart of a just energy transition, and the Scottish Government is supporting the workforce with the powers available to us.

In its first two years our Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray has allocated £9.7m to support a package of skills interventions, including development of the Energy Transition Skills Hub in Aberdeen, a pilot scheme with the National Energy Skills Accelerator to determine the skills required for an energy transition and support for the industry-led development of an Energy Skills Passport. More widely, we will invest a further £8.5m of capital funding through the Fund this year, on projects with a focus on jobs, skills and economic opportunities to continue to support our transition in the region.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with the UK Government, has recently launched a new Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund to help support offshore workers transition to roles in sustainable energy sectors.

We have also funded, alongside the UK Government, a targeted Skills intervention for workers facing redundancy as a result of the closure of the Grangemouth refinery. While the scheme is still ongoing, workers are already successfully progressing into good quality jobs, including in low-carbon industries.

In the unfortunate event of any employees facing redundancy, the Scottish Government will also always offer and provide support through Partnership Action for Continuing Employment, PACE. By providing skills development and employability support, PACE aims to minimise the time individuals are affected by redundancy are out of work.