As indicated in the answer to S6W-38295, Scottish Government officials and NHS planners have been asked to work at pace on developing a plan for the next steps for service expansion. While there is not a specific date for publication, we expect the next steps for service expansion to reflect work to align the governance and delivery of thrombectomy with similar national programmes. This alignment with wider health service planning aims to support oversight of thrombectomy planning and encourage greater collaboration between NHS Boards in delivering this vital service.

The Scottish Government publishes quarterly figures on all homes started and completed throughout Scotland, which can be found online here: Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply - gov.scot

Figures specific to private sector-led homes started and completed, broken down by local authority area and by financial and calendar year, can be found in the table ‘New housebuilding – Private sector starts and completions’

The tool is currently live in six territorial boards, and work is continuing to implement the tool for the remaining territorial health boards and National Hospital Golden Jubilee. In line with the NHS Scotland Operational Improvement Plan (https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-scotland-operational-improvement-plan/pages/1/), all territorial health boards, and National Hospital Golden Jubilee, have been scheduled into the current theatre scheduling tool rollout plan, as at the end of June 2025.

Good deer management is about achieving balance, what that looks like in different local areas will vary depending on the immediate environment and the impact deer may be having. That is why we have introduced new purposes for deer management in our Natural Environment Bill. We recognise, however, that we need to use both regulation and incentive to support our deer management aims.

Three pilot incentive schemes led by NatureScot and the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) ran in 2024/25 to financially support deer managers to control numbers of deer in specific parts of Scotland in response to the climate and nature emergencies. Pilot schemes are expected to return in these areas for the 2025/26 season as well as expand to further locales including within Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

In addition to this, in the lowlands specifically we are supporting deer management through the Low Ground Venison Supply Chain Project which will explore ways to help low ground deer managers improve the infrastructure for handling and chilling venison carcasses and increase throughput. 13 applicants have been issued grant funding to date.

As set out in our 2025-26 Programme for Government, we are committed to working with stakeholders on “the development of local pilot projects on deer management programmes, including an implementation plan and funding models deer management”.

In April, the Chief Planner and I required planning authorities to report every six months on their local development plan timelines and actions they are taking to avoid delays and accelerate the process.

We have not yet received the initial formal six-monthly updates, which are to be sent to the Scottish Government by 30 September 2025. We will analyse and share details from the progress updates in due course.

In this year’s Programme for Government, we committed to providing local authorities with additional capacity and expertise, through the National Planning Hub. This includes prioritising action where evidence shows that authorities are having challenges in meeting timescales or where there are delays in producing local development plans. Planning authorities were advised of the support available to them in a letter from the Chief Planner issued in May. Since that letter, the Hub has been working with a number of local authorities to provide direct support at the earliest opportunity in response to their specific pressures and needs.

We are continuing to work with the National Planning Improvement Champion, the Improvement Service and Heads of Planning Scotland to raise the imperative of making timely progress with local development plans, to encourage proactive steps to accelerate timelines, and to provide support to authorities who have identified slippage as a concern.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. However, we have been able to access the latest workforce survey, published by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) on 31 December 2024. There are approximately 267 WTE dental therapists currently employed in Scotland, with around 200 working in practices alongside independent contractor dentists. A further 55 are employed by the NHS in Public Dental Services (PDS), providing dental services for people who cannot access care from an independent dentist due to special needs, while the remaining 12 work in hospital services.

There has been no discussion between the Scottish Government and Historic Environment Scotland regarding the future or sale of the South Sleat Estate.

The commitment to deliver 40,000 additional operations and diagnostic tests was set out in the NHS Recovery Plan published in 2021. Progress reports have been published annually, the most recent being in December 2024: NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026: annual progress update report 2024 - gov.scot.

In his speech on NHS reform and renewal in January this year, the First Minister announced that in 2025-26 the NHS will deliver of 150,000 extra appointments and procedures as part of the Operational Improvement Plan (OIP). This will be done through recruitment, extended working and regional and national working, including in the National Treatment Centres.

This additional activity will be backed by an additional investment of over £100 million this year. Activity will be targeted at long waits, ensuring that by March 2026 no one is waiting longer than a year for their new outpatient appointment or inpatient/day-case procedure.

As noted within the OIP, SG will report against progress publicly and to Parliament within 2025-26, using published statistics.

As set out to Parliament by the former Acting Minister for Climate Action, Dr Alasdair Allan MSP, on 3 April, our intention is to introduce the Heat in Buildings Bill during this Parliamentary session. Final decisions on timing will be taken as part of the overall legislative programme.

Scotland should be a place where everyone can participate fully within society, access their rights and thrive within their communities. To realise this vision, we must make bold and sustained progress in tackling discrimination and advancing equality across Scotland.

To support BSL users to communicate by phone in their preferred language, the Scottish Government funds Contact Scotland BSL, a free national Video Relay Service that enables British Sign Language (BSL) users to make phone calls via qualified BSL interpreters, available 24/7. A new contract for this service is currently being tendered, and the Government has engaged with the Deaf and Deafblind communities and their representative organisations to understand their needs and priorities for the future service.

The Scottish Government expects all public bodies to fully comply with their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010, including the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). This duty requires public authorities to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between different groups. These responsibilities should be embedded in all aspects of decision-making, including the design and delivery of services.

While enforcement of the Equality Act, including the PSED, lies with the courts and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)—which operates independently of the Scottish Government—the Government supports compliance through guidance, engagement with public bodies, and monitoring how the PSED is implemented in practice.