Chamber and committees

Scottish Ministers have been clear on their desire to ensure greater islander representation on the Boards of David MacBrayne Ltd and CMAL. Previous recruitments have resulted on at least one board member in each organisation who has the skills required for the role and is also an islander. We will continue to work hard with both Boards to fully explore all options that will result in encouraging more island residents to apply for future Board opportunities.

The Scottish Government remains committed to securing access to NHS dental services, and the draft budget published on 4 December includes an uplift of £65.2 million (14.6%) for primary care dental services, taking total funding to over half a billion pounds for the first time in 2025-26.

Official statistics published by Public Health Scotland show that, following reform, NHS dental services are performing well at a national level with almost 4 million courses of treatment delivered to patients between November 2023 and September 2024.

We recognise that in some areas, particularly within rural and island communities, access to NHS dentistry remains challenging despite our significant and continuing investment in the sector. This is why the Scottish Government is clear that payment reform must be the first step in a wider journey, with further action to target the drivers of reduced access, including actions to improve the size and sustainability of our dental workforce across Scotland.

I have therefore taken a leading role in bringing together the four nations on the actions required to increase NHS dental workforce capacity, including the review and reform of international pipelines.

I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

Long and short term trends in formal volunteering, including information gathered in the Scottish Household Survey 2023, have informed the development of policy options on the future of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme fee waiver for volunteers in qualifying organisations. The Scottish Government will take this into account when finalising decisions.

The National Maternity Safety Ambition in England was launched in 2015. Delivery of healthcare and the NHS is devolved and the Sottish Government is committed to continuous improvement in maternity safety across Scotland, working in partnership with NHS Boards and clinicians and service users, to deliver the best and safest care for mothers and babies. The Scottish Government’s Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) Perinatal strand (formerly MCQIC), part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), was established in 2009 to improve outcomes and reduce variation in maternity services by providing safe, high-quality care for all. The aims of the programme are to reduce stillbirths; understand variation in caesarean birth rates; improve the recognition, response and review of the deteriorating woman, and to reduce neonatal mortality and morbidity.

The Scottish Government has also commissioned HIS to develop standards for maternity services, to support consistency of service design and delivery across Scotland. We continue to work with NHS Boards, clinical leaders, the third sector and national partners to develop our approach in the Scottish context.

The Scottish Government are making £3 million available to help tackle retail crime which costs businesses millions each year and has a knock-on effect on the prices we pay in the shops. Police Scotland will work in partnership with the Retail Industry Leadership Group on how best to use this additional funding for maximum impact. The Scottish Retail Consortium, through their membership of the Retail ILG, will have the opportunity to contribute to these discussions.

Following record investment in digital this financial year, the draft budget allocates £166 million for investment during 2025-26. This total includes income to the Scottish Government of around £68 million from legacy programmes and will support continued delivery of the Reaching 100% (R100) contracts and the Digital Strategy. The Scottish Government has also secured UK Government funding for investment in digital infrastructure through the Project Gigabit programme which will further increase planned digital spend in 2025-26.

In 2025, the Scottish Government will distribute a portion of West of Scotland cod based on an application process which will place environmental considerations at its heart. This seeks to incentivise the use of selective fishing gear and fishing techniques or vessels with a reduced impact on the environment.

This approach is distinct from the process in England. Scottish Government officials regularly meet to discuss fisheries management matters with officials from all UK and devolved administrations, and officials have been in dialogue with Defra to learn from their experiences in launching and administering the Quota Application Mechanism pilot.

The Scottish Government agreed with the recommendations of the Drug Deaths Taskforce in that more choice should be available on the types of Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) offered to individuals where appropriate.

For the years 2021 to 2023, the average monthly sales income has been calculated for fishers employed on Scottish Vessels. This is given in the following table:

Monthly average sales income for fishers on Scottish registered vessels, 2021 - 2023

Pilots of a non-statutory support scheme began in spring 2023, with funding provided for distribution by local services to remove the barrier of transport costs for people with substance dependency, when accessing treatment. These Pathfinders, also covering people with multiple and complex needs, are taking place in 11 locations, with full implementation to support a national practice model expected to be complete in Summer 2025.

As part of their work to support implementation of the MAT standards, the 2023 National Benchmarking Report published by Public Health Scotland (PHS), detailed assessments of how areas are trying to overcome the challenges of rurality. Approaches include: high use of self-referral and telephone, ‘tele-health’ technology such as NEAR ME; wide use of bus passes, taxis, and third sector to take people to appointments. Also offering a choice of venues to be seen at, such as a GP practice, home and community hubs, as well as settings to deliver care when weather disrupts usual access.

A strength in many areas is the utilisation of informal local networks and relationships to respond to urgent presentations, even when no formal arrangements are in place. Many areas now also have formal arrangements with other Health Boards to utilise and share expertise.