Chamber and committees

Scottish Government officials have been undertaking scoping work with a variety of stakeholders including healthcare professionals (representatives from British College of Aesthetic Medicine and British Association of Cosmetic Nurses), hair and beauty industry representatives, Environmental Health Officers, and Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

This scoping work is informing the development of a consultation that will seek the views of the public on the specific details to ensure that proportionate, robust, flexible and future-proofed further regulation is introduced. This new public consultation will be published by the end of the year.

The Scottish Government is committed to support Health and Social Care Partnerships and their local services deliver on our National Mission to save and improve lives affected by problem drug use. This includes the implementation of harm reduction initiatives including needle and syringe programmes and improved access to opioid substitution therapy (OST).

Our broad principle is that if providing safe equipment to a person is likely to reduce the risk of harm to themselves or others, there should be no question of that provision. We continue to provide direction and funding to local areas to implement the Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards, and Standard 4 in particular states that everyone at risk, including those who inject drugs, should be able to access a wide range of harm reduction services – for example, needles and syringes, injecting risk assessments, wound care and naloxone.

Services across Scotland have developed flexible and targeted approaches to supplying Injecting Equipment Provision (IEP) by introducing more mobile and more flexible approaches (such as IEP vans) that actively go out to areas where they know people will use them.

The Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards, published on 31 May 2021 aim to improve access, choice and support to OST and to a range of linked support such as primary care, mental health treatment and advocacy for other services. Public Health Scotland reports annually on how local areas are achieving this. Its Benchmarking Reports are published each June and these include details of how access to OST and access to drug harm reduction measures are improving in local areas.

The Scottish Government does not routinely publish its response to SAWC recommendations. We are currently awaiting a further report from SAWC on a wider range of aversive dog training tools, including other types of electronic training collars. We will consider all their findings carefully.

Table 1 provides information on the number of emergency readmissions within 7 days of a prior hospital discharge. The data are broken down by financial year (2016-17 to 2023-24) and NHS board of residence, in Scotland.

Table 1: Emergency Readmissions within 7 days of a prior hospital discharge by NHS Board, Scotland 2016-17 to 2023-24

The Scottish Government welcomed the 2023 Scottish Animal Welfare Commission (SAWC) report on handheld remote-controlled training devices that use static pulse as the stimulus. We are currently awaiting a further report from SAWC on a wider range of aversive dog training tools, including other types of electronic training collars. We will consider all their findings carefully as part of our ongoing commitment to improve and enhance animal welfare.

Following an assessment by a healthcare worker, the NHS will provide the necessary equipment to support the clinical needs of a patient free of charge. This includes the provision of a wheelchair. Seating is also provided to individuals free of charge following an assessment. For those living in a care home (residential and nursing), it is the responsibility of the care home to purchase and provide seating to their residents.

However, should an individual choose to purchase other forms of equipment which is not available on the NHS or not assessed by the healthcare worker as required for their needs, they may be able to do so by using their Self-Directed Support (SDS) budget, if the equipment clearly meets an identified personal outcome in their support plan.

Another option is support via Adult Disability Payment. The key intent of Adult Disability Payment is to provide individuals with payments to help mitigate the costs they incur because of a disability or long-term condition. This means individuals can use it to pay for things such as care, access to community resources, transport, social activities, and any other goods or services of their choosing, including aids or equipment.

This is a matter for NHS Lothian. The information requested is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government has not conducted any specific analysis of the college sector’s use of their arm's-length foundations (ALFs), however, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) maintains an overview. Colleges are only permitted to donate commercially generated surpluses to ALFs, so donations will partly be dependent on colleges’ ability to raise commercial revenue.

NatureScot and Scottish Forestry are currently putting together a project plan to build on the existing Ancient Woodland Inventory to develop the new National Register of Ancient Woodlands. The new National Register of Ancient Woodlands will be an important element of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and Delivery plan, which will be published shortly.

NatureScot and Scottish Forestry are currently putting together a project plan to build on the existing Ancient Woodland Inventory to develop the new National Register of Ancient Woodlands. Until this plan is complete, it is not possible to provide an indicative timescale for completion. The new National Register of Ancient Woodlands will be an important element of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and Delivery plan, which will be published shortly.