Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to improving access to abortion services, underpinned by aims outlined in the Women’s Health Plan. Progress has been made in particular by updating Scottish Abortion Care Providers guidance on early medical abortions in Scotland to take account of the recommendations of the March 2023 evaluation of early medical abortion at home .

One of the actions in the Women’s Health plan is working with NHS Boards to enable all women having later stage abortions to be treated in Scotland.

The Scottish Government commissioned National Services Scotland (NSS) to develop a specification to deliver abortions between 20-24 weeks gestation, for all indications, within Scotland. This options paper was discussed at the National Planning and Delivery Board.

To enable a decision on the most feasible way of delivering this, it was agreed that a short life working group should work with key groups of staff in Health Boards and bring back recommendations to the Planning and Delivery Board. Once proposals for a service model have been agreed by that Board any staff training requirements will be considered as part of that.

Table 1 provides information on total number of inpatient, daycase and outpatient hospital episodes where an emergency eye surgery procedure was recorded, at the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion by financial year from 2004-05. It is not possible to provide figures for 1999-2003, as prior to 2004 activity at the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion was recorded under the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh along with activity from other facilities on the Lauriston Place site.

Table 1: Number of emergency Eye procedures at the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion, 2004-05 to 2022-23

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to ensure progress on prison infrastructure projects. SPS works closely with contractors and external advisors to ensure value for money, benefits realisation and timely progress.

Until the main construction contract is signed, costs and time-scales are likely to fluctuate due to site identification, design changes, and market condition changes.

The treatments available for those living with renal vascular compression depend on the underlying cause. There are many potential causes of renal vascular compression which all have specific treatment options. Treatments available range from surveillance (in less severe cases), medication such as ACE inhibitors and aspirin, and various types of surgery.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on consultant specialties.

Waiting time information is available from Public Health Scotland and is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. However, as treatment pathways vary, specific information is not available on the timescales for treatment for those living with renal vascular compression.

Since 2019, the Scottish Government has provided funding to Central Advocacy Partners from the Victim Centred Approach Fund and from the Victim Surcharge Fund.

Victim Centred Approach Fund

Organisations that receive support from VCAF are required to demonstrate how the services they provide, or propose to provide, can contribute towards delivery of one or more of the following priorities:

• Priority 1 - Victims will have access to practical and emotional support, regardless of: whereabouts in Scotland they live; the nature or severity of the crime; whether it has been reported; or what stage of the justice journey they are at.
• Priority 2 - Victims will have access to joined-up services that are inclusive and accessible to all, are trauma-informed, provide streamlined support, and reduce the need for victims to recount their experiences to several different organisations.
• Priority 3 - Families bereaved by crime committed in Scotland or abroad will have access to specialist practical and emotional support.
• Priority 4 - Victims / survivors of gender based violence will have access to consistent and specialist criminal justice advocacy support.
• Priority 5 - Adult victims of human trafficking and/or slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour will have access to support and assistance.

Full details on the terms and conditions for the Victim Centred Approach Fund are set out in the application guidance .

Victim Surcharge Fund

The Victim Surcharge Fund (VSF) supplements and enhances support core services that the victim support organisations (VSO) already provide to victims of crime

The VSF is intended to meet:

• costs that would not have been incurred if the person was not a victim of crime;
• costs which cannot be met reasonably by any other source.

In many cases, this will mean using the fund to pay for one-off expenses or services incurred by the victim or their relative within the first 6 months of the victim engaging with the VSO. However, VSOs have flexibility to determine on a case-by-case basis how long after initial engagement support can be provided.

Funding provided is to allow VSOs to make payments to third parties, contractors, etc for goods and services provided.

Full details on the terms and conditions are set out in the Victim Surcharge Fund Guidance .

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is operationally independent of the Scottish Ministers.

The UK Government have established an independent inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT system and the Scottish Ministers agreed with the UK Government that this inquiry should consider devolved matters relating to Scotland. The prosecution of sub-postmasters in Scotland by COPFS is being considered by the inquiry and COPFS have provided evidence to them.

The Scottish Government continues to make significant investment in Scotland’s NHS while recognising the need to reform the way we deliver services to meet the changing needs of the people in Scotland. The Government has been clear in the Policy Prospectus and Programme for Government : reform is required. Scottish Ministers have outlined that given the growing demand our health service faces, the NHS requires major reform to ensure that we have a sustainable health service able to deliver the best possible care for patients.

The Scottish Government has provided grants for 2 projects delivered by the West of Scotland Regional Equality Council (WSREC) via the Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) since 2019.

1. CCF-5601 – Cook, Grow and Sew – Branching Out (2018-2020)

2. CCF-6523 - Cook, Grow, Sew - Branching Out (2020-2022)

The answer to S6W-24394 on 19 January 2024 outlined the objectives of the Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) programme and covers the 2018-2020 project.

The main objectives for CCF-6523 were as follows:

• Supporting 2000 people in their community to increase their awareness and understanding of Climate Change and enabling them to make informed choices on how to move to low-carbon lifestyles.
• 260 minority ethnic and vulnerable households will reduce their carbon emissions by 36 tonnes CO2e, by receiving home energy visits, workshops and surgeries across Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire.
• 725 minority ethnic individuals across Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire will reduce their food waste, waste production and material consumption by 42.9 tonnes CO2e through advice, repair/reuse workshops and events.
• 115 minority ethnic individuals reduce food emissions by 8.0 tonnes CO2e across Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire through gardening, home growing support, partnership workshops and foraging sessions.
• 32 minority ethnic young people with focus on asylum seekers and refugees will be capacity built to share environmental learning to peers and networks. A further 8 minority ethnic led organisations become ecos-conscious and support wider communities through environmental activities.

The Scottish Government has also provided funding to the West of Scotland Regional Equality Council through the Victim Centred Approach Fund.

Organisations that receive support from VCAF are required to demonstrate how the services they provide, or propose to provide, can contribute towards delivery of one or more of the following priorities:

• Priority 1 - Victims will have access to practical and emotional support, regardless of: whereabouts in Scotland they live; the nature or severity of the crime; whether it has been reported; or what stage of the justice journey they are at.
• Priority 2 - Victims will have access to joined-up services that are inclusive and accessible to all, are trauma-informed, provide streamlined support, and reduce the need for victims to recount their experiences to several different organisations.
• Priority 3 - Families bereaved by crime committed in Scotland or abroad will have access to specialist practical and emotional support.
• Priority 4 - Victims / survivors of gender based violence will have access to consistent and specialist criminal justice advocacy support.
• Priority 5 - Adult victims of human trafficking and/or slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour will have access to support and assistance.

Full details on the terms and conditions for the Victim Centred Approach Fund are set out in the application guidance .

The Scottish Government recognises the significant disruption and harm to both businesses and individuals from retail crime and continues to support the innovative Scottish Partnership Against Acquisitive Crime (SPAACE) strategy.

The partnership is led by Police Scotland working with retailers and other organisations including Retailers Against Crime and Neighbourhood Watch Scotland, with a focus on the prevention, deterrence and where appropriate enforcement. The Strategy seeks to minimise opportunities for this type of crime, protect individuals and businesses, and deliver clear advice and guidance for prevention.

We will invest £1.55 billion in policing in 2024-25. Specific decisions on deployment of resources are a matter for the Chief Constable who is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority.

I would urge retailers and customers to continue to engage with Police Scotland and other partners to help safeguard their business, the people that work there and their community.

There are currently no plans to introduce grants for medical students similar to the Paramedic, Nursing, and Midwifery Student Bursary.