Chamber and committees

Decisions on care pathways, referral arrangements and access to specialist input are operational matters for NHS Boards and NHS Scotland services. These decisions must take account of local population needs, clinical demand, workforce capacity and available resources.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a Scotland-wide assessment of this kind. However, as part of the Scottish Government’s consultation on Fisheries management measures for inshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and proposed Priority Marine Feature (PMF) management areas, displacement has been assessed.

For the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA), a displacement test was undertaken for each MPA and regionally for the proposed PMF management areas. This considered the scale and value of fishing activity affected, the availability of alternative fishing grounds, vessel and gear characteristics, stakeholder evidence on the likely destination of displaced effort, and whether displaced activity could be accommodated elsewhere without significant environmental, economic or social impacts. The assessment considered a range of outcomes, including circumstances where displaced fishing effort could move to alternative fishing grounds and continue operating, and circumstances where it could not.

In parallel, the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) assessed the environmental implications of displacement through a dedicated impact pathway examining the potential adverse effects arising from the displacement of fishing activity and the consequent intensification of activity in locations where fishing already occurs. The SEA considered four pathways:

• potential benefits to habitats and species within protected sites;
• potential spill-over benefits beyond site boundaries;
• potential adverse effects resulting from the displacement of fishing activity and the likely intensification of activity elsewhere; and
• potential adverse effects from increased fishing effort by other gear types not restricted by the measures.

The SEA concluded that, for the majority of sites and areas assessed, adverse environmental effects from displacement were assessed as none or negligible and that, overall, the proposed measures were expected to result in a beneficial effect on the Scottish marine environment.

The SEIA and SEA will be published as part of the consultation documentation.

The latest assessment of Good Environmental Status in UK waters was published in 2026 in UK Marine Strategy Part One: Updated Assessment and Good Environmental Status. This assessment is published by the UK Government, working with the devolved authorities including the Scottish Government. The assessment concluded that Good Environmental Status for seafloor integrity had not yet been achieved across UK waters.

A copy of that assessment can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/marine-strategy-part-one-update

Environmental Standards Scotland's (ESS) report published on 23 June 2026, Protecting Scotland's seafloor: an assessment of Scottish Ministers' implementation of the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010, contains ESS’ findings and recommendations relating to the Scottish Ministers’ implementation of those Regulations, including regarding implementation of measures, monitoring, and governance.

The Scottish Government is carefully considering the ESS report and will work constructively with ESS to seek to agree an appropriate action plan within the timescale suggested in the report. The Scottish Government's position on the report's findings and recommendations will be set out through that engagement and in its formal response.

The Scottish Parliament’s Working Group on tenement maintenance made recommendations for the creation of compulsory Owners' Associations, Building Reserve Funds and 5-yearly Building Surveys.

Views expressed by Under One Roof and The MCS Foundation that all Working Group recommendations need to be implemented are being considered by my officials in the work they are undertaking to fully consider options available in reforming the Tenement (Scotland) Act 2004. I will be happy to provide an update when the current scoping work has been completed.

The Scottish Government is committed to taking action to deliver the changes needed to support owners and ensure common property is protected and preserved for the benefit of future generations.

The Scottish Government is not currently considering a proposal to establish a network of static-gear reserves covering at least 30% of Scotland's inshore waters.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02777 on 15 September. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government is aware that administering authorities of the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme do not currently report on the level of investment in Scotland. This is a complex matter, and officials are already engaging with the administering authorities about standardising reporting.

Inclusion of this indicator for voluntary use by local authority led Community Wealth Building (CWB) partnerships was agreed by parliament following scrutiny of the legislation by the lead Committee.

The Scottish Government is currently considering the future development of foundation apprenticeships within the wider context of work-based learning and qualifications reform. The Scottish Funding Council(SFC) will take on responsibility for securing and funding the delivery of foundation apprenticeships under current arrangements on 1 April 2027, ensuring continuity for learners. Any changes to commissioning arrangements will be considered with the SFC and partners taking into account the evidence and learning from the delivery of foundation apprenticeships to date.

The Mental Welfare Commission (MWC) submitted a final report to the Scottish Government with proposals for the Investigation of Mental Health Homicides in 2022, following a consultation published in 2017. The Scottish Government provided funding for the MWC to pilot their proposed approach in 2023-24, alongside their proposals regarding investigating the deaths of people subject to detention under the Mental Health Act. The Scottish Government is currently working with the MWC to revisit and develop these proposals, informed by the lessons learned from the pilot work.

The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to ensure that staff are appropriately trained and developed in line with the Staff Governance Standard and relevant professional requirements.

To support this, we wrote to NHS Boards and General Practitioners in July 2022 to raise awareness of the NICE guideline on ME/CFS and highlight key changes in practice. The Scottish Government has also funded Action for ME and partners to develop and disseminate an online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) module on ME/CFS for health and social care professionals and has supported activity to promote awareness and uptake of the resource.

Through our ongoing engagement with NHS Boards on specialist support services for long COVID, ME/CFS and related conditions, we continue to emphasise the importance of services being informed by relevant clinical guidance, including the NICE guideline on ME/CFS.

Responsibility for workforce training and professional development rests with NHS Boards as employers. While the Scottish Government continues to promote awareness of relevant clinical guidance and educational resources it does not mandate specific continuing professional training requirements for individual conditions.

The Scottish Government’s guidance on Welfare at the Time of Killing in Salmon Farming, published on 17 July 2025, is based on the recommendations made by the UK Government's Animal Welfare Committee and developed in conjunction with the Scottish farmed salmon industry, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and animal welfare organisations.

Currently all salmon killing facilities operate CCTV on a voluntary basis.

Scottish Government officials are members of the trout working group, consisting of representatives from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the other devolved administrations and the trout industry, to develop industry-led guidance. However, at this time we do not have a date for the completion of this work.