Chamber and committees

Public Services Delivery Scotland are obtaining the requisite clinical, planning, financial and staffing information from NHS Boards to understand what would be required to make 24/7 thrombectomy available across Scotland.

We expect this financial case for expansion to be produced by the end of October. We will then work at pace to produce a delivery plan with timescales for service expansion.

Families continue to successfully claim for the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) and the Scottish Government is not aware of any evidence to suggest that the application form acts as a barrier to eligible families accessing this support.

To help make the fund as accessible as possible, the YPFF claim form and Terms and Conditions have been translated into a range of languages to support families who may find it challenging to read information in English.

Information leaflets are available across all Health Boards, and staff are encouraged to ensure that eligible families are made aware of the support available.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01172 on 10 July 2027. 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.

Scottish Government officials meet with the Managed Clinical Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MCN CYPC) every six weeks, to discuss a range of issues relating to children and young people with cancer. In addition to these scheduled meetings, we have additional, adhoc, meetings.

The current children and young people’s cancer strategy – The Collaborative and Compassionate Cancer Care: Cancer Strategy for Children and Young People 2021-2026, runs until the end of 2026. Scottish Government works with the MCN CYPC to consider approaches that best support improved outcomes for children and young people with cancer.

The regulation of the electricity market, including the financing arrangements for new nuclear power stations, is reserved to the UK Government. Assessment of the impact of the regulated asset base model on consumers is a matter for the UK Government and Ofgem.

The Scottish Government does not support the construction of new nuclear power stations under current technologies. It is not acceptable that consumers in Scotland are being asked to pay towards nuclear power years in advance of any electricity being generated and bear the risks of cost overruns.

The Scottish Government collects yearly data on the number of Educational Psychologists in Scotland via the Pupil Census but does not collect data on their employment status. Local Authorities are responsible for the employment of educational psychologists and any data about their employment status is held locally. However, we continue to work closely with the National Scottish Steering Group for Educational Psychologists (NSSGEP) on workforce planning to ensure a sustainable supply of educational psychologists to meet future demand.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role Educational Psychologists play in supporting learners, raising attainment, promoting inclusion and equality, and helping those who are most vulnerable. That is why we continue to invest in the training of educational psychologists, in partnership with COSLA.

The Scottish Government recognises the impact waiting times for a tribunal hearing can have on parties.

The scheduling of tribunal hearings is a matter for the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service and the Scottish Government continues to engage with them in respect of wait times. There are multiple factors which can impact the timescales for cases to be heard, such as the volume and complexity of legal issues, evidence to be considered, or the availability of tribunals members.

The Scottish Government continues to work with Judicial Office and the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland to ensure the scheduled and planned recruitment of tribunals members. A larger pool of members will enhance overall scheduling capacity and reduce wait times.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of appointments missed, cancelled, or rescheduled by residents of island communities due to ferry cancellations or disruption in the last three years. We do however engage regularly with NHS Boards on the issue through our Transport to Health Delivery Plan and associated work. We have provided funding to HI Trans through our National Islands Plan to further develop the partnership work around Health and Transport, including consideration of resilience.

During a disruption, CalMac will undertake a network wide review for a core service to be delivered to all parts of the ferry network they serve. However, it is impossible to completely remove the risk of disruption due to either inclement weather or other reasons. During times of disruption, CalMac will always aim to minimise the impact.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

To help ensure that the integrity and impartiality of the consenting process is maintained, it would not be appropriate for Ministers to comment on or debate the merits of a decision once it has been issued.