I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-27895 on 28 May 2024. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living with diabetes can access the care that they need to live their lives well. This includes increasing access to diabetes technologies.

Between 2016 and 2022, we invested £29.6 million of additional funding to support the increased provision of diabetes technologies.

I am delighted to confirm that this financial year, £8.8 million of funding will be made available to expand access to diabetes technologies in Scotland. The focus will primarily be on providing access to all children that want Closed Loop Systems, but will also allow us to continue increasing access to adults.

This investment will allow us to continue developing innovative care models for diabetes in Scotland that have a focus on digital pathways and peer support.

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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-27895 on 28 May 2024. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living with diabetes can access the care that they need to live their lives well. This includes increasing access to diabetes technologies.

Between 2016 and 2022, we invested £29.6 million of additional funding to support the increased provision of diabetes technologies.

I am delighted to confirm that this financial year, £8.8 million of funding will be made available to expand access to diabetes technologies in Scotland. The focus will primarily be on providing access to all children that want Closed Loop Systems, but will also allow us to continue increasing access to adults.

This investment will allow us to continue developing innovative care models for diabetes in Scotland that have a focus on digital pathways and peer support.

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 .

There are no specific provisions for veterans with respect to the costs of dental care and treatment, and individuals must meet existing exemption criteria in order to qualify for free care. Free dental treatment is available for people who are under 26 years of age; pregnant or have given birth in the last 12 months; or in receipt of certain benefits. Veterans do have a fast-track service from General Dental Services to secondary care where referrals are made for conditions requiring secondary care, for example facial trauma requiring maxillo-facial surgery. More information on eligibility for free NHS dental treatment is available on the NHS Inform website.

NHS patients who pay for their treatment pay 80% of the treatment costs, capped at a maximum of £384 per course of treatment. Both enhanced and review NHS dental examinations are free of charge for everyone in Scotland, irrespective of exemption status, however the frequency of examinations is determined by the dentist on individual risk factors. People who are not eligible for free NHS dental treatment but still have difficulty paying NHS charges may qualify for help under the NHS Low Income Scheme. More information on Help with Health Costs can be found at: https://www.nhsinform.scot/care-support-and-rights/health-rights/access/help-with-health-costs#low-income .

Veterans do have a fast-track service from General Dental Services to secondary care when referrals are made, if they have conditions requiring secondary care, for example facial trauma requiring maxillo-facial surgery.

Scottish Government officials and professional advisors are working with NHS Education for Scotland to identify any gaps in training for health professionals working with those who have experienced miscarriage by end summer 2024. The findings from the Miscarriage Care and Facilities in Scotland: Scoping Reports will help inform this work.

The Scottish Government role is to provide frameworks, policies, and resources to enable Scotland’s NHS Boards to deliver healthcare services that meet the needs of their local populations.

The treatment and care of patients is a matter for each individual NHS Board and its for them to determine how they use the resources provided by the Scottish Government to meet the needs and priorities of their local population.

In my statement to Parliament on 16 May, I set out that there is now a critical risk to the continued safe and effective operation of the prison estate, and that urgent action is needed.

If the legal test for use of emergency release is satisfied when section 11 of the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 comes into force on 26 May, then I intend to bring forward a proposal for Parliament’s consideration for the emergency release of prisoners.

This is not a decision I have taken lightly. But we must ensure the safety and wellbeing of Scottish Prison Service staff and those people in their care, and that our prisons continue to function effectively to accommodate those who pose the greatest risk of harm.

Members will have the opportunity to scrutinise and debate the approach and, in this instance, we will not release a single prisoner without Parliament’s consent.

I also intend to carry out a short consultative exercise over the summer, and to return after recess with a proposal for a Bill for Parliament’s consideration to change how long-term prisoners are released and managed.

Finally, I intend to bring forward secondary legislation to amend the eligibility criteria for use of Home Detention Curfew (HDC), increasing the period of time individuals can spend on release under licence conditions. These regulations will be subject to scrutiny under the affirmative procedure.

NHS Boards have a responsibility for ensuring they have the right workforce in place at all times to provide safe and high quality patient care.

There is a long history of volunteer services in NHS Scotland, and we are thankful to those who chose to volunteer. Volunteer services are not however there to replace the core workforce, and we expect all NHS Boards to have policies and procedures in place to ensure that volunteers are used appropriately, and only specifically for volunteering services. Volunteers are subject to the same safety checks as NHS staff, including PVG and Disclosure.

The current ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) framework agreement is due to end February 2025 with the call-off contract running until mid-2026. The framework agreement, which includes provisions for the circumstances in which early termination would be appropriate, have been published on Transport Scotland’s public facing website: ChargePlace Scotland Framework Agreement 2021 | Transport Scotland.

The ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) operator is contractually obliged to continually improve the quality of the service for drivers. This includes a necessary shift from monthly billing to pay-as-you-go payment for charging using the CPS card or mobile app. This enables an experience akin to how drivers pay for petrol and diesel at traditional forecourts and has been widely welcomed by users. This has necessitated the migration to a new payment service provider (PSP).

Transport Scotland officials and the CPS operator have held regular discussions about future enhancements, including the planned roll-out of the new PSP. Following the launch of the new PSP on 24 April this year, the CPS operator immediately notified Transport Scotland about the emergence of a technical issue which impacted less than 1% of CPS users. The CPS operator has provided regular briefings to Transport Scotland on the cause, impact and corrective actions, including advanced notice of the resolution that was implemented on 10 May.

The CPS operator will provide Transport Scotland with a detailed report on the issue, Transport Scotland officials will also meet senior managers from the CPS operator to discuss key lessons learned.

Funding allocations for individual universities for each academic year are managed through the SFC. Allocations are made publicly available on the SFC’s website, accessible here: University Indicative Funding Allocations 2024-25 - Scottish Funding Council (sfc.ac.uk)