The Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI) was introduced in 1997. Over the course of this period, areas of NHS Dumfries and Galloway included within the scheme have varied depending on the access to NHS dental services at a particular time.

The whole NHS Dumfries and Galloway Board area was added for inclusion to the scheme from 20 December 2021.

The last meeting of the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce was held on the 6 December 2023 and was chaired by myself. The next meeting is scheduled for the 13 March 2024.

The NCS TOM reference group last met on the 19 May 2022. The meeting was a workshop focused on review of the current system and potential options for future systems. Consideration was given at this meeting to the potential approaches for the structure of the NCS.

Health and Social Care Management Board (HSCMB) last met on‎ 24 January 2024, and it discussed strategic, tactical, and operational matters which contribute to the delivery of health and care service across Scotland.

Health and Social Care Assurance Board (HSCAB) last met on‎ 8 November 2023. At this meeting, the Co-Director of Social Care and NCS Development, provided an update on the progress of the National Care Service.

The NCS COM reference group last met on the 19 May 2022. The meeting was a workshop focused on review of the current system and potential options for future systems. Consideration was given at this meeting to the potential approaches for the structure of the NCS.

NHS 24 ensures that mental health calls are correctly triaged through training, support for frontline staff and ongoing oversight and review of calls and processes.

All new staff undertake a robust four-week induction training programme, and Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners and Mental Health Nurse Practitioners are trained to conduct specialised mental health assessments to ensure that patients are triaged appropriately.

All frontline staff undertake monthly clinical and line management supervision with Senior Charge Nurses, and are continuously supported to improve their knowledge and adhere to organisational processes and clinical governance guidelines. Clinical outcomes are reviewed monthly to identify any changes in referral patterns, and any significant variations are investigated and reviewed by NHS 24.

From Jan 2020 to Jan 2024, over £6 million has been paid in grants to smaller businesses through the LEZ Support Fund.

This funding has resulted in over 1,000 high polluting vehicles being taken off our roads, and over 400 taxis retrofitted to become LEZ compliant.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is not planning to review the European Water Framework Directive.

The Water Framework Directive is implemented in Scotland by the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Water Environment (River Basin Management Planning: Further Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2013. Any review of this legislation would be carried out by the Scottish Government.

Through the Water Framework Directive’s River Basin Management Planning process we continue to protect and improve the water environment in order to ensure the health and wellbeing of Scotland’s rivers, lochs and coastal waters.

CalMac Ferries Limited are unable to provide the information requested as the data is not held in this format. CalMac do not measure vessels outage in days, as many technical issues are resolved in a number of hours.

I have provided reference to a previous Parliamentary Question S6W-15774 on 29 March 2023 with accompanying Bib number 64075, showing all weather related cancellation per vessel for the last 10 years. 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 .