I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS hold our serving staff and prospective staff to the highest of standards. While the vast majority of our staff adhere to the highest standards of conduct, SPS continue to be vigilant to any potential corruption concerns within our establishments. Maintaining the safety and security of Scotland’s prisons is and remains an absolute priority.

The following table sets out the number of prospective employees who have been prevented from taking up SPS employment. Due to differences relating to data recording, categories have been amended as follows: (a) criminal history, (b) financial vulnerabilities, (c) corruption or integrity risks, (d) association with serving or liberated prisoners, (e) failure to provide required documentation and (f) any other identified grounds. Any other identified grounds include reasons such as failed medical assessments and unsatisfactory employment history.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS hold our serving staff and prospective staff to the highest of standards. While the vast majority of our staff adhere to the highest standards of conduct, SPS continue to be vigilant to any potential corruption concerns within our establishments. Maintaining the safety and security of Scotland’s prisons is and remains an absolute priority.

The following table sets out specific grounds that led to Scottish Prison Service staff being removed, dismissed, or blocked from taking up employment due to security concerns, including how many cases involved (a) known or suspected links to organised crime, (b) intelligence provided by Police Scotland, (c) corruption or integrity risks, (d) involvement in contraband-related activity and (e) associations with serving or liberated prisoners’ and (f) other.

As already noted in my 11 December response to the member’s previous question (S6W-42117), following Professor Alexis Jay’s letter of 26 September, Scottish Government officials contacted Professor Alexis Jay about this matter. As Professor Jay’s request was for clarification of the quote by providing additional context, it was agreed that it would be minuted at the Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group’s meeting on 8 October that the quote was correct, but was from January and not made specifically in relation to the amendment or the Victims Bill.

I considered these steps satisfactory when advised on 7 October by Scottish Government officials, noting that Professor Jay was content with this approach as it put her position on the public record via publication of the meeting minutes on the Scottish Government’s website.

I subsequently wrote to the editor of the Official Report on 17 December with a request to update the parliamentary record to clarify the context of Professor Jay’s quote. I was advised that the proposed change could not be made under the Official Report’s remit or the members’ correction procedure.

To ensure that the correction I sought was made widely known, I made two Points of Order, and wrote a letter to the Presiding Officer, which was copied to business managers and members who are not represented in the Parliamentary Bureau. I also placed a copy of this letter in SPICe.

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 listing by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) recognises the historical importance of HMP Barlinnie, not only to our prisons and criminal justice system, but to Scotland as a whole.

Following this listing, HES and other relevant bodies will advise on its implications for the future of HMP Barlinnie, its permissible uses and alterations, and the Scottish Prison Service and the Scottish Government will take time to carefully consider this.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42557 on 5 January 2026. 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 recognises the importance of robust data to inform service planning and improve outcomes for people with respiratory conditions, including interstitial lung disease (ILD). In 2023, we provided funding to Public Health Scotland to undertake a scoping exercise for a national respiratory audit, however fiscal challenges delayed progress.

We remain committed to working with Public Health Scotland and clinical stakeholders to establish a sustainable audit programme that captures meaningful data across all NHS boards.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42487 on 5 January 2026 2025. 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 supply of medicines, including managing shortages, is a reserved matter and is the responsibility of the UK Government’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). The Scottish Government works closely with the UK Government on all related medicines supply issues and there are well-established and robust processes in place to communicate, address and mitigate any risks as result of any medicines supply issues that occur.

On 2 December, a National Patient Safety Alert was issued about the supply issues affecting epidural bags. The alert outlines actions to minimise the potential impact of the shortage. The DHSC has also sourced sufficient supplies of clinically equivalent alternatives. In Scotland, NHS National Procurement has confirmed that the situation is stable from a supply perspective and Health Boards are receiving allocations of alternative epidural bags, meaning that patients should see no change in their care.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and the Inherited Metabolic Disorders (IMD) service in Scotland produced a statement on the use of sapropterin in individuals of all ages with phenylketonuria (PKU), including details of the clinical pathway to be followed. This advice was communicated to Health Boards in August 2022 and is supported by Health Board Area Drug and Therapeutics Committees (ADTCs).

Health Boards are responsible for considering national advice through their local medicines governance processes. Prescribing decisions regarding sapropterin are ultimately the responsibility of the clinician in charge of the person’s care having considered their clinical condition and any relevant clinical guidance.

Elements of the investigation into the suspected incident at Loch Hourn and analysis of the evidence are ongoing and, as such, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.