NHSScotland is following the guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) who do not recommend that all sites with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) should be vacated simply because RAAC is present. They do however recommend that if RAAC planks are present, their structural condition will need to be determined by a Chartered or Incorporated Structural Engineer to determine the risks and whether any remedial work is required. This is the approach that NHSScotland is taking. Where RAAC has been found in the NHSScotland Estate there has been no immediate disruption or concern although additional monitoring and management of is required in all cases. NHS Boards will consider their buildings with RAAC on an ongoing risk based approach to the management of those assets.

Ending homelessness continues to be a key priority for the Scottish Government. Our ambition can only be achieved through a shared public responsibility when government and partners all play their part.

With that in mind, I met with the Scottish Veterans Commissioner on 30 November and have agreed a number of actions to raise the profile of veterans’ housing and homelessness issues with relevant stakeholders such as local authorities and social landlords.

I have also discussed with the Minister for Veterans how we can work together to provide support to veterans and their families and I have invited him to join the Ministerial Oversight Group on Homelessness, which brings together ministers from a range of portfolios across the Scottish Government to identify the actions required to prevent and end homelessness, including for veterans.

The Scottish Government measures progress against the commitment to increase GP numbers using headcount data as this provides an accurate number of GPs registered on the Performers List in Scotland at the time the data is collected. Currently whole-time equivalent data is calculated as an estimate, based on returns from General Practices through the General Practice Workforce Survey.

The latest publication can be found here: General practice workforce survey 2022 - General practice workforce survey - Publications - Public Health Scotland

The Scottish Government uses both headcount and whole-time equivalent data to inform workforce planning to increase GP capacity.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has accepted a cannabidiol (Epidyolex ® ) for three severe treatment-resistant epilepsies:

• as adjunctive therapy of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome (DS) in conjunction with clobazam, for patients 2 years of age and older
• as adjunctive therapy of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) in conjunction with clobazam, for patients 2 years of age and older
• as adjunctive therapy of seizures associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) for patients 2 years of age and older

The biggest barrier to the prescribing of other Cannabis Based Products for Medicinal Use (CBPMs) on the NHS is that most products remain unlicensed with a limited, or non-existent, peer-reviewed clinical evidence base for their use.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is currently leading on the design of CBPM clinical trials into epilepsy. The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer continues to engage on the progress of these trials, which will be critical in building the evidence for CBPMs.

In the year 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2023, there were 3,501 referrals to DBI support in Lanarkshire, including 856 for people living in Lanarkshire and referred via NHS24 and the Scottish Ambulance Service national contact points.

More broadly across Scotland, DBI has now supported over 52,000 people who have been referred for help since the original pilot programme was launched in 2017. Referral numbers across the programme are currently at over 1,800 per month.

DBI Level 2 support is provided by commissioned and trained third sector staff who contact the person within 24-hours of referral. They then provide compassionate, problem solving support, wellness and distress management planning, supported connections and signposting for a period of up to 14 days.

My officials engage with the pharmaceutical industry on a range of matters, including the development of new medicines, and keep me updated as required.

The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer last met with Vertex Pharmaceuticals on 6 December 2023 and continued to impress upon them the importance of offering a revised price to address the concern that the current price of the cystic fibrosis (CF) medicines covered by the multiple technology appraisal (MTA) exceeds what the NHS would consider reasonable. She also discussed the ongoing availability of clinical trial CF medicines, including when a trial is stopped.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23384 on 11 December 2023. 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.

My officials engage with the UK Government on a range of medicines-related matters, including the availability of medicines, and keep me updated as required.

Over the past five years, the Scottish Government has provided NHS Lanarkshire with the following Baseline funding, and Capital resource for NHS Estate Maintenance, which can be used at the discretion of individual NHS Health Boards:

The cumulative cost of the Fairer Council Tax Consultation is £48,039.52. This relates only to the cost of publishing the Fairer Council Tax consultation, and the cost of an independent third party to analyse the consultation responses.

The authors of this letter recognise the very real progress being made on child poverty because of Scottish Government policies, including our ‘game-changing’ Scottish Child Payment.

More than 323,000 children were benefitting Scottish Child Payment at the end of September 2023, providing support to families which is unparalleled across the UK.

We have committed to uprating Scottish Child Payment by inflation next year and will continue to do everything within the scope of our powers and limited budget to tackle child poverty, in line with our challenging targets.

The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance will set out the Government’s spending plans in the 2024-25 Scottish Budget, which will be presented to Parliament on 19 December.