Chamber and committees

The information requested is published by Public Health Scotland as part of it’s annual Acute Hospital Activity and NHS Beds Information publication. Information on cataract procedures, broken down by NHS Board and financial year, can be found in Table 7 of the supporting data tables available via the publication page.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Public Health Scotland advises that, while national waiting times datasets can identify treatment specialties, they cannot accurately capture procedure-level cataract waiting time information. Information on individual cataract surgery waiting times would therefore be held locally by NHS Boards.

Alongside our enterprise agency partners, we are always looking to improve our approach to attracting inward investment focusing on priority markets, pipeline development, investor aftercare and support for major investment projects. This will ensure Scotland remains an attractive destination for businesses looking to establish, expand or grow their operations, building on Scotland's position as the UK's top performing location outside London for inward investment for the eleventh consecutive year. We will continue to engage regularly with the UK Government on matters relating to investment, economic development and business growth.

The provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for firefighters is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). SFRS is responsible for ensuring that appropriate PPE is available to support firefighters in carrying out their duties safely, including when responding to wildfire incidents.

The Chief Fire Officer has provided assurances to the Scottish Government that firefighter safety is an absolute priority and that both the specialist wildfire PPE and the existing standard PPE available to firefighters are safe for operational use when responding to wildfires.

Scottish Ministers expect SFRS to keep its operational equipment and PPE requirements under review and to have appropriate arrangements in place to assess the suitability of equipment for the risks faced by its workforce. This includes considering any requirement for additional or enhanced PPE in response to emerging operational risks such as wildfires.

Launched in 2023, SFRS’s wildfire strategy is supported by a £1.6 million investment in vehicles, equipment, and training to help respond to wildfire incidents around the country. SFRS remains committed to continual improvement of wildfire capability, informed by operational learning, staff feedback, evolving risk and technological development.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a feasibility study for a Demolition Levy. The Scottish Government currently has no plans to introduce a Demolition Levy and while the Scottish Government share concerns around carbon emissions from demolition and the preservation of the built environment, the Scottish Government believes the most straight forward response would be for the UK Government to address any VAT imbalances which disincentivise reuse, retrofitting and refurbishment.

Within the Scottish Government, policy responsibility for Health and Care Research sits with the Chief Scientist Office (CSO).

CSO runs a number of research project and fellowship funding programmes. These are open to applications for research across the clinical spectrum, including mesothelioma. These funding opportunities are well known among the health research community in Scotland. All applications go through a rigorous independent expert review process to enable funding decisions to be made.

Response Mode Funding Schemes – Chief Scientist Office

Fellowship Funding – Chief Scientist Office

There are no current projects or fellowships in Mesothelioma.

In 2018, CSO provided approximately £28K in funding support for a Postdoctoral Clinical Lectureship entitled "Manipulating the immune microenvironment in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma" - Dr Claire Rooney University of Glasgow.

In addition to directly funding research projects and fellowships, CSO provides research support infrastructure funding to support the delivery of clinical studies in the NHS in Scotland. The NHS Research Scotland Cancer Network is funded by CSO to increase, support and sustain clinical trial activity in cancer care across Scotland. Cancer | NHS Research Scotland | NHS Research Scotland.

The NRS Cancer Network is supporting the delivery of a number of Clinical Trials in Mesothelioma including PREDICT-Meso which is led by Professor Kevin Blyth from the University of Glasgow.

The aim of PREDICT- Meso to understand how mesothelioma develops and to develop new therapies and tools for new human trials. PREDICT-Meso is funded by CRUK (£5M) and currently involves 230 investigators from 130 institutions in 17 countries https://www.predictmeso.com/.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on average waiting times for autism assessments at either national or parliamentary region level.

We are, however, aware of challenges and significant waiting times for autism assessments in some areas of Scotland. We continue to work with NHS Boards, COSLA and wider partners to improve access to neurodevelopmental support.

The supply of medicines, and the associated legislation, is a matter reserved to the UK Government.

Since the outset of the supply disruption, the UK Medicines Shortage Response Group (MSRG)'s advice to prescribers has been to switch patients to hydrocortisone sodium succinate 100mg powder for injection, where clinically appropriate. This was communicated to Health Boards and prescribers via a Scottish Government Medicines Supply Alert Notice (MSAN) on 22 January 2025.

Patients who are concerned about the additional preparation steps required when using this powder formulation for emergency injections may wish to discuss with their clinician whether an alternative unlicensed hydrocortisone product would be appropriate for them.

The data collected in March 2025 by SPICe is taken from a request to health boards on estimates of children and young people seeking an assessment. The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of children and young people on waiting lists.

However, we do know that in recent years there has been an increase in people seeking a neurodevelopmental diagnosis, resulting in pressure across a variety of services.

The Scottish Government approach prioritises providing timely access to support that meets children and young people’s neurodevelopmental support needs rather than diagnosis.

The National Neurodevelopmental Specification, which was published in 2021, aims to ensure that children and young people receive the support and access to services that meet their needs at the earliest opportunity. It is clear that support should not be dependent on a formal diagnostic assessment.

Last year, in partnership with COSLA, we undertook a Review of implementation of the Specification. This helped us understand what is working well and where further action is needed – it highlighted the significant pressures facing services and the need for clearer national direction and practical support to deliver timely, neuro-affirming care across Scotland.

Following the Review, we committed to delivering a programme of work to support health boards and local authorities to deliver the aims of the Specification. Delivery is being supported by a cross-sector Children and Young People’s Neurodevelopment Taskforce, bringing together expertise from health, education, local government and the third sector to ensure a collaborative, whole-systems approach is being taken.

We are focusing care for the smallest and sickest babies in three neonatal intensive care units in Scotland. This decision is based on clear evidence that that the outcomes for these babies, who are born at less than 27 weeks gestation, or who need multiple complex life support interventions or surgery, are improved when they are born and cared for in a unit where that specialist care is concentrated, with a high throughput of cases, and where support services are co-located. The vast majority of sick babies will continue to be cared for in local neonatal units, and these units will continue to provide a level of intensive care. It is important that we continue to move forward with implementation of this change, it is what families would expect us to do.

The Taskforce has met three times. A paper on neonatal priorities was shared at the third meeting, however that paper did not propose reconsideration of the location of neonatal intensive care units in Scotland.