Chamber and committees

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.

In Partnership with NHS Scotland, the Scottish Government produce regularly reviewed condition focused Quality Prescribing Guides to support prescribers in their decision making.

We have recently published our updated Polypharmacy Guidance: appropriate prescribing, making medicines safe, effective and sustainable 2026 - 2029, which contains a series of recommendations for medication review for people receiving care at home and in care homes.

In addition to the recommendations, the guidance includes practical advice and options for tailoring care for specific conditions which may affect people in care homes. This includes hot topics on Parkinson’s disease and on managing dementia and cognitive enhancers, as well as case studies produced in collaboration with care home providers on addressing the use of psychoactive medication for people living with dementia through non-pharmacological techniques.

New tailored indicators for care homes have been developed within the updated suite of National Therapeutic Indicators (NTIs) accompanying this guidance. These open access NTIs support boards and practices with identifying appropriate areas to target for patient review and benchmarking at local and national level.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has responsibility for the quality, safety, and efficacy of medicines through its licensing and pharmacovigilance functions, which are reserved matters.

The MHRA continues to closely monitor the safety of Depo-Provera®, as it does with all licensed medicines, and is examining recent data and seeking advice from experts on the need for any further action. Given this ongoing work, I have no plans to commission a separate evidence review.

Scotland’s wool industry is an important part of our wider agricultural sector. I know that Scotland benefits from the work of the British Wool Board which works to maximise the value of wool on behalf of its members. Given British Wool works in Scotland, managing the collection, grading, promotion and sale of fleece wool to the global textile industry, I expect that they would lead on any wool strategy.

The recently introduced Scottish Wool Certification Logo gives brands and consumers a clear way to identify products made entirely from Scottish-sourced wool and is an example of where British Wool can take the lead.

There are already extensive permitted development rights for mobile telecommunications infrastructure. These facilitate the deployment of such infrastructure across Scotland without the need for a planning application. The permitted development rights were significantly extended in 2020 following public consultation.

There are no specific plans to further amend the existing permitted development rights at the current time. However, the Scottish Government is engaging with stakeholders to explore how the planning system can act as an enabler of economic growth and investment. This engagement will inform the scope of this Government’s planning reform programme

We do not centrally collect data on the number of appointments undertaken to assess sleep apnoea across NHS Boards. This level of information would be held by individual NHS Boards.

The commitments set out in this year’s budget, published on 4 March 2026, will deliver a record £22.5 billion funding for health and social care in 2026-27, supporting delivery of planned care for patients across Scotland to increase capacity and address backlogs of treatment as we work towards achieving the 12-week treatment time guarantee.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01691 on 10 August 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

This matter is under active consideration by the Scottish Government, and Parliament will be kept informed of the outcomes of those considerations – including the potential for planning guidance – in due course.

The Scottish Government is engaging with the Society for Chief Officers of Trading Standards Scotland (SCOTSS),Trading Standards and Police Scotland to assess the effectiveness of current enforcement mechanisms available to Trading Standards in Scotland to tackle the sale of illicit tobacco and vaping products and is considering the closure order mechanisms available to Trading Standards in England and Wales.

The decision on whether care payments should be backdated due to processing backlogs rests with the relevant local authority. Where an assessment has been completed and a decision has been made on a person's eligibility and support needs, local authorities should consider the circumstances of any delay in implementing support. This includes considering whether support was provided within a reasonable period following the assessment and, where appropriate, whether backdating of payments is justified.