The Scottish Government does not hold the precise information to answer this question. The Scottish Government is investigating whether any related useful analysis can be released based on the data held. I will write to the member with an update on this matter when one is available, with a copy of any analysis which can be provided placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib number 62572).

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Information on the number of NHS dental consultations can be found on Public Health Scotland at: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/dental-statistics-fees-and-treatments/dental-statistics-fees-and-treatments-statistics-as-at-march-2020/ .

Invasive cervical cancer audits have been carried out annually by Health Boards for at least the last 20 years, although a new national methodology to standardise the information collected was introduced in 2014. These audits review the screening histories of people who develop invasive cervical cancer.

Validated information on referrals to NHS dentals hospitals is not held centrally.

However the member may find it useful to know that information relating to outpatient activity including total number of attendances by NHS Board and location of treatment can be found in the Acute Hospital Activity publication using the link below.

https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/4991/table-1-outpatient-activity-consultant-led.xlsx.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) is not required to score its research publications on whether they criticise the Scottish Government. The process for publishing research reports is managed impartially and objectively, in line with scientific principles and recognised best practice.

A Communications Framework, jointly agreed by SG, PHS and COSLA, is in place that provides a high-level framework of good practice in relation to a broad range of communications activity, including communications relating to the publication of research publications. The framework does not impact on the independence of research publications. The framework stresses the operational autonomy of PHS and the key importance of mutual respect for our different roles and responsibilities.

PHS reports are routinely published on their website and can be found at the following web address: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/ .

As set out in my response to S6W-00871 on 5 July 2021 we’ve taken a number of steps to provide advice and support to people with chronic pain during the pandemic, including highlighting relevant information on the matter of injections to assist them in discussions with their clinician and Health Board.

In June 2020, joint guidance was issued by the Faculty of Pain Medicine (FPM) and the British Pain Society (BPS) in relation to pain interventions which stated: ‘decision[s] to resume injections should be based on a balance of risks and benefits for individual patients’ . This statement reflected the factors the FMP/BPS said should be considered when resuming pain interventions, including the local prevalence of COVID-19, reducing the risk to patients (specifically in relation to steroid injections) and prioritising lower risk aspects of pain services first. It also emphasised the importance of patient consent in relation to additional risks of attending hospital and receiving an injection during the pandemic.

Following this, the advice issued by the FPM in July 2020 again set out that there was insufficient evidence to assess the potential associated risks should a patient come into contact with COVID-19. It goes on to on to clearly state: ‘Our previous recommendations - “FPM & BPS Joint Guidance on Pain Interventions during the COVID-19 Recovery Phase” published on the 8th of June 2020 in conjunction with the British Pain Society […] still stand ’. The update also stated, when making treatment decisions, the: ‘risk benefit ratio [should] also [be] measured in the context of the local prevalence of the COVID-19 virus at that point in time.’ Our replies to correspondence about this matter therefore continued to include a link to the June 2020 guidance and in response to feedback from a member of the public in April 2021, we now direct people to the overarching FPM webpage containing both advice documents.

Neither Scottish Government officials or Ministers make or influence treatment or prescribing decisions as these are entirely for clinicians in charge of a patient’s care to make. When taking these decisions we expect clinicians to discuss risks and options fully with their patients taking into account relevant guidance, the impact of pain on people’s quality of life and any safety considerations.

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

(a) The Joint Housing Resilience Chairs Group was convened by the previous Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning at his request and were held over the period at the height of the pandemic. The need for specific meetings with the resilience group reduced as the recovery progressed. The group last met on 17 March and has not reconvened.

(b) No meetings of the Local Government Resilience Group have taken place since 6 May 2021 as this meeting was chaired and organised by COSLA. It has now been moved to meeting by exception.

(c) The Private Rented Sector Resilience Group met on the 17 May, 7 June and 23 June. The next scheduled meeting of the group is 26 July.

(d) The Social Housing Resilience Group met on the 25 May and 22 June. The next scheduled meeting of the group is 27 July.

(e) Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans Sub-group met on the 18 May and the next meeting of the group is on the 17 August.

The Scottish Government continues to support the national development of the ChargePlace Scotland electric vehicle charging network. We have invested over £45 million since 2011 in the ChargePlace Scotland network, which now has over 1800 publicly available chargepoints.

Over £5.5M will be provided to local authorities this year to continue to invest in the growth of the ChargePlace Scotland network. Funds will be administered across a number of schemes including our Local Authority Install Programme, which will focus on improving the capacity and resilience of the network by bolstering electric vehicle charging provision at key sites across Scotland, retrofitting rapid chargers with contactless payment facilities and funding warranty and maintenance packages. Other programmes such as Switched on Towns and Cities and Low Carbon Travel and Transport Fund will continue to deliver additional chargepoints and we are providing additional funding to Scottish local authorities as top-up funding for the UK Government’s on-street charging funding programme.

We continue to support households and business who wish to install chargepoints by providing grant funding to support this. To date almost 10,000 household and workplace charge points have been installed.

We are currently working with Scottish Future Trust to consider new approaches to financing publicly available EV charging infrastructure and will shortly bring forward consultation on installing EV infrastructure in all new build properties and all existing properties undergoing major renovation.

There have been no discussions with the Scottish Government in regard to homeless people in Scotland being provided with e-cigarette starter packs for a research project led by London South Bank University and UCL.

We maintain an open, yet precautionary, approach to the use of electronic cigarettes and we are aware that many smokers use e-cigarettes to reduce their tobacco intake or to quit altogether. The consensus in Scotland based on current evidence, is e-cigarettes are definitely less harmful than smoking tobacco. However, we recognise that more research is needed to understand the risks and the benefits of e-cigarettes in the long-term.

A joint Scottish statement encourages current smokers to switch to e-cigarettes, health professionals not to dissuade individuals from using them and to discourage children and non-smokers from trying e-cigarettes.

In the Ending Homelessness Together action plan, we have committed to closer working between homelessness and health services, but this is a general commitment rather than specific to tobacco.

The Scottish Government has established a comprehensive network of testing sites across the country enabling everyone in Scotland to access testing as required. This network includes Regional Testing Sites, Local Testing Sites, Mobile Testing Units, and small-scale test sites operated by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Individuals are also able to access both PCR and Lateral Flow Tests at home, although all positive LFDs should be followed by a confirmatory PCR test. We have also established a programme of asymptomatic testing which includes regular testing for health and social care staff and community test sites where local individuals are invited for testing regardless of symptoms.

PCR samples are either processed through NHS Scotland labs, which includes the Regional Hub laboratories, or the UK National Testing Programme Laboratory Network, for which we receive a population based share. We work closely with the UK Government to ensure that the necessary capacity is in place across the laboratory network and that turnaround times are protected.