Chamber and committees

While the Scottish Government remains committed to its vision for an integrated and community-based hearing service in Scotland, currently there is no community audiology service in place, with services provided either in hospital settings or, if patients choose to self-refer for treatment privately on the high street. There has therefore been no assessment of private provision made.

The Scottish Government do not hold information if individual Boards have engaged with private companies in support of waiting lists.

While our response to the Independent Review of Audiology is implemented, we continue to work with the NHS, Third Sector and private providers to identify an appropriate model of community care for any future service reform, and ensure that the voices of those with lived experience inform this work.

The Scottish Government does not hold any information relating to individual NHS Board delivery of audiology services.

From summer 2019, Police Scotland introduced a new system for recording traffic collisions. Due to improved recording and categorisation processes, it is expected that there will be an increase in the number of casualties and accidents on Scottish roads that are classified as serious. This increase would not reflect an actual change in the severity of accidents occurring on Scottish roads but would instead reflect more accurate recording.

The following tables presents the total number of personal injury collisions (Slight, Serious and Fatal) for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The Scottish Government does not hold information relating to damage only accidents (i.e. not involving an injury).

The information requested is not held centrally. Work has begun to routinely collect patient level data from all three hubs.

The Scottish Government does not intend to publish the legal or other advice obtained by NatureScot regarding which areas of land should be covered by a 16AA licence under the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024.

It is for NatureScot to determine whether to publish this advice.

NatureScot met with Police Scotland and the National Wildlife Crime Unit towards the end of October 2024 to discuss the changes to the grouse moor condition. As the licensing authority, NatureScot were not required to seek approval from Police Scotland.

The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards to provide maternity services that are delivered as close to home as practicable and to offer a full range of birth place options within their region. Service planning and delivery is the responsibility of NHS Boards and it is important that these services are safe, sustainable and meet the needs of local populations.

Women in Caithness can choose to give birth with the support of a midwife, whether at home or in the midwife-led unit at Caithness General Hospital. If the mother or baby are assessed to be at higher risk, then they are advised to give birth at the consultant unit at Raigmore Hospital. To minimise the need for women to travel, NHS Highland provides weekly obstetric-run antenatal clinics and scanning services in Caithness, and helps with travel and accommodation costs for women who need to travel for care. This is the same model of care which operates across all rural areas in the NHS Highland region. We particularly recognise the importance of patient transport and work is commencing to develop guidance on Pre-hospital Maternity and Neonatal Care and Remote & Rural Intrapartum Transfers.

Information provided in any application for Freight Facilities Grant (FFG), including personal information, may be subject to publication or disclosure in accordance with legislation including the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs) and the Data Protection Act 1998.

There has been no new awards made under Freight Facilities Grant in any of the previous three financial years but funding for the Freight Facilities Grant is contained in the 2025-26 Scottish budget

FSS collaborates routinely with all Scottish local authorities (LA) to identify and prevent food fraud, which is formalised through various fora, including:

• MOU in relation to the investigation of food crime in Scotland
• FSS acting as intelligence hub for all LA food teams
• authorised LA staff having access to FSS intelligence database
• representation at various LA/FSS liaison groups pertaining to food crime
• use of an FSS QR code to facilitate input of intelligence at source by LA Food officers
• SFELC Food Crime representative attendance at the FSS Food Crime TTCG