Chamber and committees

Since 2011, the Scottish Government has provided over £65 million to support the development of public EV charging across Scotland. As a direct result of this funding, and increasing private sector investment, Scotland now has over 6,900 public charge points, a target for 6,000 public charge points was met in October 2024, two years ahead of schedule. Scotland has one of the most comprehensive public charging networks in the UK, with, on a per head of population basis, more rapid public EV charge points than any other part of the UK except the South East of England.

Scottish Government do not hold this data. Health Boards who have a Fracture Liaison Service in place will be able to provide this information.

The Scottish Government does not hold central data on the number of streets assessed or enforcement officers allocated. Local authorities are responsible for deciding their enforcement approach based on local priorities.

The latest Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) Report 2023–2024, published in December 2024, includes data on Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued, including those for pavement parking. The report is available at:
Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) Report 2023-2024

Transport Scotland continues to engage with COSLA and SCOTS to support effective enforcement.

Seabed leasing for offshore wind is administered by Crown Estate Scotland. Crown Estate Scotland appraises lease applications as part of its internal assessment and due diligence process to confirm developer suitability, experience and financial strength, only making awards to organisations that satisfy this assessment process. As part of this process companies must provide a written statement to Crown Estate Scotland to confirm they have not been convicted of unlawful activity, including corruption, bribery, fraud, and human trafficking and exploitation, within the last five years. The criteria underpinning this assessment process is published for the purposes of transparency and accountability.

For the ScotWind leasing round, Crown Estate Scotland required a statement of commitment from each applicant and any project partners confirming that they are not, and have not been, in contravention of a range of legislation, including sanction regimes. This requirement safeguarded against the successful participation of companies convicted of unlawful conduct either within the UK or internationally, including unlawful conduct in relation to ecologically damaging developments. In terms of ScotWind, companies that have proposed a change in ownership or structure following the award of a lease option agreement, Crown Estate Scotland undertakes a review of any incoming party to ensure they have the required capability, financial standing and have provided a duly signed statement of commitment, before consent to such a change in the project is granted.

Crown Estate Scotland also has responsibilities under the Scottish Government’s Slavery and Human trafficking statement and follow guidance on due diligence in relation to human rights.

Crown Estate Scotland are committed to taking all appropriate action to prevent the Scottish seabed from being used by any company that does not meet its terms of lease.

Crown Estate Scotland reserves the right to void any application (or terminate agreement) in relation to ScotWind, or other developments which is found to have provided false information.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39428 on 28 July 2025. 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.

The information requested on how many clinicians in Scotland are currently qualified to prescribe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication, broken down by (a) profession and (b) NHS board is not held centrally.

Whilst the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters including staffing to dermatology services are in the first instance the responsibility of the relevant NHS board.

NHS Boards are required to undertake workforce planning to ensure a full range of services are provided, including dermatology. These plans should align with the National Workforce Strategy.

In addition, they are asked to provide findings to us with regards to particular workforce shortages, where dermatology was identified.

In response, and as part of the £200 million additional funding announced as part of the Programme for Government to deliver reductions to waiting lists and improve patient flow through hospitals, we have allocated an additional £4 million funding to Health Boards to increase capacity for dermatology services, improving access to services and helping to reduce long waits. We are also implementing digital innovations such as image-based referrals to reduce face-to-face demand.

The Scottish Government ensures that Police Scotland, NHS Boards, and local authorities work together to support our most vulnerable adults through the framework established by the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007. This legislation sets out the criteria for identifying an adult at risk and requires public bodies to work together and share information when they believe an adult may be at risk of harm. Where action is needed to support and protect the person, the case must be referred to the local council for the area where the adult is located.

Additionally, in respect of supporting people in distress the Scottish Government has worked with the Partnership Delivery Group (PDG) to publish the Framework for Collaboration and the Collaborative Commitments Action Plan to strengthen multi-agency working between Police Scotland, NHS Boards, and local authorities. These initiatives are designed to ensure that individuals experiencing distress or crisis receive timely, appropriate, and compassionate care and support.

The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 places statutory responsibility for the provision of education in Scotland with individual local authorities. Under section 70 of the 1980 Act any interested party can make a reference to the Scottish Ministers that a responsible body (the managers of a school or education establishment, an education authority or other persons) has failed to discharge a duty imposed on them by or for the purposes of any enactment relating to education. This includes duties imposed by the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.

Furthermore, where families are concerned that education authorities may not be fulfilling their duties under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, there is a range of dispute resolution mechanisms available to them. These mechanisms include mediation, independent adjudication, and referral to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland.

In addition to the previously announced £106 million investment to address long waits for planned care, the Government has committed a further £4 million to deliver extra dermatology activity. This will help to increase capacity for dermatology services and reduce long waits, and will primarily be focused on introducing additional workforce, extra clinics in evenings and weekends.

This will support a planned:

4,100 new outpatient appointments; and

1,500 ‘see and treat’ appointments.

This funding will also provide photo-triage of up to 8,300 digital images, allowing clinicians to triage, diagnose and assess some skin conditions, leading to a better and quicker service for patients.

This builds on our investment of £1.8m for our national digital dermatology programme which helps reduce long waits for outpatient appointments in dermatology.

All Territorial Boards can now provide their GPs with access to the new Digital Dermatology Pathway. Supplier data suggests that as of Friday 18th July, 627 GP practices (71%) across 13 Territorial Boards have access to the pathway, of which 423 have used this to capture images as part of a referral to secondary care. The remaining Territorial Board has an existing pathway in place.