Chamber and committees

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) recently reviewed and published an updated version of A national framework for reviewing and learning from adverse events in NHS Scotland in February this year. The revised framework includes an updated shareable learning template which NHS Health Boards should complete following a Significant Adverse Event Review (SAER). These summaries, which will support local and national learning, will be published on an online community of practice for NHS staff which HIS will launch later this year.

The framework is clear that those people directly affected by a significant adverse event should have the opportunity to be involved in the review process and should be made fully aware of the circumstances surrounding the event. This includes sharing the final report with the individual concerned, or their family in the event of a death.

The Scottish Government does not require NHS Health Boards to publish SAER reports more widely. It is the responsibility of the Health Boards to consider relevant legislation and guidance when releasing or publishing information.

Scottish Government officials meet with Healthcare Improvement Scotland on a regular basis to discuss the ongoing work surrounding adverse events. The most recent meeting took place on Monday 21 July.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring publicly owned companies deliver services that are high-quality, provide best value, support fair work and contribute to inclusive economic growth. This includes an expectation in favour of in-house delivery where functions can be undertaken effectively within the organisation and where this is demonstrably in the public interest.

However, any decision whether to outsource or utilise in-house functions is for individual, publicly owned companies to make in line with their legal duties, operational requirements and a full assessment of any impacts, including quality of service, value for money and public benefits before such a decision to outsource is made.

The Scottish Government has worked closely with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to develop and refine the eligibility criteria for the Islands Business Resilience Fund (IBRF) and identify how this targeted funding can reach those businesses which meet the criteria and have been impacted by reductions in ferry services.

HIE carried out detailed analysis of data and statistics provided by Transport Scotland and CalMac relating to ferry disruption. Based on this, the islands of South Uist, Colonsay, North Uist, Eriskay, Benbecula, Berneray, Grimsay and Arran were identified as eligible for the Fund, as they each had experienced more than 15% ferry cancellations over the last three operating seasons, with limited alternatives. For comparison, the average disruption to ferry services, across the CalMac network was around 6-7%.

All Territorial Boards can now provide their GPs with access to the new Digital Dermatology Pathway. Supplier data suggests that as of 18 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.

The analysis of risk and provision of fire and rescue resources is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). The Scottish Government supports SFRS as it carefully considers how to adapt to changing risks to remain an effective and efficient service across the whole of Scotland, with firefighters in the right place at the right time. SFRS is conducting a public consultation on possible service changes, including Lochgelly fire station but until that consultation closes and the results are analysed, no decisions have been taken.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39288 on 25 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39288 on 25 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.

A search has been performed of the COPFS database for charges received by COPFS under a) the Trade Marks Act 1994, and b) a key word search for counterfeit or fake goods on charges under the Scottish Government Classification of "Fraud”.

During the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 there were no charges where a Fiscal Fine was offered by COPFS and accepted in relation to either individuals or companies.

The information is provided under the caveat that COPFS uses a live, operational database to manage the processing of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies throughout Scotland. It is designed to meet business needs in the processing of criminal cases, rather than for statistical analysis, and the information within it is structured accordingly.

The numbers were arrived at following an interrogation of relevant charges however a manual review was not conducted to confirm accuracy.

A search has been performed of the COPFS database for charges received by COPFS under a) the Trade Marks Act 1994, and b) a key word search for counterfeit or fake goods on charges under the Scottish Government Classification of "Fraud”.

During the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 there was a total of 27 charges marked for court action relating to individuals. Of these 27 charges, four resulted in a conviction with 19 charges ongoing. No further action was taken in two charges and a further two charges resulted in the individual not being convicted.

Information is also provided for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2024 and all information is broken down as follows: