Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government remains committed to implementing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service. We have invested £39 million to date on expanding access to thrombectomy. While we continue to face significant financial challenges, we are committed to further expanding the service, ensuring access is as equitable as possible.

Whilst the Scottish Government cannot currently provide a timeline for expanding the service, Scottish Government officials and NHS planners have been asked to work at pace on developing a plan for the next steps for service expansion.

We have provided funding for thrombectomy nurse posts in spoke sites with high rates of ischaemic stroke, including NHS Borders, and this will support maximising access to thrombectomy across Scotland.

Procurement of a national artificial intelligence imaging tool is underway and, once implemented, this will help delivery of the service by improving detection of patients with strokes suitable for thrombectomy.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-38258 on 18 June 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

Angela Leitch CBE, was appointed as the Chair of the independent review of Creative Scotland based on merit and the criteria set out for public appointments under section 7 of the Scottish Ministerial Code. The role was not publicly advertised due to the timing of the independent Review, which is to conclude later this year.

Angela Leitch brings significant public sector experience having worked in a number of Local Authorities and as Chief Executive of Public Health Scotland. Angela Leitch also has relevant experience as Convener of the Board of the Scottish Local Authority Remuneration Committee. She is a member of the Accounts Committee and the Scottish Police Authority. She is also Chair of YouthLink Scotland and is a Trustee of the homelessness prevention charity Cyrenians.

We do not have the specific information requested. However, we know that people who are neurodivergent can find it more difficult to secure and maintain employment. Some of the barriers were highlighted in responses to the public consultation on the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill. The Scottish Government wants to ensure that neurodivergent people are supported to work and that our economy can benefit from their skills and talents as much as possible.

In 2016, we committed to halving the Disability Employment Gap, outlining the initial steps that would be taken to achieve this by 2038 in A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan, published in 2018. To improve employment opportunities for those who face many structural barriers on the labour market, we have carried forward several actions into our refreshed Fair Work Action Plan: Becoming a Fair Work Nation by 2025, published in December 2022. Input was provided by disabled people and their representative organisations.

Health and Wellbeing is one of the eight curricular areas in Curriculum for Excellence. Learning in Health and Wellbeing is designed to ensure children and young people develop the knowledge and understanding, skills, capabilities and attributes which they need for mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing.

While the Curriculum for Excellence framework is set at a national level, it is up to local authorities and schools to determine how they will deliver the curriculum to best suit the children and young people in their area. Local authorities and schools will use a range of approaches and resources to support children and young people with their mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing in line with local needs and circumstances. This can include learning and teaching about cardiovascular health for which there are existing learning experiences and outcomes in Health and Wellbeing and Sciences where this learning can be delivered.

Health and Wellbeing is also about the whole approach of the nursery, school, college or other setting. The concept of health and wellbeing as a responsibility of all emphasizes that everyone, including educators, parents, and community members, plays a crucial role in promoting and supporting health and wellbeing of children and young people.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all young people have the opportunity to develop core STEM skills and knowledge. Through the Curriculum Improvement Cycle, we have established a systematic approach to curriculum improvement which will help to ensure that STEM subjects are attractive and accessible to all children and young people.

The Right to Buy (RTB) policy pre-dates the Scottish Parliament. The Tenants’ Rights, Etc. (Scotland) Act 1980 introduced the RTB for tenants of local authorities, New Town Development Corporations, the Scottish Special Housing Association and Housing co-operatives to buy their homes at a discount depending on how long they had lived in the property. Any original guidance would have been the responsibility of the UK Government.

The Scottish Government published the Right to Buy Guidance Circular for social landlords in 2011: Right to Buy Guidance Circular A guide for social landlords - gov.scot

This covered changes to RTB as a consequence of the Housing (Scotland) 2010 Act and a comprehensive overview of the legislation relating to the RTB. The procedure in relation to RTB sales was covered by sections 63 to 68 of the 1987 Act and is also covered in the guidance.

A guide for social housing tenants, “your right to buy your home” was also published by the Scottish Government in 2011, and included information and advice for social tenants on buying the home and the costs involved in this. The guidance strongly recommended the purchaser to have a survey carried out on the condition of the home to make sure there are no structural problems as they will be responsible for repairs once they buy the property. Additionally, the guide confirms the owner’s responsibilities for the repair and maintenance costs of the property, after the home has been purchased, details of this are included in the conditions of sale.

We do not intend on publishing a list of reserved projects. Two projects have been reserved, these are Springburn Winter Gardens in Glasgow City Council and Glenboig Community Greenspace, North Lanarkshire Council.

The Scottish Government does not support the manufacture of munitions - nor do our public agencies. The support provided is focused on helping firms to diversify and develop civilian applications for their technology and ensure Scotland continues to benefit from the thousands of jobs in the defence, aerospace and shipbuilding sectors.

Our Guidance on Due Diligence: Human Rights sets out recommendations on how the Scottish Government, our executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies should undertake appropriate due diligence on companies, including their human rights record, before entering into an investment relationship with them. In operationalising our guidance, Scottish Enterprise’s Customer Due Diligence Procedure sets out the process that it follows to undertake human rights due diligence checks on companies it works with.

In line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual, general grants are discretionary and intended only for the delivery of policy aims/objectives and/or national outcomes.

The Scottish Government does not provide full funding for the provision of affordable homes. Homes are funded through a mixture of Scottish Government grant through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) as well as borrowing or other investment by grant applicants.

Through the AHSP, we deliver a range of housing including new build, off the shelf purchases and rehabilitation projects. The Scottish Government publishes quarterly figures on all homes delivered through the programme by tenure and build form, which can be found online here: Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply - gov.scot

Details on the number of homes that have been approved, started or completed that have received funding through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) each year since 2007 by local authority are also published here: Affordable Housing Supply Programme - More homes - gov.scot. This includes information on grant levels which are also published in our annual out-turn reports.