Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises the valuable contribution that Scotland’s civil nuclear workforce has made and continues to make. The figure cited is published by the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) and the Scottish Government has not made a separate assessment of it.

Decommissioning at Dounreay, Hunterston and Chapelcross is expected to continue for decades and will follow at Torness.

The Scottish Government recognises that mountain biking makes an important contribution to tourism and local economies in Dumfries and Galloway. The region is home to five of the seven world-renowned 7stanes trail centres and has developed a strong reputation as a leading mountain biking destination.

The Scottish Government is aware of three economic impact assessments undertaken for the 7stanes network in 2004, 2007 and 2012. The most recent assessment estimated that the network generated approximately £11 million of net additional visitor expenditure annually across the South of Scotland and attracted almost 400,000 visits each year, with around 82% of visitors coming from outside the region. The studies also found that the network supported local businesses, increased overnight stays, and contributed to employment in rural communities.

While a more recent assessment of mountain biking's contribution to tourism expenditure in Dumfries and Galloway has not been undertaken, VisitScotland continues to work with partners through the South of Scotland Cycling Partnership to support cycling tourism through destination development and promotion, investment in trails and infrastructure, support for major events, and destination marketing activity. The South of Scotland's designation as a UCI Bike Label Region further reflects the importance of cycling and mountain biking to the area's visitor economy.

The Scottish Government’s human rights due diligence guidance sets out recommendations on how we, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies – including Scottish Enterprise - should undertake due diligence on an individual or company’s human rights record before entering into an “investment relationship”.

We also have been clear with Scottish public bodies that they should take the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights database of companies believed to be active in listed activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory into consideration as part of their due diligence processes, writing to them on several occasions to that effect.

It is for the accountable officer of each agency and non-departmental public body to ensure that their organisation complies with guidance issued by Scottish ministers.

The local government settlement already fully funds the provision of 1140 hours of high-quality ELC for all eligible children, with the Scottish Government investing around £1 billion every year since 2021.

Local Authorities are encouraged to work together to offer families a choice of provider which is not limited by local authority boundaries through joint Funding Follows the Child guidance developed by COSLA and the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government continues to call on all local authorities to work together to offer choice and flexibility where families are impacted by boundary lines.

Ministers have committed to exploring cross-boundary provision further with COSLA within the context of wider reform and the Scottish Government’s ambition to transform the wider childcare offer during this parliament.

The arrangements for the loan provided to Liberty Steel Dalzell, including the balance and any repayment or restructuring of the loan, are matters for Scottish Enterprise who provided the loan.

The Scottish Government recognises the challenges that can sometimes affect access to healthcare in rural areas. All territorial NHS Boards, including NHS Dumfries and Galloway, are expected to offer services in ways that best suit the needs of their communities, using a patient-centred approach. We continue to work with Boards to support flexible and easily-accessible services, including for screening programmes and preventative services such as vaccination.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway has among the highest uptake rates for men in Scotland. Most screening programmes can offer appointments locally to participants, including those in rural and remote communities. Most NHS Boards, especially those serving large geographical areas, offer diabetic eye screening (DES) appointments at mobile locations, increasing accessibility. In NHS Dumfries and Galloway, the mobile service can additionally provide optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans where required.

Where it is not possible for screening programmes to be delivered locally, other methods are in place to ensure they are as accessible as possible. Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is delivered through eight designated centres located across Scotland, including a centre in NHS Dumfries and Galloway. All men are invited for a one-off AAA screening appointment at age 65, and in the year ending 31 March 2025, 85.8% of eligible men participated in AAA screening in NHS Dumfries and Galloway, exceeding the desirable uptake threshold for the programme. Bowel cancer screening uses home testing kits, making the service particularly accessible for people who live in remote and rural areas.

Vaccination is a key preventative health intervention and NHS Boards provide vaccination services at local venues such as GP practices, community pharmacies and other community settings, while eligible housebound individuals can receive vaccinations at home. Mobile units, provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service, are also used to deliver vaccination programmes in underserved communities, including rural and remote areas.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with territorial Health Boards, Public Health Scotland (PHS) and Screening Oversight and Assurance Scotland (SOAS) to ensure these services are delivered in the most accessible way, including taking account of specific issues posed by rural geography.

On 1st September, as part of the Programme for Government, the First Minister announced the Scottish Government’s intention to simplify the NHS by replacing the current 14 territorial Health Boards with two Strategic Health Boards and build on planned reforms to further reduce the number of special Health Boards. We are currently in the design phase of the work, which includes developing the business case. The work will be developed in partnership with staff, staff representatives, trade unions, stakeholders and the public, with a strong focus on the needs of rural and island communities.

Robust local, regional and national governance arrangements will be established to support both the transition and the longer-term model. We will ensure detailed impact assessments will be undertaken as part of the programme's next phase. Equality, fairness and reducing health inequalities will be fundamental considerations in the design of the reforms. The intention is that structural reform will align organisational arrangements with the way many services, staff and patients are already working across East and West Scotland, as a result of the sub-national planning structures.

Integration arrangements will also be reviewed as part of wider health, social care and public service reform. Over the next three months, we will undertake an intensive programme of engagement with local government and partners to consider how health, social care and wider public services can work more effectively together, make best use of public investment and improve outcomes for people and communities. Detailed arrangements will be developed as part of wider public service reform.

As a result, it is not yet possible to provide detail on any specific implications for the governance, funding or accountability of Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs). As no decisions have been taken on future integration arrangements, existing statutory integration arrangements will remain in place while wider health, social care and public service reforms are developed. ADPs play an important role in supporting the delivery of national and local priorities to reduce alcohol and drug-related harm and will continue to do so as this work progresses.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving life expectancy and tackling health inequalities across the whole population.

Life expectancy at birth for males in the Dumfries and Galloway council area in 2022-2024 was 77.2 years. This is the same as the life expectancy at birth for males in Scotland. Also, premature mortality rates for males in the NHS Dumfries and Galloway health board area have been lower than the equivalent national rate for Scotland in most years since 2006.

Last year, the Scottish Government and COSLA published the Population Health Framework, which sets out a cross-government, cross-sector approach to improving

life expectancy while reducing the gap in life expectancy between the 20% most deprived areas and the national average, by 2035. The Framework sets out the actions the Scottish Government and its partners are taking forward within the first two years by: supporting healthy environments; good early years and education; good work and income; and equitable health and care.

In addition, Scottish Government’s Programme for Government places a strong emphasis on the need to shift towards prevention and early intervention. This includes action to address alcohol and drug-related harm and to encourage healthier lifestyles among men, helping to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and poor mental wellbeing. Embedding prevention across public services is fundamental to improving population health outcomes for individuals and securing the long-term sustainability of Scotland’s health and care system.

On the 1 September, as part of the Programme for Government, the First Minister announced the Scottish Government’s intention to simplify the NHS by replacing the current 14 territorial Health Boards with two Strategic Health Boards and build on planned reforms to further reduce the number of special Health Boards.

We remain fully committed to partnership working and will work closely with trade unions throughout this process to ensure the voices and needs of those who deliver our services are heard and taken into account.

Robust local, regional and national governance arrangements will be established to support both the transition and the longer-term model. We will ensure detailed impact assessments will be undertaken as part of the programme's next phase. Equality, fairness and reducing health inequalities will be fundamental considerations in the design of the reforms. The intention is that structural reform will align organisational arrangements with the way many services, staff and patients are already working across East and West Scotland, as a result of the sub-national planning structures.

Work also includes progress regarding the national hospital flow plan. This plan includes immediate actions around the expansion of hospital at home and the roll out of discharge without delay.

Since the introduction of the Scottish Standards for Electroconvulsive Therapy, there has been continued engagement with NHS Boards via the national audit process. It is the responsibility of NHS Boards to comply with national clinical and audit standards.