The Scottish Government published the Core Standards for Mental Health to help improve the quality of mental health services. The standards highlight that people, including those in crisis, should have timely access to mental health services, with clear communication about available services and any alternative support if needed.

Health Boards are expected to place significant emphasis on the quality and safety of all clinical environments, particularly those where individuals need to be assessed and may be admitted where a place of safety orders is in force. Responsibility for designating a healthcare facility a Place of Safety should be agreed by local partners and outlined in their Psychiatric Emergency Plan.

The Thistle will undergo a comprehensive, independent evaluation, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and led by a collaboration of academic institutions, including the University of Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian University, and other expert research partners.

The development of a national pilot to provide free bus travel for people seeking asylum, and who are currently not eligible for existing National Concessionary Travel Schemes, is progressing with the Working Group. This group, which includes third-party representatives, reconvened on 7th May, with the most recent meeting taking place on 11 June.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-38250 on 17 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

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

In the last five years, the SPS has made payments to prisoners to settle cases related to “slopping out”. In the last five financial years, there has been a total of three cases settled relating to “slopping out” which were settled in Financial Year 2020-21. The total cost of these three cases was £12,000. There have been no further cases settled relating to “slopping out” since 2020-21.

The primary driver for introducing a national policy was to achieve a level of consistency and resolve the situation where some NHS Boards were already reimbursing the electricity costs associated with home dialysis, some partially reimbursing and others making no reimbursement at all. The Scotland-wide policy allows for Boards to determine reimbursement rates for home dialysis whilst recommending the standard UK Kidney Association (UKKA) calculator as a basis.

A review of implementation of the national policy found that all Boards had reimbursement policies for eligible patients. The policy requests that Boards proactively identify patients eligible for reimbursement but does not mandate how Boards may manage the reimbursement process; this is a local decision for each Board.

The Scottish Government withdrew the Scottish Good Practice Statement (SGPS) on 28 May 2025, leaving NICE Guideline NG206 as the default clinical guidance on ME/CFS. This will help provide clarity to NHS Boards as providers of care for people in their area with ME/CFS.

Work is ongoing to determine how the additional £4.5 million announced in the 2025-26 budget to deliver new specialist support for ME/CFS, long COVID and other similar conditions will be allocated to NHS boards, what conditions it will cover and the services it will prioritise. We want this money to have maximum impact and are working closely and carefully with boards across Scotland to allocate it as quickly and effectively as possible.

In 2025-26, applications will be assessed on their ability to support the ambitions set out in Scotland’s Destination Scotland – inward attraction of international students, staff, and researchers - Scotland's international education strategy - gov.scot and a separate strand will be assessed against Community Learning and Development priorities.

Projects within this criterion are able to provide opportunities for both staff mobility and vocational training exchanges.

Since SEEP began in 2003, opportunities have been provided for staff mobility and vocational training. Further information on funded projects can be found at: Scottish Education Exchange Programme: - Test and Learn: funded projects - gov.scot.

The Scottish Government has launched the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risk Factors programme to improve CVD outcomes with an aim to ‘reduce avoidable CVD death by 20% in 20 years’. The focus is on improving the identification and management of key risk factors which are; high blood pressure, high cholesterol, raised blood sugars, obesity and smoking.

We have also established a new GP enhanced service from the 2025-26 Reform Fund to support 100,000 patients who are at risk of developing CVD.

Our Population Health Framework, soon to be published in partnership with COSLA, will support the creation of environments that positively supports health and wellbeing. It will focus on prevention and tackling the building blocks of health—including good early years and education, fair work and income, healthy places, equitable healthcare, and the broader social and economic drivers of ill health.

Scotland’s Innovation Strategy sets out actions to make Scotland one of the most innovative small nations in the world. We will use innovation as a productivity driver to grow the economy and create jobs in areas of strength.

Scotland’s Enterprise agencies; Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise, support Scotland’s businesses to innovate and develop new products and services through several programmes including SMART:SCOTLAND grants.

Additionally, the Scottish Government has recently launched a competitive £2.9 million proof of concept fund to support researchers from Scotland’s universities develop innovative ideas into new products and services.