Chamber and committees

Waiting times for first clinician led chronic pain appointments are currently reported every quarter on the PHS website, Publications - Public Health Scotland. The Pain Management Service Delivery Framework Implementation Plan contains a specific action to work with PHS to improve how we capture and report national data on chronic pain. The current focus of which is to review and improve waiting times data for first appointments. We are considering the feasibility of collecting and reporting national data on waits for return appointments.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail. The Member may wish to contact ScotRail directly.

Health Improvement Scotland (HIS) does not currently regularly inspect children and young people’s mental health services and did not visit Skye House between 2017 and 2024. The Mental Welfare Commission have visited Skye House seven times since 2016, using a mix of pre-announced and unannounced inspections to provide assurance.

Given the concerning issues raised in the BBC Disclosure Documentary, we have asked HIS and the Mental Welfare Commission to start joint inspections of the four units providing inpatient care to children and young people as a matter of priority.

These joint inspections will provide assurance of the safety and quality of the care provided in Scotland’s Child and Adolescent mental health (CAMHS) inpatient units as well as highlight any national recommendations to strengthen the quality and safety of CAMHS care.

The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each initial destination (three months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.1a in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 7: 2025 edition. The supplementary tables with data on initial destinations are available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-statistics-for-attainment-and-initial-leaver-destinations-no-7-2025-edition/documents/.

The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each follow-up destination (nine months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.2 in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary statistics for Follow-Up Leaver Destinations, No. 6: 2024 Edition. The supplementary tables with data on follow-up destinations are available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-statistics-follow-up-leaver-destinations-no-6-2024-edition/documents/.

We are exploring a new long term conditions strategy to better recognise the fact that many people living with long term conditions need the same types of support and care, regardless of their condition.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living in Scotland is able to access the best possible care and support. We will continue to ensure specialist services are retained by engaging with boards, in particular service managers, including the national services division.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Local authorities may hold this information.

I was pleased to welcome the launch of Police Scotland’s plans to tackle retail crime last month, which is being funded by an additional £3 million from the Scottish Government.

I hope to see these plans make a difference to the rates of shoplifting Scotland has seen in recent months, and we will continue to liaise closely with Police Scotland as their planned actions are rolled out.

We have increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, investing more than £14.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government has initiated planning for the next Scottish Spending Review, that will identify opportunities to optimise the use of Scottish Government funding over the longer term.

The conclusion of the UK Government’s 2025 spending review will provide key funding information to underpin the Scottish Government’s own multi-year spending review. Provision of funding in future years will also be part of discussions with the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland to understand the budget requirement to deliver their three-year business plan.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information which is a matter for NHS heath boards locally.

We are committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

Whilst our role is to set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, it is NHS Boards locally who are responsible for service delivery. We expect all Boards to follow best practice and adhere to current guidelines and standards for people with suspected IBD and a national IBD pathway for NHS Scotland was published in January 2025: inflammatory-bowel-disease-ibd-pathway.pdf. This pathway is intended to be used for primary and secondary care health care professionals who are concerned that a patient may have undiagnosed IBD.

The pathway includes the use of faecal calprotectin tests which is supported by current clinical evidence for distinguishing between IBD and non-inflammatory bowel diseases (such as irritable bowel syndrome).

The Scottish Government keeps all dog control legislation under review and that includes the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”).

A Scottish Government led Short Life Working Group was established in 2022 to assist with taking forward our commitment to review the 1991 Act.

The focus of the review was on the criminal offence in the 1991 Act of a dog being dangerously out of control.

The working group has undertaken this review, and the Scottish Government is continuing to consider the wide range of views offered to determine what may be appropriate as next steps. The Minutes of the group meetings can be found on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/groups/dangerous-dogs-act-short-life-working-group/

In the meantime the Scottish Government has taken action to introduce new safeguards in relation to XL Bully dogs. The XL Bully dog has now been added to the list of prohibited dog breeds under the 1991 Act.

The Scottish Government also hosted a ‘Responsible Dog Ownership’ Summit on 20 September 2024. The summit brought together attendees from a range of organisations, including the police, local authorities, veterinary bodies, public health, third sector organisations and the Communication Workers Union to consider how dog control and dog welfare can be improved upon.