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The Scottish Government’s supplementary Financial Memorandum, to reflect the scaled-back care reform proposals for the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill, was published on the Health, Social Care & Sport Committee’s website on 25 March 2025.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government however Health Improvement Scotland (HIS) have advised that since pharmacists and pharmacy technicians were added to the definition of an independent clinic on 19 June 2024, four pharmacists led independent clinics are now registered with HIS and five are in the process of registration. There are no pharmacy technician led independent clinics registered or in the process of registration.

Currently there are 110 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Civil Servants in the NCS Programme working on wider social care reform. Within the 110 (FTE) we have four staff working on the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill.

The Scottish Government has provided specific funding to NHS Boards for the development of a thrombectomy service to treat ischaemic stroke: £6.6 million in 2021-22; £7.2 million in 2022-23; £10.1 million in 2023-24 and £12.1 million in 2024-25. 2025-26 thrombectomy funding allocations will exceed the funding provided in 2024-25.

In addition, the Scottish Government has provided funding to support the delivery of the Stroke Improvement Plan and wider stroke improvement work: £182,980 in 2021-22; £174,489 in 2022-23; £185,507 in 2023-24 and £175,150 in 2024-25.

While we know thrombectomy procedures are not currently available overnight, stroke care is available and we expect NHS Boards to provide safe, effective and person-centred care for those who have experienced a stroke, at all times.

The backlogs generated by the pandemic have been largely addressed and we have now returned to a position where the number of scheduled trials across all criminal business types is below 20,000. This is considered a manageable level of workload by Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service for the justice system.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service publish monthly criminal case data.

As at the end of April 2025 the number of Sheriff Summary trials scheduled is 15,472.

Annual figures show a 53% reduction in scheduled Sheriff Summary trials since the peak in 2021-22 when it was 33,598.

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

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.

Scottish Enterprise is progressing in its work on its review and the Scottish Government continues to stay in close contact with Scottish Enterprise on this. I will update Parliament and wider stakeholders once the review has concluded.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland continues to work collaboratively with Police Scotland to understand why a proportion of data is missing and to resolve this issue.

In October 2024, a report commissioned by the Scottish Government projected an initial treatment capacity shortfall for residual waste in Scotland of 600,000 tonnes when the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste commences on 31 December 2025.

However, alongside further measures to reduce waste and promote recycling, the construction of planned infrastructure continues, helping to address this temporary gap; and available projections continue to indicate before turning into an estimated capacity surplus from 2027.

Officials continue to work with waste sector partners, including local authorities on these matters.

The Scottish Government highly values the support provided to young people by youth workers. Violence towards youth workers is unacceptable and all employees, including youth workers, have the right to be safe at work and to feel safe at work.

Through introduction of the Violence Prevention Framework, the Scottish Government continue to take action by funding activities for young people to prevent and reduce harm from violence.

The Scottish Government encourages anyone who experiences antisocial behaviour or violence at work to report the incident immediately to their employer and Police Scotland. Youth workers should be fully supported by their employers to understand their organisation’s policies regarding antisocial behaviour and the support available if situations escalate.

Scotland’s Census 2022 results show that around 11,000 people aged 16-64 who had ‘one or more learning disability, learning difficulty or developmental disorder’ were unemployed in 2022. This was 5.7% of all people aged 16-64 with one or more learning disability, learning difficulty or developmental disorder in 2022.