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The Best Start Report, published in 2017 followed a review of maternity and neonatal services in Scotland, and was based on research evidence, the views of clinicians and the views of service users. Based on data on birth data, the report recommended that we move to a model of three intensive care units in Scotland.

The process of determining which units should provide Neonatal Intensive Care followed an Options Appraisal process undertaken by an expert group, including clinical leads and service user representatives. The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Aberdeen Maternity Hospital scored highest based on an agreed short list criteria, definitions and weighting. The group were asked to recommend three units and there was no consideration given to including a fourth unit.

In Scotland there are 55.3 dentists per 100,000 of the population, compared to 42.7 in England and 46.2 in Wales.

Information on the number of dentists per 100,000 of the population in Scotland can be found in the data tables of the NHS Scotland workforce statistics on NHS Education for Scotland’s website: All official statistics publications | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot) .

Information on the dental workforce in England and Wales is available online at: NHS Dental Statistics for England, 2022-23, Annual Report - NHS Digital and NHS Dental workforce by local health board, age group, gender, contract type and dentist type (gov.wales) and p opulation estimates by UK country can be found at: Population estimates - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) .

NHS Lothian resubmitted the OBC for the Reprovision of the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in July 2021.

The document Redesign of Eye Services in NHS Lothian formed part of that submission.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22531 on 13 November 2023. 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.

In the most challenging budget settlement since devolution we are providing nearly £13.5bn in the Local Government Settlement 2023-24. We are increasing the resources available to Local Government by over £793m, which represents a real terms increase of £376m or 3%.

The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is, however, to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on Education, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Local Government Financial Statistics for 2021-22 showed that local authorities spent around £6.9bn on education in Scotland, and that 2021-22 was the seventh year in a row education gross revenue expenditure saw a real terms increase.

The Scottish Government provides additional revenue funding to local authorities to support Gaelic medium education through the Gaelic Specific Grant Scheme. Information on funding from 2012 has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre under Bib. No 64655.

The locations of the three Neonatal Intensive Care Units was based on clinical evidence that the very smallest and sickest babies, including those born extremely premature (below 27 weeks), do best when they are cared for in larger specialist neonatal units which look after a lot of these babies, and have the right staff and services available on site to give them the very best care. The Best Start report recommended that we move to three of these units in Scotland, to meet the needs of our population.

The Options Appraisal Report , published on 25 July 2023 describes the process undertaken to determine the three final Neonatal Intensive Care Units, and the feasibility analysis and testing that followed the conclusion of that process. Annex A of the Report includes the criteria and weighting used for the Options Appraisal Process. Based on the evidence, the criteria focused on collocated clinical specialist services.

To support all parents who have babies admitted to neonatal care the Young Patients Family Fund provides funds to cover the cost of travel, subsistence and any accommodation required.

The three NICU units; Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, the Aberdeen Maternity Hospital and the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary will serve the West, North and East regions of Scotland. Data on births in Scotland is published on the National Records of Scotland website for every year since 1991, broken down by NHS Board or council area of birth.

The membership of the Best Start Review Group and the Best Start Sub-Groups is published in Appendix E and Appendix F of the Best Start Report .

Dr Ian Wallace, at the time Medical Director at NHS Lanarkshire, was a member of the Best Start Review Group and the Neonatal Models of Care sub group.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22237 on‎ 10 November 2023. 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

We continue to work with COSLA and local authority partners to develop delivery plans. This includes consideration of funding, monitoring and reporting. At present local authorities are responsible for the management of their own digital assets and will have their own local processes in place to handle any repair or replacement.