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Regulation of the nursing profession is reserved to the U.K. Parliament. Making the word “nurse” a protected title in law is problematic due to its historical use in a broader context than today’s graduate profession, as regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Such protection would require an amendment to the Nursing and Midwifery Order (2001). SG is working closely with DHSC on a programme to modernise regulation of healthcare professions and the protection of titles will be carefully considered within this agenda.

In line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle, and just like similar schemes around the world, Scotland’s deposit return scheme is being delivered and funded by industry, led by the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland. It is therefore the responsibility of individual businesses to procure any Reverse Vending Machines they may require.

The Scottish Government notes the findings from the Diffley Partnership report on Understanding Scotland - Economy.

The survey shows that Healthcare and the NHS has remained a high priority for survey respondents in recent years and has now overtaken the Cost of Living / Inflation as the top priority.

Improving access to healthcare is a key priority for this government. Our 2023-24 Scottish Health Budget provides record funding of over £19 billion, providing new investment of over £1 billion and supporting recovery and reform to secure sustainable public services.

As the inherited Independent Living Fund (2015 Fund) is a closed scheme, no new applications have been made since 2015. The following provides information on the number of applications to ILF Scotland’s Transition Fund since launch in December 2017.

The following table sets out how many training places were advertised per year from 2018-2022, the number of posts which filled successfully, the fill rate (%) and the number of unfilled posts.

The information requested on how many NHS Scotland staff are currently employed in primarily equality and diversity-focused roles, and how much of the NHS budget has been allocated towards employing equality and diversity staff in each year since 2020 is not centrally available.

This information is not held centrally by The Scottish Government.

We have noted this Prostate Cancer UK research and are discussing it with various clinicians and experts in the NHS. Currently, pre-biopsy MRIs are not mandated in Scotland. However the National Cancer Quality Steering Group utilise ‘Patients with prostate cancer who undergo biopsy should be evaluated initially with a pre-biopsy biparametric MRI (bpMRI) or multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) and reported using a PI-RADS/Likert system of gradings’ as a Quality Improvement Indicator.

In addition to this the Scottish Government is due to undertake a survey of health boards to determine the practises in this area throughout the country.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the awareness of cervical cancer. In doing so we will continue to encourage those eligible to take the HPV vaccination and engage with the national cervical screening programme. We are continuing to take steps towards the World Health Organisation’s targets to eliminate cervical cancer.

The HPV vaccine continues to be offered to all pupils across Scotland via routine immunisation in early secondary school, from S1, through the school-based programme. From 1st January 2023, a one dose schedule was introduced for all those eligible in the programme up to their 25th birthday.

The screening programme in Scotland is routinely offered to anyone with a cervix, between the ages of 25 and 64, every five years.

Treatment for cancer, including cervical cancer, continues to be prioritised within NHS Scotland. We are developing a new 10 year cancer strategy which will launch in Spring 2023, and take a comprehensive approach to improving patient pathways from prevention and diagnosis through to treatment and post-treatment care.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.