Seòmar agus comataidhean

To date, we have been laying the foundations to deliver on Scotland’s first National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy to support disabled young people as they make the transition to young adult life, through research and engagement.

The scope, vision, aims and national priorities for the strategy will now be developed through external stakeholder engagement and wider consultation. Staffing costs for this work will be met from our operating costs budget for 2023-24.

The costs associated with the implementation of the Strategy will be determined by the actions that are developed and ultimately included, once agreed.

The Scottish Government has sought advice from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding their views on making changes to muirburn legislation.

The Scottish Government expects health care professionals to deliver high quality person-centred care in line with best practice guidance. The NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guideline on management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults (NG100) is available on its website: www.nice.org.uk. The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guideline on management of psoriatic arthritis in adults (SIGN 121) is available on its website: www.sign.ac.uk.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people living in Scotland with long term conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis are able to access the best possible care and support.

The Scottish Government is working to ensure an overarching approach for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) is in place in order to facilitate a ‘once for Scotland’ approach, where possible. We recognise that there are wide-ranging implications and challenges for the managed introduction of these personalised medicines, and are committed to adopting a co-ordinated approach where practical. We are working across Government to develop our understanding of the future direction for this area of medicines policy, including associated genomic testing and service planning implications for the NHS.

In Scotland, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) appraises the clinical and cost-effectiveness of newly-licensed medicines. Following receipt of a submission from the manufacturer, the SMC carries out an appraisal of the medicine and then determines whether it should be accepted for routine use within the NHS in Scotland. The SMC appraisal is undertaken independently of Scottish Ministers and is based on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the medicine at a population level. Following the appraisal process, the SMC publishes advice for NHS Scotland Health Boards to consider. The decision to prescribe a medicine for a patient, and which medicine to prescribe, is entirely for the clinician in charge of a patient’s care, having taken into account the patient’s clinical condition and any relevant clinical guidance.

The information requested is not held centrally and is a matter for NHS Boards locally.

Information relating to EU legislation, regulations, tertiary legislation and decisions that have come into effect since the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity)(Scotland) Act 2021 was passed by the Scottish Parliament and the present is in the public domain and can be found at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html

For the period between the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity)(Scotland) Act 2021 coming into effect and 31 August 2021, information relating to the Scottish Government's use or considered use of the section 1(1) power of the Act is in the public domain and can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/constitution-europe-external-affairs-and-culture-committee/correspondence/2022/eu-alignment--continuity-act--6-may.pdf

For the period 1 September 2021 - 31 August 2022 information is also in the public domain and can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/constitution-europe-external-affairs-and-culture-committee/eu-continuity-act--draft-annual-report-for-laying--final--27-oct-2022.pdf

Since 1 September 2022 the Scottish Government has used the section 1(1) power in respect of The Public Water Supplies (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022. These amended the Public Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2014 to implement partially Directive (EU) 2020/2184 on the quality of water intended for human consumption. Since 1 September 2022 the Scottish Government has not considered further use of the section 1(1) power.

The Forestry and Land Scotland contract for the sale of venison from Scotland’s national forests and land was awarded by a competitive tender following substantial stakeholder engagement / market research.

The stakeholder engagement / market research considered all aspects of the venison market both in Scotland and the UK and involved the following (amongst others):

• Association of Deer Management Groups (ADMG)
• Lowland Deer Network
• Scottish Quality Wild Venison
• Scottish Venison Association
• Approved Game Meat Handling Establishments (AGHE) processing venison
• Ardgay Game
• Highland Game
• Simpson Game
• Lincolnshire Game
• Hubertus Game
• Ben Rigby

Following the stakeholder engagement / market research a tender strategy was developed, which detailed how the contract would be structured to maximise the benefits in line with the Scottish Venison Strategy.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14934 on 8 March 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/questions-and-answers .

As set out in my response to S6W-14760 on 24 February 2023, the Scottish Government is examining the risk assessment conclusion in detail, given the serious impact of HPAI (High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza) on wild and kept birds. We will monitor risk levels and carefully consider our response over coming months.

When gamebirds are kept in captivity, they are subject to the same legislation as any other bird species in that there is a legal requirement to report suspicion of notifiable avian disease. The release of game birds is also prohibited within an avian influenza protection zone and surveillance zone.

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