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The Care Inspectorate does not hold data on unmet demand for childcare.

The Care Inspectorate publishes a detailed list of registered services every month. The latest version can be found here: https://www.careinspectorate.com/index.php/publications-statistics/93-public/datastore.

This includes all services providing a day care of children or childminding service and includes details of the registered places in those services.

The Care Inspectorate publishes a statistical report about early learning and childcare every year. This includes summaries of numbers of registered services, places in those services, children registered. The latest publication can be found here:

https://www.careinspectorate.com/images/documents/7759/2023%20Early%20learning%20and%20Childcare%20Statistics.pdf

The Scottish Government’s seventh Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) will be published week commencing 23 June 2025, alongside a Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan.

Publishing in June will allow the MTFS to reflect the outcome of the UK Spending Review on 11 June, enabling the Scottish Government to publish a more robust central funding forecast as the basis for its financial strategy and delivery plan.

The MTFS will provide the Scottish Government’s medium-term (five-year) economic and fiscal outlook and spending projections. It is underpinned by the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s forecasts and provides the context for annual Scottish budgets.

The MTFS will also set out the Government’s strategic approach to setting the public finances on a sustainable pathway over the medium-term.

The Scottish Government is taking this issue seriously. As well as regular meetings with the Medicines Healthcare and products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer (CPO) has met with Police Scotland and Healthcare Improvement Scotland and plans to issue communications for healthcare professionals in Scotland on how to report known or suspected illicit prescribing of these medicines.

The CPO has also met with the Advertising Standards Agency to discuss their work in tackling adverts for weight-loss prescription-only medicines targeting members of the public.

The Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) was published in 2021 and was intended to cover the period 2021-22 - 2025-26. However, as announced in the Scottish Government’s Medium Term Financial Strategy, the current IIP has been extended by a period of one year. This means the IIP will run to 2026-27 and the next IIP will cover the period from 2027-28. We intend to publish a draft for consultation well in advance of commencement.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

There are currently no plans at present to update The Prison and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 2011.

SPS focus remains on addressing the current population pressures across our estate as we will continue to work with the Scottish Government to achieve a sustainable long-term position concerning the management of the rising prison population in Scotland.

Safety is paramount in the delivery of all energy infrastructure, including Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

Where the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) receives information about a proposed BESS site, they refer those duty holders (site operators) responsible for the plant to the National Fire Chief Council's (NFCC) Grid Scale Planning Guidance for FRS. These guidelines detail, amongst other elements, minimum standards for fire safety systems and design features, water requirements for firefighting and access requirements.

Under reserved legislation, BESS sites also fall under process fire regulations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 due to the equipment being used to collect, store and release electricity as required.

Economic growth is and always will be a clear priority for the Scottish Government and we are committed to ensuring Scotland is one of the best places to do business. FSB are is a key voice for small business and work closely with the Scottish Government to support all of the sectors that they represent in Scotland.

We are acutely aware of the concerns raised by the FSB over rising energy costs, employers national insurance increases, and trade tariffs. We have carried out initial analysis of trade statistics to understand Scottish exposure to US trade across key products and where that may differ from the UK economy. The First Minister discussed this particular matter with the Prime Minister earlier this month and made clear that urgent action should be taken to protect Scotland’s economic interests. We have also consistently called on the UK Government to reverse in full its decision to increase employer national insurance contributions from April 2025.

Here in Scotland we have the most generous small business rates relief in the UK with a competitive non-domestic rates relief package worth an estimated £731 million in 2025-26. We will publish our Programme for Government next week, which will ensure that small businesses are able to thrive and grow.

The 2025-26 Scottish Budget provides additional investment of £139 million for NHS infrastructure. This provides increased core capital funding for NHS Boards and, as a first step to lifting the capital pause, allows work on the replacement of some acute facilities to resume, as well as providing funding to address NHS Boards’ priority areas for infrastructure investment.

Despite this additional investment, the capital funding position remains challenging and there remains uncertainty in the longer-term funding position, as we await the outcome of the UK Government’s spending review. All due consideration will be given as to which projects are affordable, deliverable and provide best value, following the outcome of that review. This will include consideration of the National Treatment Centre programme.

The allocations of activity at National treatment Centres (NTCs) for the year 2025-26 have been made. Please see table below:

NHS Grampian

Guidance issued to NHS Boards by the Scottish Government states that in all new hospital developments, there should be a presumption of 100% single rooms, and where existing accommodation is being refurbished as close to 100% as possible is expected. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are working at pace on updated guidance for public bodies following the Supreme Court’s ruling, and the Scottish Government will await this guidance and review any relevant updates to NHSScotland patient policies and guides as appropriate.