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For clarity, the Scottish Government has not suspended public health information marketing campaigns.

The Scottish Government is fully aware of the importance that campaigns have in communicating public health priorities, and essential public health marketing activity in 2024-25 is continuing, including Public Health Scotland targeted communications work for particular vaccine programmes, including Winter Flu, to encourage people who often do not get vaccinated to take up the offer this year.

Paid-for activity is also continuing where costs have already been committed, or where an essential need is identified, such as campaigns on Sexual Assault Response and Care Service; Abortion Safe Access Zones; dementia, and our Detect Cancer Early campaign, which launched last month.

Marketing activity will also continue across portfolio areas through low or no cost channels, such as social content, public relations and work with partner organisations.

For clarity, the Scottish Government has not suspended public health information marketing campaigns. We continue to run awareness raising campaigns, aimed at raising awareness among key groups to ensure our investment in public health marketing generates is spent most effectively where it will make the biggest difference.

In 2009, sportscotland’s headquarters moved to Doges, Templeton on the Green, Glasgow and Caledonian House was retained as a “House of Sport”. A full cost-benefit analysis of Caledonian House was conducted in March 2023, and it was concluded the building was not a good use of public money. All existing tenants, including relevant Scottish Governing Bodies of sport, were part of a sportscotland consultation process, have been kept up to date with the process throughout, and were provided ample time to consider their future office needs and find alternative office space.

sportscotland continue to support tenants with information and guidance on alternative accommodation and where possible, have facilitated introductions to wider partners where there is potential to co-locate.

The Scottish Government is currently working with representatives from our Residential Rehabilitation Development Working Group to ascertain whether the existing ARBD unit, managed by Penumbra for NHS Lothian, meets the Scottish Government’s definition of a residential rehabilitation service.

We have set out a clear definition of what counts as residential rehabilitation and have used it consistently. We are expecting to receive the appropriate advice on this in due course, after which point we will be able to develop a position on including this type of service under our definition of residential rehabilitation in the future.

The Scottish Government Fiscal Statement (3 September 2024) and accompanying letter to the Finance Committee Scottish Government Pre-Budget Fiscal Update: Letter to Finance Committee - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)set out savings measures taken in the financial year to date, including those generated through the application of emergency spending controls. Alongside specific savings detailed in the statement a further up to £60 million savings are anticipated to be generated through the emergency spending controls over the remainder of the financial year. The controls require greater scrutiny over expenditure and whether it is truly essential or unavoidable, as well as targeting recruitment, overtime, travel and marketing, savings generated that result in revisions to budgets will be reported and published in the Autumn and Spring Budget Revisions, in line with usual in-year financial management processes.

The Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre budget forms a component of existing Cyber Resilience funding, and the future budget for the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre is still to be determined.

Both Scottish and UK Government Ministers have accepted a South Ayrshire Council proposal that the Prestwick Spaceport is no longer taken forward as part of the Ayrshire Growth Deal. Scottish Ministers look forward to working constructively with AGD partners to agree new projects to be taken forward using funding previously committed to the spaceport project, and are confident that these will focus on and build on South Ayrshire’s clear strengths in aerospace.

I refer the member to my the answer to question S6W-26340 on 19 April 2024, that clarifies that decisions on clinical pathways are not for the Scottish Government. Decisions on clinical pathways, and prescribing, are for clinicians, based on the best evidence available, through the appropriate clinical governance structures.

The timeline of the Health Boards informing the Scottish Government about their decision:

28 March (pm) - Medical Directors in NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde wrote to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) advising him that, following a consultation with senior medical staff, both Boards were pausing any new prescriptions for puberty hormone suppressants and cross sex medication for those under 18 years of age. This position followed an interim pause on referrals to paediatric endocrinology, following clinical advice, from mid-March by the Health Boards.

5 April - Ministers were informed of the proposed change in policy, following consideration of the implications of the letter.

9 April - The CMO responded to Medical Directors in NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde confirming that this area is no exception to his expectation that Health Boards make decisions on the delivery of clinical care via agreed local governance processes, considering new and emerging evidence in a clinical field - and conveying his support for the Health Boards’ decision.

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.

Specialist NHS gender identity healthcare in Scotland is delivered by gender identity clinics. There are four NHS gender identity clinics in Scotland providing clinical assessment, treatment and specialist support to adults and a separate service for children and young people.

The role of community pharmacy in relation to gender identity healthcare primarily relates to the dispensing of prescriptions for medication prescribed as part of healthcare support for gender dysphoria.

Scottish Government does not hold information on how many pharmacies have dispensed prescriptions related to gender identity healthcare.

The Strategy Steering Group for Palliative Care (SSG), representing the wide range of partners involved in palliative care, chaired by a National Clinical Lead for Palliative Care, and supported by a Clinical and Professional Advisory Group (CPAG), has been crucial in the development of our new Palliative Care Strategy.

The Strategy Steering Group last met on 20 June 2024, to consider the latest version of the draft Palliative Care Strategy and provide further feedback. We anticipate that the draft Palliative Care Strategy and associated consultation will be published in the coming weeks.