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Access Criteria for NHS IVF treatment in Scotland is set at a national level within the National Fertility Group. The group brings together experts in the field and makes recommendations to Scottish Ministers. Whilst the group has been modelling future access for single people, it has no current plans to review access criteria. A copy of NHS IVF Treatment access criteria can be found here Access-Criteria-NHS-IVF-Treatment-Scotland.

The National Fertility Group, (formerly the National Infertility Group) held meetings in the current parliamentary session on the following dates:

1 June 2021

24 February 2022

10 August 2022

22 March 2023

22 August 2023

23 November 2023

29 April 2024

17 September 2024

27 February 2025

The full list of access criteria for NHS IVF Treatment can be found here Access-Criteria-NHS-IVF-Treatment-Scotland.

When setting access criteria, the National Fertility Group take cognisance of safety, capacity and outcomes and in particular looks to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline CG156 Overview | Fertility problems: assessment and treatment | Guidance | NICE. This guideline sets out that female BMI should be in the range of 19 to 30 before commencing assisted reproduction. Female BMI outside this range is likely to reduce the success of assisted reproduction procedures.

The group have no current plans to review BMI related access criteria for NHS IVF treatment.

The four Health Boards providing regional services to those with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) have now started to contact all families with children eligible under the national early access programme to set out the timelines involved. In addition, the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer has been assured that the consultants have reviewed all those who are eligible to ensure fair and equitable access across Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37570 on 16 May 2025. 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.

With regard to farmed fish escapes, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37451 on 16 May 2025 regarding escapes. 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.

Regarding mortality, in correspondence dated 13 March 2025 to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee (RAIC), I committed to analysing data to understand how sites with persistent high mortality manifest, if mortality incidents are related and are indicative of insufficient mitigating action by the producer. I will provide an update on this to the RAIC later this year.

All regulators of aquaculture in Scotland have a duty to consider biodiversity. Additionally, National Planning Framework 4 introduces requirements for fish farm developers to consider biodiversity enhancement within development proposals as far as is possible.

The Scottish Government’s Vision for sustainable aquaculture - gov.scot sets out a number of outcomes to be realised, including collaboration between the aquaculture sector and other stakeholders to protect and restore biodiversity in the freshwater and marine environments.

The scottish-biodiversity-delivery-plan-20242030.pdf contains specific actions focused on the protection and recovery of salmon and other migratory fish populations, such as implementation of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency sea lice risk assessment framework, and work through our Wild Salmon Strategy and accompanying Implementation Plan to improve habitats in the marine and freshwater environments which are crucial to sustaining and recovering the wild salmon population.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-34490 on 18 February 2025:

Based on the latest published Criminal Proceedings data (available to 2022-23), since January 2014, there have been no prosecutions under section 40(1) of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (where this was the main crime).

The Criminal Proceedings in Scotland bulletin (2023-24) is scheduled for publication in autumn 2025.

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

The Scottish Government made clear to Project Willow partners that the outputs of initial work must align to its draft Grangemouth Just Transition Plan with workforce and community considerations as fundamental prerequisites.

Both the workforce and the wider community were fully engaged in the initial research informing Project Willow, and stakeholders have regularly been kept appraised of findings and progress through the Project Willow standing committee that had representation from Unite and through the Grangemouth Future Industry Board which has representation from both community and workforce members.

Going forward, workers and the wider Grangemouth community will be able to contribute to next steps of Project Willow through regular review points across the GFIB group, as part of the Just Transition process. And we continue to engage closely with trade unions, educational institutions, and workers to make progress.