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Consultation on bringing NHS Education in Scotland and NHS National Services Scotland together will take place over 2025 and work is underway to establish the full range of functions of the new organisation.

The Scottish Government recognise that to meet the ambition of service renewal and address the health and care needs of our population we urgently need to work differently. We are therefore taking the opportunity to bring key enablers of national service delivery together to create opportunities for further improvement, innovation and efficiency across NHS Scotland.

The Scottish Government has had no recent discussions with the DVSA about the expansion of locations offered by the Scottish Driving Assessment Service.

The Scottish Driving Assessment Service is a matter for NHS Boards, and is hosted by NHS Lothian on behalf of NHS Scotland. The service is free for users and is currently funded through contributions from NHS Boards to NHS Lothian.

The NHS Directors of Planning Group has agreed to oversee a review of the Scottish Driving Assessment Service (SDAS) and present a paper to the NHS Boards Chief Executives group. A Working Group will oversee a detailed scoping exercise to understand the demand for driving assessment in Scotland, and how this is currently being met.

It is proposed that the review will conclude with an Option Appraisal, supported by NHS Ayrshire and Arran, enabling stakeholders from throughout Scotland to discuss and appraise potential future service delivery models for driving assessment in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with NHS Ayrshire and Arran, and the review is expected to conclude in late 2025.

The information requested on how many dermatology service staff are employed by each NHS board is not held centrally.

Information requested on how many dermatology consultants are employed by each NHS board can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

Consultation on bringing NHS Education in Scotland and NHS National Services Scotland together will take place over 2025 and work is underway to establish the full range of functions of the new organisation. Financial assessment will be part of this. The aim throughout will be to optimise the delivery of national services, creating opportunities for further improvement, innovation and efficiency across NHS Scotland.

Super off-peak journeys account for 0.2 per cent of all journeys made on ScotRail services. Only a very small number of journeys actually qualify for the ticket, and there are restricted travel times aimed at the quietest trains on particular routes, between 11am and 3pm, and after 8pm. Details of all ScotRail fares and products, following the removal of peak fares on 1 September 2025, will be available in early August.

In the majority of specialties there is minimal variation between female and male median waits but we recognise that in specialties that focus on treating conditions relating to urinary and reproductive systems there can be variation.

The Scottish Government is acutely aware that many women are particularly impacted by long waits for gynaecological appointments and procedures and this is not good enough.

As the first country in the UK to publish a Women’s Health Plan we are committed to reducing health inequalities and improving health outcomes for women and girls. Timely access to gynaecology services must be addressed and I am committed to including gynaecology as a priority in the next phase of the Plan.

As a starting point, the Government has allocated over £8.8 million to Health Boards to target long waits for gynaecology and I expect this to deliver significant improvements to the backlog in the coming year through waiting list initiatives and recruitment.

The investment is part of the £200 million announced as part of the Programme for Government to build capacity, tackle delayed discharge and improve patient flow through hospitals.

Scottish Government officials reviewed the Trade & Investment Envoy network footprint in 2024 to help ensure we have the right people, in the right places, with appropriate knowledge of our priority sectors. The review noted there are significant opportunities in India and the Scottish Government recognises the recent conclusion of UK-India Free Trade Agreement negotiations. We plan to increase our engagement with India given its rapid economic growth and Scotland’s synergies with India, including: Renewable Energy; Information Technology & Innovation; Life Sciences & Healthcare; and Food & Beverage. We remain open to appointing an Envoy in India should an appropriate candidate be identified.

Social Security Scotland recognises and values a wide range of diverse groups beyond the nine protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010, including a strong commitment to the armed forces community – veterans and their families.

The Scottish Government has not issued any direct grants to Alexander Dennis since 2010. Grants issued to Alexander Dennis Ltd by Scottish Enterprise are an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise, who will be able to provide further information upon request.

Scottish Government Officials have held 2 stakeholder meetings including representatives from the NHS Boards to discuss access for patients in Scotland to Proton Beam Therapy clinical trials delivered at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust Proton Beam Therapy Centre in Manchester.

These meetings took place on 23 January 2025 and 23 April 2025. In addition officials have held numerous calls with individual stakeholders.