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The Scottish Government has held no talks with the General Dental Council (GDC) regarding the provision and publication of statistics relating to private dental clinics. Regulation of dentists is reserved to the UK parliament and the GDC is the independent statutory regulator for the dental team. It does not however regulate dental premises, with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) being the regulator of independent clinics in Scotland. Where available, HIS publishes inspection reports for independent clinics on its register.

We recognise the distress and pain that migraines cause and we take the issue of migraine seriously.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery launched the national headache pathway in October 2023, to improve care for migraines and headache across Scotland. The pathway is being implemented to aid with the diagnosis and management of headache disorders including migraine, offer guidance on management, and support health boards to aid their future planning.

The Scottish Government funded £221,176 to the Migraine Trust across 2022-2024 to work upskilling community, primary and secondary care pharmacists across NHS Grampian to help people with migraine manage their condition more effectively. This included funding to partner other health boards to extend the reach of this model and increase care and support for people living with migraine.

An eLearning programme for NHS Education for Scotland’s (NES) platform TURAS was developed through the project, comprising a suite of training materials available for all pharmacists and pharmacy teams in Scotland to access.

Additionally, NES Pharmacy hosted a webinar in September 2024 to provide guidance to pharmacy staff on the assessment, support and management of people living with migraine in line with the Scottish National Headache Pathway.

Following publication of the Pathway, Scottish Government has liaised with NHS24 and clinicians to produce public-facing accessible information on migraine, available at Migraine | NHS inform.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Any fines issued for criminal offences involving the sale of illegal vapes and cigarettes is a matter for the courts. HMRC have the power to charge civil penalties for failing to comply with the Tobacco Track and Trace system rules.

Private non-NHS practices are registered and regulated by Regulation of independent healthcare – Healthcare Improvement Scotland, which is part of NHS Scotland and is responsible for service provision and quality improvement.

There are no funds aimed specifically at improving farm security. Farmers and Crofters can choose how to invest in their business from existing funding mechanisms, for example the Basic Payment Scheme which is worth around £282 million annually. Investment which could include measures for improving farm security.

Following a review of services and in order to prioritise access to specialist sexual health services for those in greatest need, NHS Lanarkshire have made a decision to centralise non-Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) prescription appointments to Coathill Hospital. Patients are still able to access non-LARC contraception (such as the pill) at Coathill Hospital or through their GP, which may be more convenient for them. Appointments for LARC continue to be available throughout the wider sexual health service in Lanarkshire.

Following the launch of a new national evidence-based pathway for coeliac disease in 2018, we expect all Health Boards to fully implement the Coeliac Disease Pathway in Scotland to improve under diagnosis, time to diagnosis and to ensure dietetic person-centred support for people living with this condition so that they can take control and manage its impact on their health and quality of life.

Our £70 million Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan is increasing capacity and supporting workforce training. This also includes a commitment to promote and implement guidelines for non-biopsy diagnosis for coeliac disease, which is expected to reduce waiting times for diagnosis for this condition.

Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is invasive and often requires sedation or anaesthesia. A no-biopsy approach, now fully adopted across adult services in Scotland, reduces the need for endoscopy and speeds up diagnosis for eligible patients.

We recognise the distress and pain that migraines cause and we take the issue of migraine seriously.

The Scottish Government funded £221,176 to the Migraine Trust across 2022-2024 to work upskilling community, primary and secondary care pharmacists across NHS Grampian to help people with migraine manage their condition more effectively. This included funding to partner other health boards to extend the reach of this model and increase care and support for people living with migraine.

An eLearning programme for NHS Education for Scotland’s (NES) platform TURAS was developed through the project, comprising a suite of training materials available for all pharmacists and pharmacy teams in Scotland to access.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme plays an important role in driving forward improvements in Stroke care, including thrombolysis, throughout Scotland. Regular reviews are held with the stroke services in every NHS Board, and improvements in thrombolysis and reasons for variations in performance are discussed at these meetings. We continue to expect Health Boards to work to improve their standards of care locally.

A dedicated thrombolysis improvement event has been arranged for 8 October. This will allow medical and nursing representatives from all NHS Boards to share good practice, assess reasons for disparities in thrombolysis performance and agree approaches to clinical improvement.

The Scottish Government has made no specific estimate of the economic impact of migraine on Scotland’s economy and workforce productivity, however information regarding the impact of migraine on workplaces and the economy has been published by organisations such as the Migraine Trust.

We are working to support people with health conditions, such as migraine, to play an active role within the economy. We are investing up to £90 million in 2025-26 for the delivery of devolved employability services, providing intensive and personalised pre-employment and in-work support for unemployed people with barriers to progressing within work, including disabled people and with those with health conditions.