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The Scottish Government has not conducted research to discover the rate of ‘false negatives’ after the application of the FAST (Face, Arm, Speech, Time) test.

Public Health Scotland are best placed to advise on research they have undertaken. Public Health Scotland can be contacted at: General enquiries - Contact us - Public Health Scotland

Pre-release planning, including in relation to housing needs, was a key feature of the recent emergency early release process. 

Scottish Prison Service (SPS) worked closely with representatives from Local Government – including housing departments, wider public bodies, and the third sector in the planning and operation of the process.

SPS officials conducted an expedited pre-release process to help prisoners identify their needs, and supported their engagement with relevant community services. That included establishing their housing status and making referrals, as required, to Local Authority housing departments. 

Releases were staggered across four separate tranches, which enabled service providers to better support those released. SPS notified Local Authorities and key stakeholders of planned releases, to each area, prior to each tranche.

For those nearer to their expected liberation date, any planning would have been underway, in line with the Sustainable Housing on Release for Everyone (SHORE) Standards.

As is normal practice, Local Authorities allocate housing in their area, including to those released as part of the emergency release programme, where necessary, in line with local resources and demand.

Despite deeply challenging financial circumstances, we are investing record funding of £1.55 billion in policing in the current financial year, which is an increase of £92.7 million. It is for the Scottish Police Authority, working with the Chief Constable, to determine how to allocate its budget to meet policing priorities.

Enforcement of all traffic offences is a matter for Police Scotland, which operates independently of Scottish Ministers. However, the Scottish Government fully supports Police Scotland and its partners in dealing with the misuse of such vehicles. Local policing teams are ideally placed to identify where the misuse of such vehicles is causing distress to the public and ensure that those areas can be prioritised to prevent future incidents.

The Scottish Government was previously in contact with Police Scotland in June 2022 about the issue of quad bikes and other off-road vehicles. Police Scotland then outlined work ongoing within local policing divisions in raising awareness of the dangers of misusing such vehicles. The Scottish Government has encouraged local authority partners to continue to work closely with Police Scotland on these issues.

We recognise the potential impact of the cladding remediation programme on developers and on the building of new homes. These issues will be among those being considered by an in-depth economic analysis, which is in development. 

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28987 on 28 August 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility, which can be found at: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The information requested on how many whole-time equivalent anaesthetists have been employed in each year since 2019 can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence (Employment over time tab, anaesthetics consultants).

The information requested on how many whole-time equivalent anaesthetists have left the profession, in each year since 2019 can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence (Turnover tab).

The requested information on how many whole-time equivalent anaesthetists have retired in each year since 2019 is not centrally available.

A table with the information requested has been placed in SPICE bib number 65255.

Our Young Carer Grant is the only benefit if its kind in the UK, supporting young carers in Scotland to access the same opportunities as their peers. An Interim Evaluation, published in August 2021, confirmed the grant has made a positive impact on young carers’ ability to take part in opportunities, increased their sense of choice and control, and made a positive impact on their mental wellbeing.

The Young Carer Grant is one part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to recognising the contributions of young carers across Scotland. Young Carers aged 11 to 18 can also access non-cash benefits and support through the Young Scot Young Carers Package, which provides tailored discounts and opportunities including high value e-vouchers, wellbeing boxes and vouchers for family days out.

The information requested is not held centrally by Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government collects information on the types of temporary accommodation provided or arranged by the local authority which a household makes a homelessness application to. Information on the location of this accommodation is not collected. Temporary accommodation data by local authority is released on an biannual basis as part of the Homelessness in Scotland statistics

We launched a new Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund on 8 March 2023. This funding is helping organisations to create opportunities for people to connect with one another in our communities. 53 projects are currently operational across Scotland, delivering projects within communities that are diverse and are responding to local needs. Disabled people are one of the priority groups targeted by the Fund.

Our analysis of the fund informs us that 20 out of the 53 funded projects are targeted at disabled people and to date 1529 disabled people are benefitting from the services provided by these projects.

We will continue to evaluate the fund and learn what further interventions are required for disabled people who experience loneliness.

We recognise loneliness impacts on different demographics as stated in ‘A Connected Scotland’ and we are using this strategy to bring together the different parts of Government that can make a real difference in tackling loneliness. This is evident in approaches delivered by both Creative Scotland and Sport Scotland, both Government funded bodies, who invest and support people to connect by enabling access to inclusive activities.