Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28205 on‎ 5 July 2024. 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 is committed to ensuring that all people living with kidney disease in Scotland are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

We expect all NHS Boards in Scotland to adhere to current guidelines and follow best practice when providing psychosocial care for people with kidney disease.

Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy published in 2023, sets out a long-term vision, and a set of outcomes, for the mental health and wellbeing of the population.

In September 2023, we published the National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions , and Mental Health Core Standards to ensure effective, equitable, efficient and high-quality person-centred care is delivered consistently across Scotland. The Specification and Standards set out what we expect in terms of care in Psychological Therapies and Adult Secondary Services, including appropriate staffing.

Employment of social workers rests with local authorities and the Scottish Government does not hold any information on numbers of renal social workers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28205 on‎ 5 July 2024. 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

There have been no costs specifically incurred in supporting the Pain Management Task Force and associated Short Life Working Groups for either the 2022-23, 2023-24 or 2024-25 financial years, beyond the pay of NHS staff and civil servants undertaking this work as a part of their role.

The Scottish Government has always recognised the importance of Scotland’s international connectivity and we are committed to working with all Scotland’s airports to help grow international connectivity.

Our International Strategy, published earlier this year, makes reference to that commitment and our overall ambition is for Scotland to be at least as well connected as peer nations.

Transport Scotland, along with VisitScotland and Scottish Development International, works to help Scotland’s airports grow international connectivity and secure new routes that are essential for inbound tourism, business connectivity and the economy as a whole. This includes work to grow our connectivity to the US and Canada given the importance of these links for business, exports and tourism. That role is a complementary one with each airport competing on their own merits for new routes and capacity.

Representatives from the Scottish Government recently took part in the route development forum Routes Europe 2024, meeting with a number of airlines to discuss future opportunities and promote Scotland as a market that can sustain more direct connectivity. We also have regular engagement with airlines to discuss future opportunities to further develop Scotland’s connectivity to North America. These discussions are commercially sensitive and I am unable to share specific details.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28273 on‎ 5 July 2024. 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 published pre-election guidance sets out that announcements and publications from the Scottish Government, particularly those including a cross border or reserved element, can have a bearing on the UK general election campaign. Regrettably, in line with the guidance applying during the pre-election period, a decision was made not to publish this report as planned ahead of the Scottish Parliament entering summer recess on 29 June. We are committed to discharge this report as soon as reasonably practicable once the Scottish Parliament has reconvened after summer recess.

The Scottish Government published the annual Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 progress report on 17 June 2024, providing an update on progress on delivering the actions.

Of the twenty medium term actions, the timeframe for completing three of these actions has been extended beyond 2024. The reasons for this are as follows.

In summer 2022, the Lines Between were commissioned to recruit, support and engage a diverse cross-section of people with chronic pain across Scotland to establish a Pain Management Panel to help inform the Pain Management Implementation Plan. The total cost of the contract with The Lines Between was £40,000 exclusive of VAT. The cost of formatting the report for publication on the Scottish Government website was £516.58.