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The Scottish Government is aware that supplies of various ADHD medicines continue to be intermittent. At present, market data and information provided by the UK Government indicates that some of these supply issues will continue into Autumn 2024. Scottish Government officials continue to monitor the situation for any further developments and are maintaining a close dialogue with all Health Boards to help manage these medicine supply disruptions and provide support when needed.

The supply of medicines and associated legislation are a reserved matter for the UK Government, and we continue to engage with them on this supply issue and other medicine shortages. The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Scotland is a member of a UK-wide Medicines Shortage Response Group, set up to identify and co-ordinate responses to medicines shortages across the UK and provide advice to prescribers on alternative therapeutic options.

The UK Government’s Department of Health and Social Care, on behalf of all four nations, regularly meets with the manufacturers of ADHD medicines to discuss their supply chains challenges and any issues where they may require assistance, including providing an overview of current and forecasted demand to assist manufacturers with planning to increase production forecasts. T he Scottish Government has not had any separate engagement with the manufacturers of ADHD medicines.

While the Scottish Government are responsible for the strategic direction of the NHS, territorial Health Boards and Integration Authorities are responsible for delivering services in their areas, including the amount spent on each of the service areas delivered by the Primary Care Improvement Fund (PCIF). Integrated Authorities must work closely with local communities and other stakeholders to ensure that Primary Care Improvement Plans address specific local challenges and population needs while taking into account the guidance in the GP contract and accompanying MoUs as well as amended regulations.

The Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) has paid £11.63m to applicants who were awarded total funding of £14m in 2023-24. Individual awards are published here - https://www.gov.scot/publications/marine-fund-scotland-grants-awarded/ . The Scottish Government publishes all payments over £25k here - https://www.gov.scot/collections/government-spend-over-gbp25000-monthly-reports/ .

The remaining £2.37m funding supported data collection on stocks in the North Sea and the West of Scotland. This information is combined with data from other European nations who fish in these waters and is then considered by the International Council for Exploration of the Seas (ICES).

The Scottish Government is aware that there are global supply issues with Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT) medicines, including Creon ® , which are licensed for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency for those with cystic fibrosis.

While the supply of medicines and the associated legislation are a reserved matter for the UK Government, Scottish Government officials continue to engage with them on this supply issue and other medicine shortages. The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer (CPO) for Scotland is a member of a UK-wide Medicines Shortage Response Group (MSRG), set up to identify and co-ordinate responses to medicines shortages across the UK and provide advice to prescribers on alternative therapeutic options.

In May, the Scottish Government issued a Medicine Supply Alert Notice (MSAN) and National Patient Safety Alert (NatPSA) which outline actions to be taken by prescribers to ensure patients are moved onto alternative treatments and measures to help conserve stocks of PERT medicines, including Creon ® .

The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 requires relevant authorities to publish a Good Food Nation Plan within 12 months of the date that Section 10 of the Act comes into force. It is the Scottish Government’s intention to commence this part of the legislation at around the same time as the final version of the national Good Food Nation Plan is published in 2025. Relevant authorities will therefore be required to publish their own Plans in 2026.

The Scottish Government’s recent investment into diabetes technologies will specifically support children and adults to access closed loop systems.

Alongside this additional investment, we will also encourage all NHS Boards including NHS Lothian to utilise the national onboarding team based at Centre of Sustainable Delivery as well their own local diabetes clinical teams to support technology starts.

This should increase the rate and scope at which individuals will be able to access closed loop systems and therefore have a positive impact on waiting times.

The Young Person’s Guarantee was introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic as a measure to prevent long-term adverse impacts for young people in the labour market. It contained a number of aspects, covering skills, education, and employability.

Employability support available through the Young Person’s Guarantee was delivered through Local Employability Partnerships, with Local Authorities acting as lead accountable body. Specific details on funding are not held by the Scottish Government, therefore requests for this information would need to be directed towards Local Authorities. Employability contacts for each local authority can be found on the Employability in Scotland website which can be accessed here: https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/local-employability-services/

Employability support for young people is now delivered through the No One Left Behind approach across Scotland including Edinburgh, as part of the long-term ambition to simplify the employability landscape for service users.

The Scottish Government recognises the impacts of climate change on coastal communities and the need to consider coastal defences.

Our Dynamic Coast 2 project, published in 2021, helps local authorities and other stakeholders identify where the greatest risks are from coastal erosion this decade and into the future. The 2020 Programme for Government committed £12 million to local authorities, over four years, for coastal change adaptation to allow them to plan for, and protect communities from, the impacts of coastal erosion and sea level rise. We published Guidance in 2023, to support local authorities in the preparation of Coastal Change Adaptation Plans,which includes using nature based solutions as part of coastal protection.

Improving resilience to flooding is a priority for the Scottish Government and we continue to work with, and support, local authorities to fulfil their obligations to reduce the impact of flooding from all sources including coastal. To support flood protection measures, the Scottish Government provides £42 million each year to local authorities. In August 2020, the Programme for Government also committed an additional £150 million over 5 years to support flood risk management actions.

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on a Flood Resilience Strategy for Scotland which will lay out what we need to do in the long term to make our places more flood resilient, including at our coasts.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering up to £85 million to support a range of projects across the south through the BorderlandsInclusive Growth Deal.

All bat species found in Scotland are classed as European protected species. They receive the highest level of species protection under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994.

This protection also extends to bat roosts. As bats return to the same places every year, a bat roost is protected even if no bats are present. Any action taken which might disturb or damage a bat roost requires a licence from NatureScot.

NatureScot bat workers and Licensing staff advise residents on bat species protection and how to manage the bat roosts within their homes in line with this protection through the Bats in Houses helpline or, for more complex cases, a home visit. NatureScot staff encourage residents in the first instance to retain these roosts, though in some circumstances they need to be excluded under licence because of the public health issue they can pose to residents. The licence to exclude bats contains conditions for the actions to safeguard the bats during the exclusion.