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The Scottish Government have recently corresponded with the Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee on this question. See Electronic patient record | Scottish Parliament Website . To support our ambitions set out in the 2021 Strategy - Digital Healthcare Scotland % (digihealthcare.scot) we will be publishing our Delivery Plan for 2024-25 in late April 2024.

The Scottish Government welcomes the research published by the University of Aberdeen. We recognise that this data covers the time period between 2007 and 2017 and that there will have been continued service innovation in recent years including, for example, the roll out of Near Me.

However it is clear that improvements are needed. Our strategic aim, as reflected in the Cancer Strategy for Scotland (2023-33), is to improve cancer survival and provide excellent, equitably accessible care. One of our 11 ambitions in the strategy is Tackling Inequalities.

A Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the cancer strategy and plan was published in August 2023. A planned external evaluation will focus on inequalities, particularly social deprivation and geographies.

We are committed to understanding patients’ experiences, gaining opportunities for improvement and sharing good practice examples to ensure equitable cancer care. The first mail out of our latest Cancer Patient Experience Survey was sent on 14th February helping us work towards this aim.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26394 on 22 March 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 does not hold information on how many primary care appointments were cancelled in the last two years, broken down by NHS board.

The Scottish Government is preparing a Voluntary Code of Practice on dismissing and replacing land-owning land maintenance companies.

I acknowledge that there has been a considerable time elapsed since the decision to bring forward a voluntary code of practice on dismissing and replacing land-owning maintenance companies.

Unfortunately, due to other pressures, work has not progressed on the voluntary code of practice as anticipated.

The Scottish Government is aware of the pressures facing businesses due to inflation, energy costs and the cost crisis. While Scottish Ministers are sympathetic to calls to replicate the non-domestic rates relief available to businesses in England in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, doing so would have meant that the Scottish Government could not provide the NHS, schools, or emergency services with the funding they require.

The Scottish Government estimates that over 60% of properties in the hospitality sector across Scotland will be eligible for 100% relief from Non-Domestic Rates in 2024-25 (including from the Small Business Bonus Scheme, the new islands and specified remote areas hospitality relief, and others).

The Scottish Government is preparing an update for publication on progress on the Family Justice Modernisation Strategy (the FJMS). I will write to the Member as soon as this is available.

I also refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26002 on 18 March 2024, which provides an update on implementation of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act). 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/questions-and-answers .

On further reforms in family justice, I assume the member’s reference to “custodial arrangements for children” is to child contact and residence arrangements. Making further progress on implementing the FJMS and the 2020 Act is our priority in relation to child contact and residence. The Scottish Government does not plan any further primary legislation on child contact and residence at this time.

All patients who access NHS Pharmacy First Scotland do so by self-referral. In some cases though they will have been advised to attend a community pharmacy by NHS24 or another healthcare service.

Public Health Scotland has published data on the number of patients who used NHS Pharmacy First Scotland during its first full year of operation, 2021/22. Between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022, twenty-three percent of the Scottish population (1,242,801 people) accessed Pharmacy First Scotland services at least once. This data is not published as a breakdown by Health Board. More information can be found at NHS Pharmacy First Scotland - NHS Pharmacy First Scotland - Publications - Public Health Scotland .

The figures for 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 (up to September 2023) will be published on 16 April and will be available at the same link.

We have no current plans to regulate for the provision of swift nest bricks in planning applications for new buildings.

All planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Following the publication and adoption of our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) in February 2023, this forms part of the development plan and so influences planning decisions across Scotland. Improving biodiversity is a cross-cutting theme which runs throughout NPF4 and our strategy and policies support development that helps to secure positive effects for biodiversity. It will be a matter for the relevant planning authority to determine what conditions, if relevant, to apply to individual planning application based on the circumstances of the individual case.

Home Energy Scotland (HES) energy efficiency support is not restricted by property size. The HES advice service is available to all householders in Scotland and the HES Grant and Loan scheme is open to all owner-occupiers. Neither has any limitation or eligibility criteria relating to the size of property.