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Uptake for child flu vaccinations by Health Board level is not published by Public Health Scotland.

We recommend contacting NHS Highland’s Immunisation Team directly, as they may be able to provide you with additional management information data.

The principles of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 should be given effect to in any intervention in the affairs of an adult lacking capacity. One of these principles is that the views of interested parties should be taken account of when determining if an intervention is to be made and what intervention is to be made. This includes those who are acting as power of attorney.

While the latest Action on Smoking and Health Smokefree GB Youth Survey shows that only a very small percentage (3%) of children in Scotland reported ever using nicotine pouches in 2024 and 2025, I am concerned about these products and their appeal to children and young people.

We know from existing evidence that other nicotine products, including cigarettes, can negatively impact an individual’s oral health and increase the risk of gum disease, however there is currently limited clinical evidence on the impact of nicotine pouches specifically. Scottish Government will continue to review the evidence and take any appropriate and necessary action required to support the oral health of children and young people.

In the meantime we continue to offer free regular NHS dental examinations to everyone in Scotland, to enable risk factors to be identified and recorded. NHS dental services also offer enhanced preventative treatment, including smoking cessation advice, for all patients including children and young people.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42570 on 29 December 2025. 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 2018 Oral Health Improvement Plan set out the Scottish Government’s intention to introduce enhanced service practitioners, working within the General Dental Service (GDS) or primary care/ high street environment. The aim of this proposal was to support more treatment delivery in a primary care setting rather than requiring referral to hospital, and included a system of accreditation for GDS dentists covering support, mentoring, governance, quality assurance and training.

The Scottish Government introduced the role of enhanced services practitioners in June 2019 in the domiciliary care sector, as set out in the following amendment to the Statement of Dental Remuneration: PCA(D)(2019)09 - Dentists with enhanced skills in domiciliary care: NHS (General Dental Services) (Scotland) regulations 2010 - amendments; Amendment no 136 to the Statement of Dental Remuneration.

Since the introduction of enhanced services practitioners in the domiciliary care sector, Government priorities have necessarily focused on supporting the dental sector through the Covid-19 pandemic, pandemic recovery, and implementing dental payment reform in November 2023 – the most significant change to the dental payment system in a generation, and a critical enabler to wider service sustainability into the long-term.

In June 2025, the Scottish Government published the Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework which further affirms our commitment to shift care into the community and away from hospital settings. As part of strategic work around Framework implementation, we are considering how best to reduce referrals to hospital dental services including the potential roll-out of wider enhanced skills dentists in primary care.

The Scottish Government recognises both the importance of gaining a better understanding of Whole Time Equivalence (WTE) within the primary care dental workforce, and the potential limitations associated with existing headcount data. In response, a dental workforce survey was published on 31st October 2024 which provides an insight into the WTE distribution of primary care dentists across NHS Boards and can be found at the following link: Dental Workforce Survey 2024 | Turas Data Intelligence.

The Scottish Government is also currently working with NHS Education for Scotland as part of a Short Life Working Group on data. The focus of this work is to seek to create a more holistic data set for dental statistics, including regular measurement of the Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) of the dental workforce, to better support workforce planning processes and alleviate dental access pressures.

The Scottish Government does not currently have any plans to make bleed kits available nationally across Scotland. We encourage the public to focus on calling the emergency services for assistance in the case of an emergency and encourage members of the public to learn the basic first aid skills which could be vital in saving a life.

During incidents where bleeding control is required, it is important that bystanders are given the best advice on how to provide direct pressure to a bleeding wound using readily available items such as dry towels or clothing. Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) call handlers are well trained to provide first aid advice to bystanders before an ambulance arrives.

SAS follows the position of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, which is supported by a number of UK organisations such as the London Ambulance Service and the NHS England London Violence Reduction Programme, in promoting bystander first aid but not the general role out of commercially available bleed kits.

The SAS major trauma team regularly reviews how best to treat patients experiencing significant bleeding, which includes reviewing and taking part in guidance and research.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving life expectancy and tackling health inequalities across the whole population.

On 17 June 2025, the Scottish Government and COSLA published a Population Health Framework, which sets out a whole-system, cross-government and cross-sector approach to improving population health and reducing inequalities over the next decade.

There are no current plans for the Scottish Government to develop a specific strategy focused on men’s health; however, the Framework contains 30 initial actions, including in those areas that disproportionately affect men. For instance, the Scottish Government's commitment to develop a Healthcare Inequalities Action Plan to improve healthcare access and equity, as well as development of an Alcohol and Drugs Strategic Plan - building on the progress of the National Mission - which will be published in the new year.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government will shortly be publishing a new Suicide Prevention Action Plan, for 2026 – 2029. In view of the persistent trend of male suicide, the Scottish Government is determined to address and continue to test new, and creative, ways to reach and support men.

The Scottish Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will look at the scope of a national review of maternity services based on the emerging themes and outcomes of the Healthcare Improvement Scotland Inspections of Maternity Units across Scotland, and any other area that the Taskforce might identify. As the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care made clear during the Maternity Service debate in the Scottish Parliament on 5 November 2025, the Taskforce will be asked to review specifically the issues in Caithness and other rural communities, including Stranraer.

A full workplan will be agreed by the Taskforce once it has been established, and Parliament will be updated in due course.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42499 on 29 December 2025. 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.