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The locations of the three Neonatal Intensive Care Units was based on clinical evidence that the very smallest and sickest babies, including those born extremely premature (below 27 weeks), do best when they are cared for in larger specialist neonatal units which look after a lot of these babies, and have the right staff and services available on site to give them the very best care. The Best Start report recommended that we move to three of these units in Scotland, to meet the needs of our population.

The Options Appraisal Report , published on 25 July 2023 describes the process undertaken to determine the three final Neonatal Intensive Care Units, and the feasibility analysis and testing that followed the conclusion of that process. Annex A of the Report includes the criteria and weighting used for the Options Appraisal Process. Based on the evidence, the criteria focused on collocated clinical specialist services.

To support all parents who have babies admitted to neonatal care the Young Patients Family Fund provides funds to cover the cost of travel, subsistence and any accommodation required.

The three NICU units; Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, the Aberdeen Maternity Hospital and the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary will serve the West, North and East regions of Scotland. Data on births in Scotland is published on the National Records of Scotland website for every year since 1991, broken down by NHS Board or council area of birth.

The membership of the Best Start Review Group and the Best Start Sub-Groups is published in Appendix E and Appendix F of the Best Start Report .

Dr Ian Wallace, at the time Medical Director at NHS Lanarkshire, was a member of the Best Start Review Group and the Neonatal Models of Care sub group.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22237 on‎ 10 November 2023. 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

We continue to work with COSLA and local authority partners to develop delivery plans. This includes consideration of funding, monitoring and reporting. At present local authorities are responsible for the management of their own digital assets and will have their own local processes in place to handle any repair or replacement.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring we have a comprehensive and high quality free school meal programme and we regularly work with other nations to ensure good practice is shared.

We have no plans at this stage to join the School Meals Coalition. For over a decade, Scotland has been actively involved with International School Meals Day which provides us with the opportunity to promote school meal uptake in Scotland and to showcase Scotland's model of school food provision and food education on the international stage.

To date 63 countries are engaged with International School Meals Day, each sharing their knowledge and experience of supporting children and young people to access balanced and nutritious school lunches to support their healthy growth and development.

It is not within Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s legal remit to assess decisions made nationally. Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Community Engagement arm supports, ensures and monitors NHS Boards and Integration Authorities activity in relation to patient focus and public involvement in health services.

When decisions are made by the Scottish Government on NHS services, they are scrutinised through the Parliamentary process, the Health and Social Care Committee and Audit Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s Participation Framework provides information / guidance on relevant commitments to public participation that Scottish Government must adhere to. The Participation Framework supports Scottish Government to take decisions about how to open up opportunities for participation in ways that best suit the needs policy areas, the types of contribution being sought, and the characteristics and needs of the people being engaged with.

The General Medical Council (GMC) is responsible for setting the national standards of medical education and training as the UK regulator. As part of work improve medical training on women’s health the GMC are introducing specific assessments for undergraduate medical students on women’s health, including on menopause, obstetrics, and gynaecology. This will apply to all medical students in Scotland.

Additionally, NHS Education for Scotland (NES), the body responsible for setting the postgraduate medical education curriculum in Scotland, have been asked to develop menopause and menstrual health training for all healthcare professionals working across the multi-disciplinary teams in primary care general practice.

The Scottish Government is advised on food safety and standards matters by Food Standards Scotland (FSS). They have advised that a formal post implementation review of the Honey (Scotland) Regulations 2015 has been delayed due to the need to prioritise EU exit related food law work, and more recently matters relating to the Retained EU (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023.

A post-implementation review is due to be undertaken as part of consideration of proposed EU changes to labelling requirements for blended honey. FSS has contacted honey producers in Scotland to ask for initial views on these proposals, and are working closely with policy officials on a UK basis to consider next steps.

In the meantime, FSS continues to monitor the effectiveness and suitability of the Honey (Scotland) Regulations 2015 through communication with stakeholders, including Local Authorities, businesses and consumers.

Membership of the expert group, remit/terms of reference and minutes of expert group meetings group will be published on the Building and Fire Safety Ministerial Working Group website once they have been agreed. A detailed programme of work is currently under development to establish a timeframe for reporting and will be agreed at the first meeting of the group on 28 November 2023.