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Health Boards are responsible for managing the NHS estate and should have business continuity plans in place. The Scottish Government is working closely with Health Boards and will provide support for contingency arrangements where a need is identified. Guidance on what needs to be included in a business continuity plan is provided by the Scottish Government.

NHS Boards are providing up to date information on RAAC on their websites - links to all NHSScotland Boards RAAC webpages are available on the NHS Scotland Assure RAAC Survey Programme webpage:

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) Discovery Survey Programme - List of Properties | National Services Scotland (nhs.scot) .

I met with representatives of the hospice sector on 3 October to discuss funding and the development of a new framework.

I have committed to holding a round table later this year to discuss the development of a framework with health and social care partnerships and independent hospices to support local planning, commissioning and funding of independent hospice care.

Transport Scotland officials have discussed a number of different propositions for new ferry services to Europe with prospective promoters and port operators. These discussions are conducted with due cognisance of promoters’ commercial considerations. We will continue to work closely with our ports and potential operators in exploring propositions for establishing new services.

The Scottish Government expects the highest shipping safety and crew welfare and employment conditions on vessels accessing Scotland’s ports and coastal waters.

Ferry operators are responsible for crewing arrangements whilst complying with the appropriate employment legislation and standards. Shipping safety and seafarer welfare and employment conditions are matters reserved to the UK Government.

The Maritime Labour Convention sets out the minimum working and living rights for seafarers with the onus on operators' good practice. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency are responsible for auditing vessels to ensure compliance. The recently introduced Seafarers’ Wages Act also ensures that UK seafarers on ferry services are paid the UK National Minimum Wage whilst working in UK waters.

The growth and development of AI offers our NHS the opportunity to make use of, and benefit from an exciting range of new and developing data based solutions. Our intention therefore is to empower and support NHS leadership in the use of these new technologies, to help build and share a wider knowledge base, rather than appointing a single AI champion.

By making use of Scotland’s AI Strategy, ICO advice and maintaining a focus on innovation, we will ensure that our health workforce remains at the forefront of essential health, research and care developments.

As of the morning of 9 October 2023 there were 165 young people held in young offender institutions in Scotland, five of whom were under the age of 18.

The Scottish Government has not held recent discussions with the UK Government regarding future roll-on/roll-off ferry links between Rosyth and ports in northern Europe.

Scottish Ministers have maintained that the Scottish Government wishes to see Scotland’s sea connections to Europe enhanced and are happy to consider any approach. Discussions have taken place between Transport Scotland officials and a number of prospective interested parties in recent years.

From May 2022, Health Boards are responsible for providing Community Treatment and Care (CTAC) services, including ear wax removal, to support GPs to do the job they are trained to do and to give patients access to a wider range of expert advice for their care. While we have made good progress in implementing CTAC and other multidisciplinary team (MDT) services, we know that service gaps remain.

We are therefore introducing an additional phased investment programme over the next 18 months, working with a small number of areas, at different stages of implementation, to demonstrate what a model of full implementation of CTAC, as well as pharmacotherapy services, can look like in practice. The evidence obtained through this programme will then inform a long-term investment proposition for these services.

We will also ensure that content on NHS inform is underpinned as far as possible with current clinical evidence.

The Scottish Government advocates Fair Work policy and believes there must be respectful and meaningful dialogue between employers and employees and their trade unions, to ensure employees are treated fairly.

Any prospective ferry operator would need to ensure their proposal meets all requirements under UK employment law. While employment law remains reserved, we will use our Fair Work policy to promote fairer work practices across the labour market in Scotland.

Policing is and will continue to be a priority for this Government. Police funding has increased year-on-year since 2016-17, with the Scottish Government investing more than £11.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013. The total budget for policing in 2023-24 is over £1.4 billion, which includes an additional £80 million in resource funding. This provides a stable basis from which to improve the delivery of policing and enhance the safety and security of communities across Scotland.

Specific decisions on deployment of resources are a matter for the Chief Constable who is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority.

Anyone affected by this kind of incident should report it to Police Scotland.