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In Scotland, it is for Integration Joint Boards to govern, plan and resource adult palliative care in their areas, including independent hospice care, using the delegated budgets under their control. As such, this information is not centrally available.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway has confirmed that all pregnant women in Wigtownshire continue to receive all of the maternity care that they require. Antenatal and postnatal maternity care, including maternity scanning is delivered by midwives locally via the Oaktree Family Centre in Stranraer. Women can also choose a home birth and will be supported by local midwives. Women who require more complex care may require some of their antenatal and postnatal care at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary and will be advised to birth there.

The provision of patient record systems remains the operational responsibility of Health Boards, but at a national level I can confirm it is our intention to launch the first version of a personalised digital health and social care service from December 2025. This was set out in the answer to question S6W-30875 on 11 November 2024.

The Scottish Government emphasises that this provides citizens with access to their own health and care data and accordingly will address the desire across Scotland for individuals to have access to a single shared patient record.

It is important to recognise that implementation of the service for our workforce, will build on our current Clinical Portal system, which currently enables many Health Boards across Scotland to have access to health information as part of the integrated record. This commitment is also set out in our recently published Programme for Government 2025-26 -https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/advice-and-guidance/2025/05/programme-government-2025-26/documents/programme-government-2025-26/programme-government-2025-26/govscot%3Adocument/programme-government-2025-26.pdf.

We highly recognise the importance of ensuring staff have access to the correct patient information where required, and we continue to improve this through development of our National Digital Platform, which enables the storage and integration of data for digital services that are public facing. We have also applied our learning collated from the use of the Clinical Portals, and we will continue to collate and apply intelligence gathered to our ongoing development of Integrated Records.

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

Although widespread across all ages and demographics, data tells us that disabled people, young people (16-24), people over 75 and those on low incomes are now the most at risk of social isolation and loneliness. To support the delivery of our Social Isolation and Loneliness Delivery Plan, we are providing £3.8m over three years to 53 community projects across Scotland through the Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund that is providing opportunities for people to connect. At the end of year one projects reached 11,293 individuals with a focus on priority groups most at risk of social isolation and loneliness. We also provide funding to Befriending Networks, who support befriending services across Scotland, and currently have 118 Scottish members.

Salmon farming is regulated primarily as development by Local Authorities through planning permissions granted under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. Other consents can include a seabed lease from Crown Estate Scotland, a licence from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (“SEPA”) under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 and a Marine Licence from the Scottish Government's Marine Directorate - Licensing Operations Team for the deposit of equipment under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

Incidents of marine pollution are typically reported to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (“MCA”), who then inform other relevant authorities. Where pollution is suspected to be associated with an aquaculture site, SEPA has primacy in investigating the cause and considering any potential sanctions.

In cases of pollution elsewhere than at an aquaculture site, the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate can investigate and it can take action if the evidence indicates that an offence under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 has been committed. This can include cases of unlicensed deposits of a substance or object into the marine environment or a failure to comply with the conditions of a licensed activity.

In the case of a vessel sinking, the responsible authority is the MCA and it directs any salvage operations through powers held by the Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention (“SOSREP”). The MCA also has responsibility for pollution emanating from vessels under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (“MarPol”).

We recognise that being physically active is one of the very best things we can do for our physical, social and mental health and we want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be active, regardless of their circumstances.

Our Physical Activity For Health Framework, published in October 2024, describes our evidence-based approach to achieving our vision of a Scotland where more people are more active, more often. Participation in walking sport is one way in which people can be more active and we recognise the important role of Walking Football Scotland in providing walking football opportunities across Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s 2021-22 Programme for Government included a commitment to progress work to tackle violence against men and boys, investing in services which support male survivors of rape and domestic abuse.

In line with our PfG commitment we have invested in services which support male survivors of abuse by funding the following organisations:

• Men’s Advice Line, who provide emotional support and practical advice and information for male victims of domestic abuse in Scotland.
• SACRO’s FearFree Project which supports male and LGBTI survivors of domestic violence.
• AMIS, a charity that support men experiencing domestic abuse through their national helpline, website and training services.
• The Scottish Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline to support both male and female victims and survivors.
• ASSIST, who as part of their work provide advocacy support to male survivors of domestic abuse in the West of Scotland and the Lothians.
• LGBT Domestic Abuse project, which works across Scotland to raise awareness and improve service responses of LGBT people's experiences of domestic abuse and other forms of gender based violence.

All legislative changes adopted to address domestic abuse and rape and sexual assault, such as the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 similarly protect both female and male victims.

Furthermore, Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy to prevent and eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls, recognises that men and boys can also be victims of violence and abuse. Its focus on the disproportionate harm women and girls face due to this type of violence is in line with United Nations and World Health Organisation approaches, and enables us to meet our obligations under international human rights legislation such as CEDAW and the Istanbul Convention.

Maternity services continue to be provided for women in Wigtownshire, including local antenatal and postnatal care, scanning and the option of midwife-supported home birth for women who choose to birth locally. Women who require more complex maternity care continue to be supported by the full clinical team at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary. Responsibility for the design and delivery of local services lies with NHS Boards and Integration Joint Boards in line with their duties to deliver safe, effective and sustainable care. The findings and rationale behind the IJB’s decision not to reopen the birth unit in Stranraer are publicly available on the Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership’s website: Integration Joint Board Meetings 2021-2025 – Dumfries & Galloway Health & Social Care. Like all Boards, NHS Dumfries and Galloway is expected to continually assess risk and outcomes as part of routine clinical governance.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37627 on 27 May 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

Decisions in relation to Exceptional Circumstances and Appeals services for the National Qualifications are an operational matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

Figures quoted in a recent media article related to SQA’s Exam Exceptional Circumstances Consideration Service (EECCS). SQA is the only awarding body in the UK that offers an exceptional circumstances service which specifically reviews alternative evidence. It has been designed to offer young people the best opportunity to demonstrate evidence of attainment if their examination experience is impacted by, for example, bereavement, illness or other personal circumstances. This is a pre-certification process, with requests being submitted within 10 working days after the relevant exam. This means that if a young person experiences bereavement or other personal circumstance ahead of an exam, they can ask for alternative evidence to be taken into account when their grade is being determined – whether or not they are able to attend the exam.

The SQA Appeals service is a separate process that takes place following certification for learners who consider they have not achieved their expected results, and involves a marking review of SQA-marked assessments. Candidates who have undergone exceptional circumstances consideration are excluded from the Appeals Service for the same qualification. This is because the EECCS includes a marking review of any/all submitted external assessments that are related to the request.

SQA provided figures in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from The Herald newspaper on the number of EECCS requests made and cancelled. SQA do not categorise EECCS requests as successful or rejected. It is incorrect to interpret the data as showing that the SQA did not approve over 90% of exam appeals made on the grounds of bereavement.

While SQA may cancel an EECCS request in some circumstances (where, for example, estimates had not been provided, coursework not completed, or a lack of supporting evidence), a larger number of requests are cancelled by the candidate’s centre (school, college or training provider).

For personal circumstances, such as bereavement, the type of EECCS request submitted is determined by the Head of Centre. SQA do not assess the reason for the request or require access to further details regarding the submission. A centre may cancel an EECCS request if they later determine that either there is not a justification for the request, or the alternative evidence available is not sufficient.

To maintain impartiality and fairness, examiners are not provided with any information about the nature of an EECCS request. This is an important safeguard that has been built into the EECCS to ensure that all candidates are treated equally and receive grades based on evidence-based demonstrated attainment against the national standard.