Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-04961 on 18 September 2025. All answers to Oral 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 an estimate of any loss of tourism income resulting from restricted access at Historic Environment Scotland properties. Under the Historic Environment Scotland Act 2014, responsibility for managing these properties, including operational and financial matters, rests with Historic Environment Scotland.

I have therefore asked Historic Environment Scotland to provide the member with a detailed written response.

As of 17 November 2025, there have been 45 outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza amongst poultry and other captive birds in the UK in the current outbreak period (since 1 October 2025): 35 in England; six in Wales; three in Northern Ireland; and one case in Scotland. In the same period 253 wild birds in Great Britain have been identified as infected with the virus, only 12 of which have been located in Scotland.

As with England and Wales, Scotland has had an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) in place since January this year, which has required all bird keepers in Scotland top apply strict biosecurity measures at their premises including measures to deter wild birds, prevent contamination and incursion into flocks and to apply best practice hygiene and husbandry process in order to protect flocks. Scotland has also worked with their operational partners, including the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to act rapidly on the suspicion of disease and to apply disease controls to close down the spread of infection at the three premises at which outbreaks have occurred in 2025.

Officials have been meeting with Scottish poultry industry representatives to discuss the correct and proportionate response to the current risk levels and outbreaks in the UK. The housing of birds in Scotland is being considered, but this is being balanced against significant welfare of impact of confining millions of birds, potentially over a sustained period. CVO Scotland will, however, continue to act swiftly and effectively in response to the changing situation and characteristics of this virus.

Scottish Government continue to issue disease prevention communications urging all bird keepers to apply robust biosecurity best practices in order to protect their birds and to remain vigilant for clinical signs of the disease in their flocks. They are reminded that it is a legal requirement to report suspicion of the disease.

The Scottish Government expects organisations awarded public contracts or receiving public sector grants to maintain agreed workforce standards and professional conduct. Questions on Fair Work First are routinely included in Scottish Government contracts and as a standard requirement in grant conditions. These criteria make clear that exploitative practices, such as unpaid trial shifts, are incompatible with fair work.

Under public procurement legislation, bidders can be excluded from procurement procedures where there is evidence of breaches of employment law or professional misconduct. For grants, there is no statutory exclusion mechanism; instead, compliance with Fair Work First criteria is a condition of funding, and failure to comply will result in termination of the grant and recovery of funds. As with all commercial, procurement, and grant matters, decisions must be taken on a case-by-case basis with appropriate legal advice being sought.

The Scottish Government remains fully committed to reaching net zero by 2045 and Scotland’s new draft Climate Change Plan (CCP) is clear that climate action presents a real and growing economic opportunity to create green jobs and boost investment. The CCP describes how we will ensure that the opportunities of net zero – for cleaner air, better infrastructure and energy security, affordable heating and improved public services – are seized and fairly distributed as part of a just transition. Supporting people to take climate action has never been so important – particularly as we are witnessing a concerning rise in anti-climate rhetoric, despite the majority of people in Scotland recognising that climate change is an immediate and urgent problem.

Scotland’s share of global greenhouse gas emissions has decreased from 0.25% in 1990 to between 0.08%-0.09% in each of the last five years. Scotland has demonstrated how smaller countries can contribute to global change, decarbonising much faster than the EU27 average. Using comparable statistics published by the EU (which exclude emissions from land use), Scotland is 18 percentage points closer to net zero than the EU27 average. Through our positions as Regions4 president and Under2 Coalition European co-chair, Scotland is using its leadership to strengthen international cooperation and capacity building; strengthen states, regions and devolved governments’ influence within international climate discussions and drive global climate ambition. If the world is to deliver on our Paris Agreement commitments and the Glasgow Climate Pact, all nations need to continue to increase ambition and take credible action to reach net zero emissions, rather than rolling back on collective progress.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) commenced their safe delivery of care inspection of all 18 obstetric maternity units in January this year. HIS publishes its methodology for the maternity inspection programme on its website: Safe delivery of care in maternity units inspection programme – Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

All of the inspections carried out by HIS are independent, unannounced and specific to each hospital and NHS Board. This allows for a real-time response to emerging issues and allows us to take a local approach, ensuring lessons are learned and improvements made quickly.

HIS has published inspection reports for Ninewells Hospital Dundee in May 2025 and Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in October 2025. The Scottish Government is notified when HIS inspectors begin a Safe Delivery of Care inspection at a hospital. In addition to the published reports HIS have undertaken unannounced inspections of three further maternity units, and we expect to see those reports publish in due course.

The initial stages of identifying individuals eligible to have their convictions quashed under the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act 2024 focused on the assessment of potential cases referred by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) as most likely to contain relevant convictions, followed by an assessment using broader criteria applied to cases identified by Police Scotland.

As part of ongoing monitoring, the Scottish Government continue to work closely with Post Office Limited and the UK Government, with data sharing agreements in place to facilitate the exchange of information that supports the implementation of a consistent approach across the UK. The Scottish Government also engage with the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters (NFSP) and provide public information to ensure that anyone who may have a relevant conviction is aware that they can approach the Scottish Government at any time to have their conviction assessed. Information on how to apply to the Scottish Government directly remains available on the Scottish Government website.

To date, the Scottish Government have identified 64 individuals with convictions quashed by the Act, and one individual with an alternative to prosecution within the scope of the Act. While a matter for the UK Government, we understand that all of these individuals are eligible to apply to the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS) administered by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). It should be noted that DBT does not provide information to the Scottish Government on the outcome of compensation claims, as this is considered a matter between the individual and the administrator of the scheme. However, from the information available to the Scottish Government, 52 out of the 65 eligible individuals have now applied to HCRS. Furthermore, the Scottish Government has proactively shared with DBT the information pertaining to the remaining individuals eligible to apply for compensation, to enable DBT to engage with them and provide more information about the scheme.

In 2022, joint inspection arrangements between HMICS and HIS were established to ensure that healthcare aspects of custody centre operations are appropriately scrutinised by suitably qualified professionals. They work to ensure that individuals in custody receive equitable healthcare and support compared to the general population, within the constraints of the custody environment.

Following the development of an interim framework to inspect, and the HIS baseline review of healthcare provision in police custody in 2023, the framework to inspect was finalised in 2024. This has since underpinned the programme of joint inspections.

Scottish Government provides £180,000 annually to support the healthcare aspect of these inspections.

When issues are identified through inspections, be they systemic or specific to individual centres, it is for Police Scotland and the NHS to work alongside relevant partners to deliver the necessary improvements to align with recommendations made.

Relating specifically to obtaining Controlled Drug Licenses and implementing policies on access to prescribed medication, in March 2024 the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy committed to request annual updates from health boards to monitor progress. This followed the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee’s consideration of Petition PE1900.

The Scottish Government continues to oversee implementation across Scotland including a recently commissioned survey to all Health Boards to monitor compliance in each area. These steps demonstrate commitment to ensuring detainees in police custody across Scotland have access to prescribed medications, including methadone.

I recognise how debilitating Tourette Syndrome can be and want to ensure that all people living in Scotland with this condition can access the best possible care and support.

The decision to create, update and/or replace any SIGN guideline is made independently by the Evidence Directorate Work Programme Committee in Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

Any group or individual can propose a guideline topic, and proposed guidelines under consideration can be found on the SIGN website: Our guidelines/

The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 stipulates that the Chief Constable of Police Scotland is responsible for the policing of Scotland, and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority for this, rather than to Scottish Ministers directly. These arrangements are in place to ensure public confidence that the police act independently, free from unwarranted Ministerial interference. This means the Scottish Government cannot interfere in operational policing matters, including their Standard Operating Procedures.