Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Minister for Victims and Community Safety said during Stage 1 of the Prostitution (Offences and Support) Scotland Bill on 3 February, that work to establish an independent Commission would commence immediately. I am pleased to announce that Fiona Taylor QPM has today been appointed to Chair the Independent Commission on the Criminalisation of the Purchase of Sex in Scotland and will begin work straight away.

Fiona Taylor brings significant experience to the issues and challenges engaged in this important area of work, having had a distinguished career including serving as Deputy Chief Constable and Interim Chief Constable of Police Scotland.

The Commission will provide recommendations to Ministers on how to safely and effectively criminalise the purchase of sex in Scotland with particular focus on ensuing any new offence is operationally effective and enforceable and identifying the requirements of a deliverable and sustainable support package for those who wish to exit prostitution. The Commission will report to Ministers within 12 months of commencing.

Recognising the value and importance of lived experience will be at the heart of the Commission. The Chair will be supported by expert members who will be appointed in due course.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-44092 on 11 March 2026. 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.

In Scotland, the national clinical pathway for sapropterin use in individuals with phenylketonuria (PKU) applies the UK best-practice consensus guidelines developed by the British Inherited Metabolic Disease Group (BIMDG). This ensures a consistent approach to dosing and assessment of treatment response across the UK’s metabolic services.

The pathway specifies a starting dose of 10 mg per kilogram of body weight per day for the period of responsiveness testing.

The decision to prescribe a medicine, and which medicine to prescribe, is entirely for the clinician in charge of a person’s care, having taken into account their clinical condition, safety and any relevant clinical guidance.

Scottish Government confirmed that Salmon Scotland identified an error in its 2024 antibiotic usage figures submitted to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and that it would correct the public record and in future introduce additional verification of their antibiotic usage data collection and reporting system.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-44092 on 11 March 2026. 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 regulation of veterinary medicines is a reserved matter for the UK Government. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is responsible for market authorisation of antibiotics and undertaking appropriate monitoring. It also publishes sectoral antibiotic sales and usage figures annually in its Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance Sales and Surveillance (VARSS) Report.

VMD works in partnership with various animal sectors to develop, facilitate and coordinate antibiotic usage data collection systems. These data are reported on a voluntary basis and, for salmon farming, cover both freshwater and marine production. Data is collected by Salmon Scotland representing 100% of the salmon farming sector. Recently Salmon Scotland discovered an error in their 2024 return which was swiftly corrected and is now reflected in the VMD’s 2024 report.

For the purpose of environmental protection, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) places licence conditions on marine fish farm operators to record and report antibiotic treatments to SEPA, including the product and volume used. Figures for 2024 remain unchanged.

Figures published by SEPA and VMD are inherently different as they each report on different phases of production.

Social Security Scotland does not measure the average processing time for accepting a power of attorney, and does not have a target for this.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-44072 on 11 March 2026. 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

Funding for this Service has not been withdrawn. As the Scottish National Pain Management Programme (SNPMP) is now an established national specialist service, it is now funded in the same way as all other national specialist services, with money top sliced from NHS Boards’ core funding allocations to contribute to the service.

NHS Boards began to contribute to covering the cost of the SNPMP through top slicing from 2024-2025, with the Scottish Government providing the remainder of the funding. As of 2025-2026, the service is funded entirely through top slicing, in line with other national specialist services.

The Scottish National Pain Management Programme is a designated national specialist service. This means that anyone resident in Scotland who meets the criteria can be referred to the Programme and seen by the Programme. This ensures equity of access to all patients across Scotland.

The Service is now funded in its entirety through this national funding mechanism. There are no additional costs to NHS Boards or to individual patients to access this service.

While Royal Mail and postal delivery services are reserved to the UK Government the Scottish Government is committed to the safe delivery of the parliamentary election on 7 May.

I have been concerned to see the recent reports from the BBC and other media outlets stating that Royal Mail are pursuing a policy of prioritising the delivery of parcels while letters remain undelivered for a much longer period of time than should be the case. This is why I have already written to Mr Alistair Cochrane, Interim CEO of the Royal Mail Group requesting a meeting to discuss with him how Royal Mail intend to ensure election materials are delivered within the required timescales. This meeting is scheduled to take place on 19 March 2026.

In addition, representatives of the Electoral Management Board for Scotland will be meeting with Royal Mail on a weekly basis from mid-March through to the election on 7 May. This has been normal practice in the run up to previous elections and provides an opportunity to deal with any issues as they arise.

We expect the agency to start operating from 2027-28 and to be fully functional in 2028-29. Insofar as this question concerns the legal status of the new housing agency, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43954 on 11 March 2026. 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.