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The equipment used by firefighters is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. SFRS has invested over £600,000 in purchasing 300 new thermal imaging cameras and every front line appliance with breathing apparatus has a thermal imaging camera (TIC). Spare TICs are stored at SFRS Asset Resource Centres rather than in fire stations.

The operational guidance used to keep firefighters safe is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). Firefighters in Scotland do not currently have wearable tracking devices but this is an area that SFRS are exploring for the future.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39324 on 31 July 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.

To ensure transparency in the reform of the school inspection system, HM Inspectors introduced a revised approach to stakeholder engagement in November 2024. This approach is designed to support continuous improvement and ensure that inspection activity remains purposeful and inclusive of all stakeholders, including children and young people.

A key safeguard is the establishment of a Stakeholder Forum in December 2024. This forum plays a central role in testing ideas and informing the ongoing review of school inspection. Between December 2024 and May 2025, HM Inspectors engaged with over 1,300 adult stakeholders and 500 children and young people through targeted sessions, national online events, and questionnaires, ensuring a wide range of perspectives were considered.

To further strengthen transparency, professional legitimacy, and system-wide ownership, a public consultation will be launched in Autumn 2025. This will provide an open platform for feedback and help shape reform of the school inspection system.

The Scottish Government supports the fishing industry to transition to low-impact or sustainable fishing methods through the £14m Marine Fund Scotland (MFS).

Details of support awarded to date is available at www.gov.scot/publications/marine-fund-scotland-grants-awarded/

Examples include £126,000 to Fisheries Innovation & Sustainability in 2024-25 for the Smarttrawl project to improve selectivity, and £299,000 to KIMO to help fishers responsibly dispose of and recycle waste, including nets.

The Scottish Government supports the fishing industry to transition to low-impact or sustainable fishing methods through the £14m Marine Fund Scotland (MFS).

Details of support awarded to date is available at www.gov.scot/publications/marine-fund-scotland-grants-awarded/

An example of support for training is £51,000 awarded to Fishing into the Future in 2024-25. This enabled them to hold an event bringing together the fishing industry, scientists and fisheries management to encourage innovation and sustainable practices.

The Scottish Government and CoSLA are working in partnership to deliver on the Joint Statement of Intent and Next Steps for Adult Social Care 2022-23 commitment to overhaul the current mechanism of eligibility criteria to ensure an approach to social care support that is based on human rights and needs, including for people living with dementia.

This work is being undertaken with input from an external working group including representatives from Disabled People’s Organisations, carers’ representatives, people working in the sector and academics. We are also ensuring the voices of people with lived experience are informing our work via the ongoing National Care Service co-design programme.

The work will include planning for assessment of impacts of any future eligibility criteria.

The New Dementia Strategy for Scotland emphasises the importance of ensuring that people are supported to receive a timely diagnosis, delivered in a person-centred manner, and high quality Post-Diagnostic Support is received for a minimum of 12 months, irrespective of where they live or how old they are. This includes a diagnosis of dementia being followed with clear, consistent quality information and support options, underpinned by inclusive communication approaches, including Post-Diagnostic Support, rehabilitation and other supportive treatments to people with dementia and their care partners.

To support the delivery of this ambition, and address variation in access, we have continued to invest an additional £3.5m per year to Health & Social Care Partnerships to increase uptake of this support in communities across Scotland.

We have also commissioned IFF Research to undertake an independent evaluation of Scotland’s dementia Post-Diagnostic Support policy. To better understand how this is being prioritised and delivered locally, and provide evidence of the value and impact of Post-Diagnostic Support to date which will help inform future Post-Diagnostic Support policy, service planning and practice.

To support the evaluation, we are progressing work with data specialists in the Scottish Government, local government and Public Health Scotland to improve data collection on diagnosis and Post-Diagnostic Support, with the aim of publishing more accurate data on the numbers of people living with a diagnosis and the proportion of those diagnosed who access Post-Diagnostic Support. Early work has seen Public Health Scotland develop an initial version of a Dementia Index which brings together 5 points of data from across Health and Social Care. This data work is crucial in helping us to identify the number of people living with dementia who are accessing care and support, ensuring that this links into data from primary care.

Lastly, I also want to highlight the role that dementia community groups across Scotland play in supporting people to seek a diagnosis and improve access to Post-Diagnostic Support. Working with the National Dementia Resilient Communities Board, made up of local, national and third sector partners alongside the voices of lived experience, the Scottish Government has allocated around £1.45m since 2024 to enhance the resilience of community and grassroots supports for those who are living with dementia.

A national local delivery plan (LDP) standard was introduced to agree priorities between Scottish Government and NHS boards for the provision of care and support. The LDP standard states all people newly diagnosed with dementia should receive a minimum of one year’s Post-Diagnostic Support, provided by a named link worker.

Extending the awareness, reach and impact of Post-Diagnostic Support is a key priority for all those living with dementia, from those diagnosed with the condition it its initial stages to those living in residential care. This supports people with dementia and their care partners to uphold their right to participation in care needs assessment, future care planning, choosing and arranging care, support and treatment. This includes advanced decision making, embracing the principle of shared decision making and in accordance with the principles of Realistic Medicine and detailed in the SIGN Dementia Guideline.

The regulation of medicines is reserved to the UK Parliament and the eligibility of individuals to prescribe, supply or administer medicines relies upon both profession and medicine-specific amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. The Scottish Parliament and Scottish Ministers have no statutory role in this matter.

Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters – including staffing for prescribing medication and treatment – are in the first instance the responsibility of the relevant NHS Board.

We continue to work closely with health boards and clinical professionals across Scotland to understand challenges regarding the recruitment and retention of professionals trained to prescribe ADHD medication.

To address specific challenges in the recruitment and retention of psychiatrists in Scotland we established a Working Group which has recently reported to Ministers (23 June 2025). Funding also continues to be provided to Boards for the additional roles to help mental health pharmacy services including within community mental health pharmacy support to improve medication use and prescribing practices.