Seòmar agus comataidhean

As per the response provided to question S6W-34540 on 4 March 2025, Compensation provisions do exist where land, or rights over land, are acquired by compulsion for the development of energy infrastructure under the Electricity Act 1989. However, there is no statutory provision or process set out in the Act to financially compensate those who consider their property value may be affected.

The Scottish Government want all children and young people to get the support that they need to reach their full learning potential, no matter their circumstances. As such we highly value the work of Forces Children Scotland in advocating for children and young people from service families across the country.

The Scottish Government will continue to meet regularly with Forces Children Scotland to discuss our shared interests in supporting service children. The Minister for Children and Young People met with Forces Children Scotland on 18 September 2024. Forces Children Scotland are a member of the Scottish Armed Forces Education Support Group, which is chaired by a Scottish Government Official and meets quarterly. We are currently funding Forces Children Scotland through the Scottish Veterans Fund to support their Future Transitions project. In addition, the Minister for Veterans is meeting with the Armed Forces Families Federations on 6 May.

Unfortunately the Minister for Veterans was unable to attend the Forces Children's Rights Charter Roundtable on 25 April due to a pre-existing diary commitment.

Provision of medical first aid at a major sporting event is the event organisers’ responsibility which, in this instance, is the Glasgow 2026 Organising Company.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with event organisers to ensure that Scottish Ambulance Service, NHS Boards and Public Health Scotland are appropriately engaged in planning groups for major sporting events.

Public sector health colleagues work meticulously with the event organisers and any procured private first aid and ambulance services to ensure adequate first aid and health care is provided to event participants, workforce and spectators, in line with guidance and requirements as set out in the Green and Purple Guides.

The Green Guide, or ‘Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds’, provides guidance on safety at sports grounds for stadium operators and event organisers. The Purple Guide is aimed at event organisers who are responsible for managing health and safety and at events in more general terms.

In recognition of financial pressures, our 2025-26 budget includes record levels of investment - over £21.7 billion for Health and Social Care and over £15 billion for the Local Government Settlement.

While the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, it is for Health and Social Care Partnerships to ensure that support services are in place to provide people with the appropriate support in the right place and at the right time. Decisions on how best to deliver services to local communities, including funding for services like the Notre Dame Centre, are ultimately for local partners to make.

However, these decisions should be made in consultation with people who use those services and in full awareness of the impact on them and on other services who may be asked to provide support in their place.

I would therefore encourage all partners to work together to find solutions that not only address financial pressures but put the needs of local people, particularly those who are most vulnerable, at the centre.

The 2022 Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) Sexual Health Standards set out that patients should have access to information on both medical and surgical abortion to enable an informed choice of abortion method.

Information on available methods of abortion is available on the NHS Inform website and the websites of individual Health Boards. The Scottish Government continues to work with Scottish Abortion Care Providers (SACP) to improve the information provided to patients, both in written patient information and the information shared during consultations with healthcare staff.

The Scottish Government (SG) has acknowledged that, while the current system for granting Powers of Attorney (PoAs) generally functions well, certain elements require improving and updating.

In January SG published analysis of responses to a consultation on proposals for reform of the Adults with Incapacity Act, including PoAs.

SG are now considering those responses and working towards modernising the AWI Act, taking forward recommendations from the Scottish Mental Health Law Review.

Screening policy in Scotland is based on recommendations from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an expert advisory group which advises the UK nations on all aspects of screening. The UK NSC reviewed the starting age for cervical screening in 2013 and recommended it should be increased from 20 to 25. The Scottish cervical screening programme therefore offers routine screening to women and people with a cervix who are aged between 25 and 64.

Since 2008, the HPV vaccination has also been offered to women under 25, which provides immunity to the virus that causes the majority of cases of cervical cancer. No cervical cancers have been found in those vaccinated in Scotland.

Nonetheless, in August 2021, the then Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, Maree Todd, wrote to the UK NSC to ask them to keep the merits of lowering the age for cervical screening under review. To date, the evidence continues to support cervical screening beginning at the age of 25; a study found that for every 100,000 women invited for screening from the age of 20, an extra 8,000 women would need further investigation and 3,000 more would have unnecessary and potentially harmful treatment.

The Scottish Government understands the important role that sport and leisure services play in improving people’s lives, and the physical, mental, and social health benefits they can bring.

The Scottish Government recognises the financial challenges that local government are facing and that local authorities and their employees play a crucial role in communities and that is why the 2025-26 Scottish Budget provides record block grant funding of over £15.1 billion for local government, an increase of £1.1 billion or 5.5 per cent in real terms compared to 2024-25.

In 2025-26, Glasgow City Council will receive over £1.8 billion to support day to day services and capital investment plans, which equates to an extra £96.8 million or an additional 5.5% compared to 2024-25. In addition, all Councils will receive their fair share of the currently undistributed sum of £245 million and £144 million allocated for employers' National Insurance Contributions.

While it is for local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, we will work together to find collective solutions about issues that matter to the people of Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing further regulation of independent healthcare, through a phased approach to ensure that Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) has the capacity and appropriate staff in place to regulate the independent sector effectively.

The Scottish Government plans to engage with HIS and other relevant stakeholders during 2025-26 to ensure the proportionate scope of regulation of the private ambulance and the first aid sector. We anticipate completing the engagement with stakeholders prior to the Scottish parliamentary elections in 2026.

Once scoping is complete, a public consultation will be brought forward detailing proposals for regulation of the sector.

The Scottish Government (SG) has acknowledged that, while the current system for Powers of Attorney (PoAs) generally functions well, certain elements require improving and updating.

In January SG published analysis of responses to a consultation on proposals for reform of the Adults with Incapacity Act, including PoAs.

SG are now considering those responses and working towards modernising the AWI Act, taking forward recommendations from the Scottish Mental Health Law Review.