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The average turnaround times for a non-suspicious post mortem to take place - measured from the later of the date of instruction from COPFS or the date the deceased is admitted to the designated mortuary to the date the post mortem takes place – is detailed in the following table:

Average Post Mortem turnaround time for non-suspicious deaths – April to October 2024

There are no forensic pathologists currently based in Aberdeen.

Two members of administration staff support the pathology service in Aberdeen.

Marketing campaigns are one intervention used by the Scottish Government to support the population of Scotland to live healthy and active lives. They typically support wider programmes of activity or run alongside other interventions.

Overall progress against this national outcome is tracked through the National Performance Framework, with the latest available progress on each of the health indicators found on the gov.scot website.

Individual programmes of work will be developed and evaluated to reflect policy aims and objectives in a particular area. These may at times (depending on outcomes being sought) include marketing campaigns.

The Cancer strategy and Cancer action plan (which can be found on gov.scot) provide an example of a wider programme of work which includes marketing campaigns. The Cancer action plan includes a section on Monitoring and Evaluation.

Different programmes of work will be evaluated in different ways and at times this might include the use of QALYs.

Large-scale, long-duration electricity storage, such as pumped hydro storage, will play a critical role in lessening our dependence on fossil fuels for electricity generation, supporting our net zero ambitions.

It will help to maximise our significant renewable energy generating capacity by providing flexibility to the grid, ensuring that there is a continuous resilient and secure supply of electricity to households and businesses.

Our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) places climate and nature at the centre of our planning system and makes clear our support for all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emission technologies, including energy storage. Potential impacts on communities, nature and other receptors are important considerations in the planning process. All applications are subject to site-specific assessments.

In my capacity as Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, I can confirm that I have not met Echt & Dunecht Against Pylons.

In my capacity as Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, I can confirm that I have not met Hill of Fare Windfarm Information Group.

Health marketing campaigns are one intervention used by the Scottish Government to support the population of Scotland to live healthy and active lives. They typically support wider programmes of activity or run alongside other interventions.

Where possible, marketing campaigns are evaluated using bespoke quantitative research, as well as where appropriate and available, indicators of direct response to a campaign such as visits to a particular website or web pages, calls to a helpline, vaccine uptake, cancer referrals, etc – during the campaign period.

Quantitative research typically provides campaign related metrics such as awareness, recognition, message take-out, engagement and action taken in response. Knowledge, attitudes and claimed behaviour among the target audience are often also measured and sometimes tracked pre to post campaign or over the longer term.

QALY (quality-adjusted life years) is a metric that is typically used in the evaluation of wider programmes of work or longer term interventions, where felt to be appropriate.

There is a long-established practice of Procurators Fiscal instructing the police in their investigation of crime and all suspicious sudden and unexplained deaths.

Investigation and direction may be issued in relation to specific matters in the context of ongoing liaison between the police and Procurators Fiscal who can instruct the police during the course of investigations and when further investigation is required in a case.

This is carried out as routine engagement during the investigative process and as such is not recorded as specific implementation of section 12 of the 1995 Act.

All locum pathologists used to cover non-suspicious Crown-instructed post mortems in Aberdeen are NHS consultants with significant experience of conducting examinations. Prior to being instructed by the Crown, each locum pathologist is interviewed by COPFS officials and an experienced Forensic Pathologist to confirm that they have the appropriate skills and experience to take on the role.

There are no identified quality issues with the post mortem examinations being carried out by locum pathologists in Aberdeen.

The Scottish Government recognises that high quality, accessible and affordable early learning and childcare is vital in rural areas to support children’s outcomes and to enable parents or carers to train, work or study. A full response to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee report, Remote and Rural Healthcare Inquiry, was sent on 18 November. The Scottish Government, in collaboration with the Centre for Workforce Supply and the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care will develop a sustained model of direct support that will provide rural and island employers with the help they need to improve recruitment success.

We recognise the provision of childcare is a key factor to support more people in rural and island communities to enter and sustain training, employment and starting a business. The Scottish Government continues to fully fund local authorities to deliver 1140 hours of Early Learning and Childcare to eligible children across Scotland, backed by almost £1 billion funding each year. In addition, at a national level, several work programmes are underway to support childcare access in rural and island communities. This includes –

• Funding a new national childminder recruitment and retention programme.
• Making grants available to local authorities via the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan Fund, two of which will contain a focus on addressing childcare issues in areas affected by acute population decline.
• Providing local authorities with an additional £16m in 2024-25 to support payment of the real Living Wage to staff delivering funded ELC in the private and third sectors.
• Investing £16 million over the next two years into our early adopter communities (EACs), including those in rural and island locations. We are extending the number of communities involved in this work in existing EACs in Dundee, Clackmannanshire Glasgow and Inverclyde – as well as further expanding into Fife and the Shetland Isles. This will allow us to test and understand particular challenges and opportunities in rural and island areas.