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Neither the Scottish Government nor NHS 24 currently hold that information due to the anonymous nature of NHS inform which doesn’t ask for, or collect, any personal information.

However, working with NHS 24 we are in the process of developing a formal review of NHS inform, recognising it as a national asset that is currently visited over 10 million times per month to ensure that it continues to meet future requirements and continues to support improved choice and access to services.

As part of this review work, we will engage with the public and take an evidence-based approach and commence a robust Equality Impact Assessment to ensure the service is inclusive.

Financial planning to address the significant challenges our public finances face took place in advance of the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance's update on the 2023-24 in-year budget changes on 21 November.

The difficult decisions which have had to be taken, have allowed us to help balance the Scottish Government's budget, while still progressing implementation of our mental health and wellbeing strategy from a revised direct budget of £260.3 million.

As set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual grant payments should not be made in advance of need.

Increasing the availability of long acting reversible contraception (LARC) is identified as a priority in both the Women’s Health Plan (2021) and our recently published Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan. The Scottish Government is committed to working with Health Boards and the Women's Health Champion to improve access to LARC.

The total cost of non-domestic rates relief policies depends on other decisions taken in the Scottish Budget including the Basic, Intermediate and Higher Property Rates. Decisions on non-domestic rates for 2024-2025, including the Property Rates, will be announced in the Scottish Budget 2024-2025 on 19 December 2023.

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Delivery Board, chaired by COSLA and Scottish Government produced a number of learning resources for the workforce to support children and young people’s mental health. All resources are hosted on the Digital Learning Map and will continue to be supported by NHS Education for Scotland (NES). These resources have been disseminated through key networks.

Further details on the work of the Board and links to the resources can be found in the report Children and Young People's Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Delivery Board: final report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting people with cystic fibrosis (CF) to benefit from medicines which help them to live fuller lives, for longer. That is why we introduced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the manufacturer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, in 2018. As part of the MoU, there was an expectation that Vertex would resubmit each of their CF medicines to the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) for a health technology appraisal (HTA). To progress this, the SMC is collaborating with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on a multiple technology appraisal (MTA) of Vertex’s CF medicines, including Kaftrio ® .

While the NICE MTA is ongoing, I can confirm that all existing and new patients in Scotland who are on, or who are started on a CF medicine will continue to have access to that CF medicine after NICE and the SMC issue their final recommendations. This will be irrespective of the outcome of the appraisal and will cover any need to subsequently switch to a different CF medicine.

If any CF medicine is not recommended in the final MTA guidance, clinicians in Scotland will be able to request the use of that medicine on a case-by-case basis for any new patients using the Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS) Tier Two process. National guidance explicitly states that Health Boards should not take account of the cost of medicines when considering applications using the PACS Tier Two system.

The Scottish Government does not hold information which breaks down the staff cost, or staff time, that was committed to the delivery of the Fairer Council Tax Consultation.

The Council Tax Team and Local Taxation Unit, and analysts that supported the delivery of the consultation, work across a number of aspects of Local Tax policy and their time cannot be disaggregated from other demands. Approximately nine members of staff contributed to this work.

The Association of Scottish Principal Educational Psychologists (ASPEP), in collaboration with the Scottish Division of Educational Psychologists (SDEP), and partners, are in the process of convening a working group.

This group will focus on the development of a strategy to promote more widely the role that Educational Psychologists play, as part of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce, in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people across Scotland.

The Scottish Government is working with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to develop the Coming Home Practitioner Peer Support Network and this will be launched in early 2024.

HIS will bring their sector expertise in strategic improvement to bring together professionals from a range of disciplines and agencies, as well as people with lived experience, to form a Practitioner Peer Support Network to learn and share best practice. The network will provide a space for local teams to learn from others who have implemented successful services and processes, for collaborative problem-solving and to pool resources such as staff or buildings.

This is a key step in our Coming Home programme of work, which aims to reduce delayed discharge and inappropriate out-of-area placements for people with learning disabilities and complex care needs.

The Scottish Government does not hold individual information on NHS patients de-registered. NHS Boards make arrangements with independent contractors and dental bodies corporate to provide NHS dental services. A practice will notify the respective NHS Board when de-registering a patient.

Official statistics published by Public Health Scotland, point to an improving picture since the lifting of the most significant pandemic restrictions on the dental sector: Dental statistics - NHS registration and participation 24 January 2023 - Dental statistics - registration and participation - Publications - Public Health Scotland.