Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government has not carried out an analysis of the impact that citations for jury service may have on the wider economy.

We recognise the importance of Junior Doctors to NHS Scotland and the important work they contribute. Their demands for an above retail price index pay increase, plus an additional ask of 23.5% – meaning a pay raise of more than 35% - are unaffordable.

We have written to the independent Doctors and Dentist Review Bodies and asked them to consider a separate and specific recommendation for Junior Doctor pay in 2023. BMA Scotland have confirmed they wish to remain within the DDRB process this year.

Junior Doctors earn a basic salary plus a pay banding on top of their salary, meaning that the majority of Junior Doctors in their first year (FY1) are earning a salary of £40,000 plus a year. Their salaries continue to rise every year, and in their second year of training the majority will be earning £49,000+ per year. They are on a career journey towards becoming a senior doctor such as a Consultant or GP, with salaries in excess of £100,000 per year.

Information on the deferral rate for disabled students entering Higher Education is not held by the Scottish Government.

UCAS collect and publish information each year on the number of applicants, applications and acceptances for UK providers. As part of their releases, UCAS publish the number of acceptances who defer entry to a later year split by Domicile, Age and Gender, in their interactive dashboard. Deferral rates for those with a Disability Declared are not included.

UCAS Undergraduate end of cycle data resources 2022 | Undergraduate | UCAS

UCAS do publish the number of acceptances with a Disability Declared overall. This shows in the 2022 cycle, there were 6,535 Scottish domiciled acceptances with a Disability Declared, 17.5% of all Scottish domiciled acceptances.

The latest set of smoking-attributable deaths and smoking attributable hospital admissions up until 2021, will be published as a ScotPHO update on 21 March 2023. This can be accessed from

Smoking attributable deaths - ScotPHO

Smoking attributable admissions - ScotPHO

Information on smoking-attributable NHS costs is not held centrally by Public Health Scotland.

The strategic assessment for NHS Lanarkshire’s National Treatment Centre was submitted to the Scottish Government Capital Investment Group (CIG) in November 2022. As with all strategic assessments, this was noted by the CIG, and NHS Lanarkshire have been asked to move to the next stage in the planning process and to develop an initial agreement for the new facility, which is now underway.

I last met with the Chair of the BMA Scotland Committee on 11 January to discuss their request for a national conversation, and met with Chair of the BMA Scottish Junior Doctors Committee on 15 December to discuss their concerns around pay for Junior Doctors.

In addition I wrote to the Chair of the BMA on 21 February offering to meet with both him and the Chair of the BMA Scottish Junior Doctors Committee to discuss further.

This is not a matter for the Scottish Government.

Scotland’s seabird populations are an important part of our natural heritage and their protection is a high priority for the Scottish Government.

We recognise that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has had a substantial impact on wild birds and comes at a time when seabird populations in Scotland and globally are facing increasing challenges from a range of anthropogenic and natural pressures. The Scottish Government is working with the Scottish Avian Influenza Task Force to monitor and respond to HPAI on wild birds. This includes development of the HPAI in wild birds response plan which sets out the approach that the Scottish Government and its agencies will take to respond to an outbreak of HPAI in wild birds in Scotland.

However, further action is required to build resilience in our seabird populations. Through the UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative we will take action to reduce and where possible eliminate bycatch of sensitive marine species, including seabirds, in UK fisheries. Research is being undertaken into the impacts of seabird bycatch in Scottish longlines and we are working with the sector on implementing mitigation and continue to gather data through onboard observers.

The developing Scottish Seabird Conservation Strategy will play an important role in identifying further actions to help optimise the conservation prospects of seabirds in Scotland from existing and emerging threats, including disease threats, such as avian influenza. We aim to consult on the strategy in due course.

An assessment of participation - defined as the proportion of registered patients who saw a dentist in the last 2 years - needs to be seen against the backdrop of pandemic restrictions to March 2022.

Since April 2022, with the relaxation of restrictions, NHS dentistry has averaged more than 300,000 courses of treatment per month, an increase of 40 per cent in NHS dental activity compared with 2021-22.

The latest report from Public Health Scotland on participation rates (as at 30 September 2022) shows rates increasing for the period March to September 2022 following the emergence from pandemic restrictions.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15683 on 21 March 2023. 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