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The number of ophthalmology trainees recorded as of July 28, 2025, and from 2015 has been provided in the following table.

The Scottish Minsters are committed to the modernisation and improvement of the regulation of burial, cremation, and funeral services. The Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 (the 2016 Act) provides for Ministers to make regulations in connection with burial, cremation and inspection; to issue Codes of practice; and to appoint independent Inspectors of burial, cremation and funeral directors.

Work remains ongoing towards full implementation of the Act, and in consultation with a range of stakeholders Ministers have already brought forward a number of regulations. In March of this year the Burial and Cremation (Inspection)(Scotland) Regulations 2025 came into force, providing Inspectors with powers of inspection and enforcement in relation to burial authorities, cremation authorities and funeral directors to ensure that such bodies comply with relevant requirements set out in the Act, the Funeral Director Code of Practice, the Cremation (Scotland) Regulations 2019, the Burial (Applications and Register) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 and the Burial (Management) (Scotland) Regulations 2025.

This inspection and enforcement regime will hold relevant bodies to account for compliance, through inspection against statutory requirements, and will provide clarity for relevant bodies and allow enforcement by Inspectors where non-compliance occurs. In addition, this will improve standards within the funeral sector in Scotland in order to protect the deceased and the public in Scotland.

We currently have a Senior Inspector of Burial, Cremation and Funeral Directors, whose main functions (including powers and duties) are set out in the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 Act (the 2016 Act) and regulations made under that Act. This includes the provision of an annual report detailing how they have exercised their functions as an Inspector.

Improving health outcomes and reducing health inequalities remains a central priority for the Scottish Government. To deliver this, Scottish Government is working closely with partners across sectors to advance women’s health and tackle the root causes of inequality—so that all women and girls in Scotland can enjoy the best possible health at every stage of their lives.

Scottish Government also recognises that child poverty and women’s poverty are inextricably linked. Meaningful progress in tackling child poverty can only be achieved by addressing the inequalities that women face. In recognition of the continued pressure on household budgets, the Scottish Government will maintain investment of over £3 billion in 2025–26 to support policies focused on tackling poverty and alleviating the rising cost of living.

As part of its commitment to addressing social and economic inequalities, Scottish Government has funded the recruitment of over 300 Community Link Workers and continues to fund Welfare Rights Advisers in more than 150 GP practices across deprived and remote communities. These advisers play a critical role in providing people with support on social security entitlements, income maximisation, and debt resolution.

Moreover, Scottish Government is driving systemic change through the Population Health Framework, co-authored with COSLA and published in June. This Framework outlines a comprehensive set of cross-sector actions aimed at improving population health, including promoting healthy behaviours, creating supportive environments, and strengthening community-based support systems.

Included within these actions, Scottish Government is improving access to income maximisation services, taking forward the Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill to support local economies, and will create a National Social Prescribing Framework to help ensure individuals receive practical, social, and emotional support to enhance their wellbeing.

Improving health and reducing health inequalities across Scotland remains a clear ambition for the Scottish Government. To help achieve this, Scottish Government is progressing a range of work to support the health and wellbeing of people across Scotland – both in local communities and online - with a focus on supporting groups most at risk of poorer health, including women and those facing socio-economic disadvantage.

The Scottish Government’s Population Health Framework, published in June, sets out a refreshed, cross-government and cross-sector approach to improving population health and tackling health inequalities, with a strong emphasis on prevention.

The Framework outlines actions across the whole system to ensure equitable access to health and care, create environments that support healthier lives, and make best use of the valuable resources within our communities and places. The actions will enable targeting of services to those who need it most, including addressing inequalities in vaccination and screening, health harming in preconception and pregnancy, and access to income maximisation pathways.

As part of this work, the Scottish Government has committed to developing a National Social Prescribing Framework for Scotland. This will set out a shared national approach, building on the success of existing models — such as the Government’s recruitment of 300 community link workers — and will aim to enhance equity of access. It will also align with wider efforts to address social isolation and loneliness including projects supported by the Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund.

The Scottish Ministers appointed inspectors of burial, cremation, and funeral directors under section 89 of the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 on 1 October 2023 and 1 October 2024. There is currently one Inspector of burial, cremation, and funeral directors.

In light of the introduction of the inspection regime set out in the Burial and Cremation (Inspection) (Scotland) Regulations 2025, a range of work is in progress to support the appointment of further Inspectors, including establishing the register provided for under regulation 3 of those Regulations, training for Inspectors and support materials for Inspectors.

The most recently available Local Authority analysis from the Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) is from 2017 to 2019

Table 1 shows the estimated number of dwellings that use heating oil, or LPG as their primary heating fuel, broken down by Local Authority.

Table 1: Estimated number of households using LPG and Oil as primary heating fuel 2017-19.

There is an extensive programme of work already in progress to support NHS Boards to reduce waiting times for all planned care procedures, including cataract surgeries.

This year, we have allocated more than £110 million to health boards to help tackle the longest waits for procedures and operations and this includes an investment of more than £12 million for ophthalmology.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery’s (CfSD) National Eyecare Workstream also works with Scottish Government to support optometrists in the care for patients with cataract. In January 2022, we commissioned CfSD to establish the Scottish National Cataract Short Life Working Group to address current challenges in cataract surgery in Scotland.

This multi-professional group co-developed an agreed set of principles for delivering higher volume cataract surgery in operating theatres on a sustainable basis and assist in future proofing cataract services.

This work has led to the publication of Improving the Delivery of Cataract Surgery in Scotland: a Blueprint for Success which can be accessed here: https://www.nhscfsd.co.uk/media/5sofmknr/cataract-surgery-blueprint-2022.pdf.

In the last three years, from June 2022 to June 2025, the average monthly decrease in the number of active registrations on the Scottish Landlord Register has been 137. However, the average monthly increase in registered properties has been 304. The overall change during that period is a decrease in active registrations of 4,932 (2.1%) and an increase in properties of 10,946 (3.2%).

While these changes may point to some landlords choosing to leave the sector, the evidence suggests that their properties are remaining in the sector, or new properties are being offered for rent.

It should be noted that there are some limitations to the administrative data from the landlord register, including the time-lag in landlords deregistering properties that are no longer available to rent. These statistics should therefore be treated with some caution.

The Minister for Public Health last met with Royal College of Ophthalmologists in July last year.

Scottish Government officials meet the College of Optometrists both bilaterally and as part of other groups/forums as and when required for policy development and implementation purposes. The next scheduled bilateral meeting with the College of Optometrists is on Friday 3 October 2025.

The Scottish Government has confirmed that the replacement of the Edinburgh eye pavilion is a strategic priority, and the 2025-26 Budget provides the necessary funding to allow the development of the business case.

NHS Lothian has been asked to progress the business case and development of the design and timeline will form part of this work, which will take time. During an update to stakeholders in March, NHS Lothian advised an estimated timeline of 6 years.

It is usual for the business case process, construction and commissioning to take a number of years and there will be greater clarity on timeline once the business case process is complete.