Seòmar agus comataidhean

In the majority of specialties there is minimal variation between female and male median waits but we recognise that in specialties that focus on treating conditions relating to urinary and reproductive systems there can be variation.

The Scottish Government is acutely aware that many women are particularly impacted by long waits for gynaecological appointments and procedures and this is not good enough.

As the first country in the UK to publish a Women’s Health Plan we are committed to reducing health inequalities and improving health outcomes for women and girls. Timely access to gynaecology services must be addressed and I am committed to including gynaecology as a priority in the next phase of the Plan.

As a starting point, the Government has allocated over £8.8 million to Health Boards to target long waits for gynaecology and I expect this to deliver significant improvements to the backlog in the coming year through waiting list initiatives and recruitment.

The investment is part of the £200 million announced as part of the Programme for Government to build capacity, tackle delayed discharge and improve patient flow through hospitals.

Scottish Government officials reviewed the Trade & Investment Envoy network footprint in 2024 to help ensure we have the right people, in the right places, with appropriate knowledge of our priority sectors. The review noted there are significant opportunities in India and the Scottish Government recognises the recent conclusion of UK-India Free Trade Agreement negotiations. We plan to increase our engagement with India given its rapid economic growth and Scotland’s synergies with India, including: Renewable Energy; Information Technology & Innovation; Life Sciences & Healthcare; and Food & Beverage. We remain open to appointing an Envoy in India should an appropriate candidate be identified.

The Endometriosis Pathway was published by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) in January 2023. Following changes to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance a review of the pathway will be part of the 2025/26 workplan for the CfSD Gynaecology Specialty Delivery Group. CfSD have confirmed that the current pathway is clinically safe and should be used until the revised version is published.

The Scottish Government has already provided reassurances to independent hospices that the funding will be allocated as soon as practically possible, based on the analysis of financial data provided by the hospices.

The information requested on how many clinics offer dermatology services, broken down by NHS board is not held centrally.

Consultation on bringing NHS Education in Scotland and NHS National Services Scotland together will take place over 2025 and work is underway to establish the full range of functions of the new organisation.

The Scottish Government recognise that to meet the ambition of service renewal and address the health and care needs of our population we urgently need to work differently. We are therefore taking the opportunity to bring key enablers of national service delivery together to create opportunities for further improvement, innovation and efficiency across NHS Scotland.

Consultation on bringing NHS Education in Scotland and NHS National Services Scotland together will take place over 2025 and work is underway to establish the full range of functions of the new organisation. Financial assessment will be part of this. The aim throughout will be to optimise the delivery of national services, creating opportunities for further improvement, innovation and efficiency across NHS Scotland.

A table has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre under (Bib Number 65938) that provides a breakdown, by vessel, of the fuel usage over the last 3 years on the CalMac service.

The fuel usage over the last three years, by vessels operating on NorthLink Ferry services, is detailed below. For clarity, CY05 ended June 2025. However, the figures have still to be reconciled, and are therefore not available.

MV Hrossey MV Hjaltland MV Hildasay MV Hellier MV Hamnavore

CY2 July 2021 - June 2023 9058.94 9212,99 3795.80 3611.50 3756.20

CY3 July 2022 - June 2023 9,023.20 8840,6 3660.34 3916.90 4046.10

CY4 July 2023 - June 2024 8674.60 8678 3710.60 3591.50 3732.20

The Scottish Government issued a Medicine Supply Alert Notice (MSAN) relating to supply disruption of the medicine naloxegol on 25 April 2024. The anticipated resupply date for the medicine has since been moved to 15 August 2025 and the medicine is unavailable throughout the UK. The Scottish Government appreciates the frustration and concern that this continued shortage will be having on patients prescribed this medication and while medicines supply continues to be reserved matter for the UK Government, we continue to press for a lasting solution in our engagement with the UK Government’s Department of Health and Social Care.

In 2023-24 the vast majority (95.8%) of young people who left school at S4 achieved qualifications or units under the All SCQF measure. Less than 43.0% of S4 leavers left school without obtaining at least one qualification at SCQF Level 5 or above. However, many of these young people did leave with qualifications. Of the 3,476 S4 school leavers in 2023-24 without an SCQF Level 5 or above, 2,828 left with a qualification at SCQF Level 3 or 4 (81.4%), 48 left with other qualifications or units, 262 left with units only and 338 left with no qualifications or units (9.7%).

It is important to recognise that many of these young people will have gone on to apprenticeships, to study at college or otherwise remain in education or training, reflecting the strengths of our approach, in creating and supporting a range of pathways and qualifications for young people in Scotland. This is reflected in the statistical evidence which shows consistently high initial and follow-up positive destinations for young people leaving school. For example, the Follow-up Destination Statistics published on the 17th June show that 93.1% of school leavers were in a positive destination. This is the second highest figure since 2009/10.