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The information requested is not held centrally and is a matter for the Health Boards referred to in the question.

The requested information on how many travelling consultants there have been within NHS (a) Highland, (b) Western Isles, (c) Orkney, (d) Shetland and (e) Grampian in each year since 2021 is not centrally held.

The Scottish Government is aware of the unique needs of our rural and islands communities, and that these needs vary significantly from place to place. We recognise that there is no “one size fits all” approach which will work for every community, and that harnessing the local knowledge of staff working within these areas can play an important role in improving healthcare outcomes.

That is why the work of the NHS Scotland remote, rural and islands task and finish group that we have convened is being led by representatives from across our rural and island Health Boards.

The group is working to develop a framework for sustainable delivery of healthcare services in rural and island communities. We aim to develop a model with services provided as local as possible and specialised as necessary in order to ensure equity of outcomes. The leadership, collaboration and innovation that our rural and island Board representatives are bringing to this group will ensure this work meets the needs of the communities they serve.

The Scottish Government will announce its spending plans for 2025-26 in its budget, on 4 December, with more detailed consideration of portfolio spend priorities, including the Monitor Farm Programme, being taken shortly thereafter.

One of the key aims of the new palliative care strategy, Palliative Care Matters for All, is that, by 2030, adults and children in Scotland will have more equitable access to well-coordinated, timely and high-quality palliative care, care around dying and bereavement support based on what matters to them, including support for families and carers.

Development of the draft strategy was informed by evidence gathering, guided by a Strategy Steering Group and a number of expert working groups. This included carrying out surveys mapping palliative care delivery across Scotland, including in rural and island communities.

The outputs of this work have given us a clearer picture of the delivery and accessibility of palliative care across Scotland, which has helped to inform the actions set out in the draft strategy.

NHS Near Me continues to be an option for online appointments, where appropriate, for those who wish to and can interact in this way. The service does not require large broadband speeds to work effectively, however patients have the option to test their broadband speed or access a digital hub near their home. Further information can be found at: https://www.nearme.scot/

The Scottish Government fully expects NHS Boards to meet agreed broadband and infrastructure requirements set out in infrastructure standards. To support NHS Boards and the public, The Scottish Government has invested around £1 billion on digital programmes – including Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB).

The Scottish Government has not conducted any specific studies to monitor whether the current GP contract has resulted in a widening disparity between remote and rural healthcare provision and urban healthcare provision, however we have well-established reporting arrangements in place at the national level to monitor implementation of the GP contract by HSCPs. These reporting arrangements allow us to gain both quantitative and qualitative information on progress.

The National Performance Framework Quality of Care Experience indicator measures people’s rating of the overall care provided by their general practice over time, including a breakdown by urban/rural classification.

In 2024-25 the Scottish Government has invested £113.5 Million in digital health and care technologies.

The detailed appraisal stage of the A96 Corridor Review has now concluded and ahead of my statement to Parliament, Transport Scotland has published the detailed appraisal material in draft on its website at www.transport.gov.scot/our-approach/strategy/a96-corridor-review/

I will set out next steps in relation to the Review in my Parliamentary statement later today.

The Energy Transition Fund provided £45.3m of funding to the end of financial year 2023-24. A further £8.7m is expected to be provided over financial year 2024-25.

The following table provides a breakdown of the funding provided across the four projects, which are all based in Aberdeen and the North East, supported by the Fund: