Chamber and committees

The Scottish Breast Screening Programme Statistics 2022-23 show that more women than ever are attending breast screening appointments, and that uptake is increasing for most groups. It is important to note that uptake for women receiving their first breast screening invitation in 2022-23 was higher than any pre-COVID year since 2013-14, and was above the 10 year average of 70.8%. It is also above the standard uptake rate of 70%. Therefore, overall the picture for breast screening uptake is encouraging.

However, the Scottish Government recognises that there is still work to be done to improve uptake, including among those receiving their first invitation, and to meet the 80% achievable standard. We continue to work with the organisations responsible for breast screening to fully understand barriers to uptake, and to encourage all women to attend breast screening when invited. As part of this, we continue to ensure work is carried out to address inequalities in uptake and access to screening, having committed £3 million since 2021 to tackle inequalities in the programmes, which remains a priority. We will also provide £1 million funding for 2024-25.

The Breast Screening Review that was published in 2022 noted recommendations that seek to increase breast screening uptake. The Breast Screening Modernisation Board, chaired by Dr Marzi Davies, is currently taking forward these recommendations.

The location of critical policing facilities is an operational decision for the Chief Constable.

Police Scotland is currently in discussions with a number of partners around possible locations in Edinburgh, to ensure it can continue to provide a policing service that meets the needs of communities across the city, in the event that the Divisional headquarters at Fettes are closed.

It is for Police Scotland to assure itself on the condition of its estate, and to ensure it meets all health and safety statutory requirements, to support the wellbeing of officers, staff and the public.

The Scottish Government is aware of the guidelines issued by the Institute For Addressing Strangulation that have been endorsed by the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV Non-Fatal-Strangulation-Guidelines_AcuteEmergency_Feb24.pdf (ifas.org.uk) . We will continue to work with key partners, including the Scottish Health Protection Network, to consider how this guidance can be promoted and shared.

It is estimated that around 12,500 female practitioners and support workers who are working in private and third sector ‘day care of children’ settings that deliver funded ELC will benefit from Scottish Government investment to allow staff to be paid at least £12 per hour. This could result in a £2,000 increase in the gross salary annual salary of a full-time childcare worker.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-27778 on 10 June 2024. 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

There is no national collection of waiting times for adult diagnosis of ADHD. Such collection is conducted at the level of Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), and is not aggregated nationally.

However, the Scottish Government established the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT), in partnership with Queen Margaret University, to support Health and Social Care Partnerships to consider best practice and improve service in the redesigning of autism diagnostic services.

In May 2023, NAIT published a review of waiting times for neurodevelopmental assessment in Scotland for adults , conducted between October 2021 and May 2022. These assessments include those for autism and ADHD.

This review found that, while the median overall waiting time for a diagnosis in adults was 252 days, aligning with the recommended timeframe, under half (47%) of individual assessments met the 252-day time standard, indicating that some individuals experience longer waiting times.

The 2020 Programme for Government included work to consider a National Clinical Pathway for ADHD. That work has now been completed and the Feasibility Study was published in January 2021 by the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT).

Following on from the study, the Scottish Government provided funding of £650,000 for a 12-month pilot in four HSCP areas - Fife, Borders, Lanarkshire and Highland. The findings of the pilot were published in March 2023. We have accepted the full recommendations of the report and are now working with NAIT on implementation.

The Scottish Breast Screening Programme Statistics 2022-23 published by PHS confirm that uptake of breast screening is at its highest level. This means that more women with breast cancer are diagnosed at an early stage when it is more easily treatable and survivable.

Secondary data from this report shows the following number of women seen from 37 months in the respective years.

The Scottish Government funds the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to support local areas to improve their neurodevelopmental support and diagnosis for adults; this includes diagnosis for both autism and ADHD. Since we accepted the recommendations of the Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathways report last year, we have provided £567k for implementation to the NAIT. Nine of the 14 NHS Health Boards in Scotland now have Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathway Strategic Groups and five have a current Local Action Plan. Progress in this area remains a priority.

NAIT also published guidance in April (2022) regarding the prescribing of ADHD medication to adults following a private sector diagnosis in Scotland which can be read here .

NAIT’s guidance was constructed in consultation with practising psychiatrists, the Royal Colleges of Psychiatry and General Practice, as well as individuals with ADHD.

This guidance helps clarify the roles and responsibilities of both NHS staff and non-NHS providers.

The Scottish Government remains supportive of a new station in Winchburgh and I am pleased to confirm that my officials and I met with representatives from West Lothian Council, Winchburgh Development Limited and Network Rail on 17 April to discuss the proposed station.

A number of actions to progress the station were agreed and I fully expect the development of the business case and routes towards locating potential funding streams to be discussed again, having formed part of the previous meeting agenda in April. I am also pleased to confirm my officials and I will attend a follow-up meeting with the organisations I mentioned previously on 25 June to further progress the matter.

We will focus on policies and activities that have the greatest environmental and economic impact while continuing to encourage best practice by all businesses and consumers, with the aim to produce, consume and manage resources as effectively as possible. The Product Stewardship Strategy will set out a clear, cohesive approach to tackling the environmental and social impacts of products placed on the Scottish market, making the most of opportunities within the competence of the Scottish Government to reduce the environmental impacts of products and goods, and being clear where this requires further action from the UK Government.