We want to ensure all non-surgical cosmetic procedures in Scotland are delivered from hygienic premises by appropriately trained practitioners, applying recognised standards and using regulated products.

The regulation of medicines and medicinal products is reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the UK wide Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Any changes to regulations including the sale and use of unregulated products would require a UK wide approach and would not be devolved to the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government cannot direct the independent Scottish Housing Regulator to publish the daily rate of each person on its statutory managers list and, as such, will not be requesting that they do so.

The responsibility for the balancing of grid lies with the National Grid Electricity System Operator and wider system integration costs are set by the regulator, Ofgem. This data is not held by the Scottish Government.

Although the Scottish Government has not made an assessment of this, evidence from the Climate Change Committee suggests that integration costs could be around £10- 25/MWh for systems with up to 50-65% renewables but could increase further at higher penetrations. However, as the Committee on Climate Change note, it is challenging to estimate system integration costs and extensive assumptions are required to do so. Estimates of system integration costs are largely reliant on modelling. More details can be found here: Technical-Annex-Integrating-variable-renewables-into-the-UK-electricity-system.pdf (theccc.org.uk) .

The grid-level costs of specific variable or baseload generation will depend on various factors including (but not limited to) grid capacity, demand flexibility and the geographical location of installation.

The Scottish Government has not made an assessment of this. The responsibility for the balancing of grid lies with the National Grid Electricity System Operator and wider system integration costs are set by the regulator, Ofgem. This data is not held by the Scottish Government.

The responsibility for the balancing of grid lies with the National Grid Electricity System Operator. More information including data on balancing costs can be found here: Balancing costs | ESO (nationalgrideso.com) .

As set out in the answer of 8 January 2024 the in-year budget changes impacted on both new and existing programmes which could not proceed as anticipated. This included activities related to Mental Health and Primary Care; regional CAMHS developments; full implementation of Coming Home; full implementation of the new Mental Welfare Commission Patient Records System; and improving prisoner mental health.

The Scottish Government recognises there is no specific legislation to prevent individuals who are not health professionals and who operate from unregistered premises from carrying out non-surgical cosmetic procedures that pierce or penetrate the skin, and the risks associated with this.

Following the Scottish Government’s 2020 consultation on the regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures (that pierce or penetrate the skin), officials are working on introducing secondary legislation to enable Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to regulate independent healthcare services, including non-surgical cosmetic procedures, which are provided by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians from premises other than registered pharmacies, and/or outwith the terms of NHS contracts. This will be brought forward by the end of Summer 2024.

In addition, officials are engaging with the UK Department of Health and Social Care regarding their recent consultation on the Licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures and working with stakeholders in Scotland, including healthcare professionals, hair and beauty industry representatives and Environmental Health Officers, to consider the potential scope of further regulation in Scotland. This work includes consideration of the levels of training and qualifications required to safely perform various types of non-surgical cosmetic procedures that pierce or penetrate the skin.

Future funding for the for the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults will be subject to the annual budget process and approval by the Scottish Parliament. We expect to confirm funding as soon as possible thereafter.

Within the Scottish Government, funding of Health and Care Research comes under the remit of the Chief Scientist Office (CSO).

The CSO's Translational Clinical Studies (TCS) Committee and the Health Improvement, Protection and Services Research (HIPS) Committee each meet twice per year to consider funding applications. Details of the application process are published on the CSO website.

https://www.cso.scot.nhs.uk/grant-funding/response-mode-funding-schemes/

Research funding is not allocated to any particular condition. The TCS and HIPS committees receive applications from across the clinical spectrum. All applications go through a process of independent expert review to allow funding decisions to be made. Applications on brain tumours are welcomed and go through the independent review process outlined above.

As was acknowledged by the Lord Advocate in her statement to Parliament on the 16 th January, any miscarriage of justice that has occurred as a result of the Horizon IT systems requires to be identified and addressed. The Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission (“the SCCRC”) is the independent public body that investigates and reviews alleged miscarriages of justice in Scotland.

The SCCRC was established in 1999. Its role is to review and investigate cases where it is alleged that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred in relation to conviction, sentence or both. Its aim is to investigate all cases efficiently, without undue delay and to a consistently high standard, and to strengthen public confidence in the ability of the Scottish criminal justice system to address miscarriages of justice.

Any person convicted of a criminal offence in Scotland who considers that their conviction was a miscarriage of justice may apply to the SCCRC. The SCCRC is an independent body. It does not represent the prosecution, the defence, the police, the courts or any other part of the criminal justice system. It will consider all applications and review cases to decide whether they should be referred to the High Court to be considered again. The SCCRC will refer all cases to the High Court where it believes that there may have been a miscarriage of justice.

To apply, an individual can complete an application form which should set out the details of the conviction which they believe resulted in a miscarriage of justice. Applications forms can be obtained from the SCCRC or online. An individual may apply directly to the SCCRC and there is no charge or fee for the Commission to review any case.

With the assistance of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the SCCRC has already written to at least 73 individuals. It is however important to recognise the different roles of the Commission and COPFS. The Commission is the proper body to be approaching individuals who may have been impacted by the Horizon IT system. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has engaged with the Commission and will continue to do so to support its ongoing work in these cases. I know that anything that can be done to assist and support those who have been affected to come forward will be done to ensure that there is access to justice for all who may be affected.