The Scottish Government are not seeking to increase the number of plans for individual health conditions and are therefore not developing a national strategy to tackle chronic kidney disease. Rather, we are focussed on how we can best support Health Boards to deliver high quality, value-based, person-centred care for all people, irrespective of condition.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living with kidney disease in Scotland are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

We expect all NHS healthcare workers in Scotland to follow best practice when providing care for people with kidney disease and we continue to raise awareness of the symptoms, causes, diagnosis and prevention of kidney disease by providing and promoting information on chronic kidney disease for patients and their families on NHS Inform .

We also continue to support the work of the Scottish Renal Registry which promotes excellence in renal care in Scotland including audits on the delivery of renal replacement therapy. The most recent report from registry was published by Public Health Scotland in October 2023 and provides vital information for Health Boards, service managers and individual clinicians to help improve care and standards for people with chronic kidney disease.

The Scottish Government continues to progress work towards the elimination of cervical cancer in Scotland, in line with the targets set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This work has included the introduction of a one-dose schedule of the HPV vaccine, increasing screening uptake and continued investment in treatment.

In March 2023, we provided funding to the University of Strathclyde to undertake a project modelling when Scotland might expect to eliminate cervical cancer. That work will help us set a target date for elimination of cervical cancer, and will require further work to improve uptake levels of both the vaccination and screening programmes. To support this we continue to provide £1 million annually to tackle unequal uptake across cancer screening programmes, and this summer, launched the Equity in Screening Strategy, which seeks systemic solutions to inequalities across all programmes. In addition we have provided £456,000 to Jo’s Trust for a project identifying barriers that prevent specific groups attending cervical screening. This learning will be embedded across the screening programme.

Our inclusive vaccination programme is designed to help reduce inequalities in uptake of vaccinations. On 27 th November 2023, Public Health Scotland (PHS) launched a campaign to raise awareness of the vaccines offered in secondary school, including HPV to help boost uptake.

Ministers responsibilities for recording information are clearly set out in the Ministerial Code Scottish Ministerial Code: 2023 Edition - gov.scot The Scottish Government - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Special advisers are bound by most provisions of the Civil Service Code (apart from those relating to impartiality and objectivity) and are required to exercise care in the use of official information. The First Minister is ultimately responsible for Special Adviser performance and discipline issues but this would be dealt with in the first instance by the Special Adviser Chief of Staff.

Officials: If a civil servant employed by the Scottish Government (an ‘official’) did not comply with the Scottish Government records management policy that would be an issue for their line manager to address through measures such as additional training; through performance management arrangements or through the discipline policy. The circumstances of each case would be considered on an individual basis to determine the appropriate action, with advice and/or support from HR as necessary.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23041 on 29 November 2023. 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 .

Director General Corporate has senior responsibility for all aspects of records management in Scottish Government as stated at Element 1 of our approved Records Management Plan .

The industrial action and pay negotiations are a matter for Scottish Water as the employer and the recognised Trade Unions. Correspondence was received from UNISON, GMB and Unite.

Scottish Water publishes its procurement strategy and reports on its website at www.scottishwater.co.uk/Help-and-Resources/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Procurement-and-Supply .

The Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland’s active and past Enforcement Notices are published on www.dwqr.scot/regulator-activity/enforcement/ . Monitoring requirements for Scottish Water are set out in The Public Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2014. Some additional sampling is specified as a requirement of Enforcement Notices, and Scottish Water is expected to undertake additional operational sampling based on its assessment of risk.

The Drinking Water Quality Regulator’s annual reports summarise data on water quality in public and private supplies across Scotland, as well as covering water quality events and incidents and consumer contacts to Scottish Water. They are available at www.dwqr.scot/information/annual-report/ .

The remuneration of Scottish Water’s Chief Executive is set out in its Annual Reports. These can be found on Scottish Water’s website at www.scottishwater.co.uk/Help-and-Resources/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Annual-Reports .

Ministers considered and agreed the salary limit for the new Chief Executive on 7 September 2022 ahead of the appointment process. This reflected the need to recruit very experienced personnel to run these vital services from a highly competitive market for such talent.