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Scotland’s climate change obligations include emissions from domestic and international aviation. ‘Scottish greenhouse gas statistics 2021’, published in June 2023, show that emissions from international aviation dropped by 23% between 2020 and 2021. Domestic aviation emissions increased by 12% in the same period, but are 59% below 1990 levels.

Work is ongoing across government to develop a Scottish Government aviation strategy. The public consultation on developing the strategy covered a range of topics including the transition to low and zero-emission aviation. This transition is also relevant to preparation of the Government’s 2023 Climate Change Plan and Just Transition Plan, and it is essential that this work be fully joined up.

Under the Bathing Water (Scotland) Regulations 2008, Scottish Ministers designate bathing waters where they expect a large number of people to bathe, having regard to past trends and infrastructure and facilities provided, or other measures taken to promote bathing. Across Europe the meaning of a large number of bathers ranges up 300 bathers per day, which is much higher than Scotland’s 150 bathers.

Following extensive bather surveys across Scotland and a public consultation, the Scottish Government developed a policy regarding the designation of bathing waters. That policy states that 150 people per day, or thereabouts, using the water for bathing regularly throughout the season would be considered to be a large number of bathers.

In determining whether a large number of bathers are expected to bathe there, Scottish Ministers must also have regard to past trends, infrastructure and facilities and promotion of bathing at any proposed bathing water.

Decisions about the appropriateness of referral to pain specialist services, or medications for pain management, are made by the clinician in discussion with the patient, and with reference to their medical history. Patients may choose to take the offer of new pathway alternatives being offered by some NHS Boards rather than by being seen at a consultant led clinic. Where a patient chooses an alternative pathway, they are removed from the waiting list for the consultant led clinic.

The Scottish Government is committed to rapidly improving care and services for people with chronic pain by delivering the Actions in the Pain Management Service Delivery Framework Implementation Plan at pace. The Implementation Plan outlines actions to expand skills and knowledge on chronic pain across local services and scaling-up new ways of working to improve the consistency and resilience of local pain services. We are investing in national solutions such as improving how people access information and understand their care options, enhancing coordination of support between the NHS and the third-sector.

We are also continuing to invest in the Scottish National Residential Pain Management Programme which provides highly specialised care for those facing the most challenging impacts of chronic pain to the value of over £630,000 this year.

The final report is currently going through the publication process and the Scottish Government is confident that this, and any associated recommendations, will be published in August 2023.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19380 on 11 July 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

The Scottish Government has not received any interim reports from the Independent Review into Audiology.

However, given the serious nature of this issue the Scottish Government has been clear that action needs to be taken before the final report from the Independent Review is published. As such, the Scottish Government is already engaging with senior leadership in all Health Boards to seek assurances there are robust structures in place to deliver audiology services safely and effectively, and that Boards are sufficiently prepared to take forward any recommendations when they are published.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring all people living in Scotland with neurological conditions, such as Essential Tremor, are able to access the best possible care, support and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care

Subject to eligibility criteria, NHS Boards are responsible for providing travel assistance where travel is required for medical reasons. The Scottish Government provides the overall guidance to NHS Boards, and individual Boards are responsible for developing and applying their own policies taking account of local circumstances.

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

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) was taken through the initial stages of the National Service Division’s National Specialist Services Committee assessment in 2018, which concluded there was insufficient evidence to support a formal national service at that time.

MRgFUS treatment is therefore currently provided on a trial basis in Scotland to help inform the evidence-base for the treatment and ensure that it is subject to rigorous clinical assessment to establish patient safety and efficacy before any decision on adopting it in the NHS. NHS Tayside have informed National Services Division that an application for national designation of the MRgFUS service in Dundee is expected to be submitted for 2024/25.

All decisions on a further referral to NHS England for any patient are the responsibility of the NHS Board where the patient resides. Specialist treatment outwith NHS Scotland is managed by the National Services Division as part of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS).

In the meantime, NSS is engaging with both clinicians in Dundee and colleagues in NHS England to determine how treatment might be made available more widely for eligible Scottish patients.

It is for individual Health Boards to ensure that communities have access to pharmacy services within a reasonable distance. However, in our strategy for pharmaceutical care in Scotland ‘Achieving Excellence in Pharmaceutical Care’ (2017) we committed to enhancing access to pharmaceutical care in remote and rural communities, which included use of Attend Anywhere for pharmacist clinics, and use of Near Me for remote and rural access to pharmaceutical care. We commissioned NES to work with remote and rural NHS Boards to explore mechanisms to attract more pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to work in remote and rural communities; ensuring any associated education and training needs are flexibly met. We also committed to testing a pharmacy longitudinal clerkship.

There are remote and rural longitudinal clerkships occurring in NHS Borders, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Highland, NHS Grampian and NHS Lanarkshire, all of which feed into a new piece of Additional Cost of Teaching Pharmacy research in collaboration with both Scottish Schools of Pharmacy.

In addition, to promote pharmacy technician recruitment in remote and rural areas, a number of senior pharmacy technicians attend school careers fairs etc to raise awareness of the role. All vacancies for the Pharmacy Technician Technical Apprenticeship are advertised on the Apprenticeships.scot website. Skills Development Scotland also provides an additional rural uplift for apprentices whose main employment and normal working hours are based in Argyll and Bute, Isle of Arran, Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles. Some of the Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacy Technicians in the remote and rural areas are undertaking placements in primary care and community pharmacy whilst undertaking the Technical Apprenticeship.

The Scottish Government continues to work with NHS National Education for Scotland (NES) and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in developing a joint programme to encourage more students, and not just school leavers, to consider careers in pharmacy, including ensuring the output reaches deprived and remote and rural communities.

Scottish waters are home to a diverse range of cetaceans (e.g., whale, dolphins and porpoise) and their protection is a high priority for the Scottish Government.

The developing UK Dolphin and Porpoise Strategy will play an important role in identifying action that can be taken to maintain the conservation status of these species in our waters. The Scottish Government is working in partnership with the other UK administrations and members of the working group, with the aim of publishing the strategy in early 2024.

In the meantime, the Scottish Government continues to support work across a range of areas to safeguard cetaceans in Scottish waters.

Our vision for future fisheries in Scotland has sustainable fisheries management at its core. Through the Future Catching Policy and the Marine Wildlife Bycatch Mitigation Initiative, we will continue work to monitor fisheries and, take concrete action to support fishers to avoid catching or minimise interaction with sensitive marine species (including cetaceans) through a suite of technical and spatial measures where required. We anticipate the analysis from the Future Catching Policy consultation to be published in summer.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government will be launching a consultation imminently on proposals to close fishing for sandeel in Scottish waters. Sandeels play an important role in aiding the long-term sustainability and resilience of the marine ecosystem and are an important food source for many species, including marine mammals.

These measures, and other ongoing work to address marine litter, improve marine enhancement, and protect our marine wildlife in Marine Protected Areas, all contribute to achieving the Scottish Government’s vision for clean, healthy, safe, productive and diverse seas.