Asked by: Briggs, Miles (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Lothian)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has provided in relation to locating defibrillators outside school buildings.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
Decisions on whether to install defibrillators in schools are a matter for local authorities. The Scottish Government published a guide in 2018 providing advice on purchasing and installing a public access defibrillator. This can be found at the following link: Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: guide to public access defibrillators - gov.scot.
Asked by: Briggs, Miles (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Lothian)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that less than 10% of patients survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Scotland, what action Ministers are taking to improve CPR training and defibrillator familiarisation in schools, to improve citizen response to an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
The Scottish Government is a partner in the Save a Life for Scotland Partnership, which is working to ensure that all school aged children in Scotland will be given the opportunity to be equipped with CPR skills and increase defibrillator familiarisation across Scotland.
This has included delivery of Restart a Heart Day Live last year. This was a live stream CPR training event targeted at school-age children, which included information on defibrillation. The Scottish Government has committed to working with Save a Life for Scotland to support Restart a Heart Day Live again in 2025.
Asked by: Briggs, Miles (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Lothian)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many defibrillators have been located in (a) nurseries, (b) primary schools and (c) secondary schools in each local authority area in each of the last five years.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested regarding defibrillators in nurseries and schools.
Asked by: Hamilton, Rachael (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether a national impact assessment has been conducted in relation to any fire risk of battery energy storage system applications and developments, and what discussions it has had with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding this issue.
Answered by Brown, Siobhian - Minister for Victims and Community Safety
Scottish Government holds regular discussions with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) about Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) sites. SFRS continually review and develop their operational response to any new and emerging technology to keep communities safe.
SFRS is responsible for enforcing general fire safety under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, while process-related fire risks at Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) sites fall under the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) via the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Monitoring these sites is the duty holder’s responsibility.
No national impact assessment has been conducted in relation to fire risk of BESS applications and developments. Where new development proposals come forward, our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) ensures the impacts of proposals on communities and nature, including cumulative impacts, are important considerations in the decision-making process. All applications are subject to site specific assessments.
Asked by: Briggs, Miles (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Lothian)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people have received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training in each local authority area in each year since 1999.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested regarding CPR training in each local authority area.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost to the public purse has been of supporting Ferguson Marine since 2019.
Answered by Forbes, Kate - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic
Ferguson Marine was brought into public ownership in 2019 to ensure completion of the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa vessels at Port Glasgow and to retain commercial shipbuilding on the Clyde. During that time, the Scottish Government has supported the business with £32 million of funding to support operating costs and capital investment.
Asked by: Lennon, Monica (Scottish Labour - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the ongoing industrial dispute between Scottish Water and the trade unions, Unite, GMB and UNISON, including regarding reports that Scottish Water incurred contingency costs of almost £3 million on water operations and contractors during recent industrial action.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
Financial and operational decisions in response to the industrial action are a matter for Scottish Water, whose Chief Executive is the Accountable Officer for the organisation.
It is for Scottish Water and the Joint Trade Unions to agree a settlement which is fair and affordable, and the Government urges them to find a solution.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what immediate action it is taking to address the Royal College of Radiologists’ view that there is a “ticking timebomb” in cancer care due to a shortage of specialists.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Scottish Government recognises the challenges facing oncology services and our workforce as demand increases across NHS Scotland. We are working with NHS Scotland to address staffing as a matter of urgency, working closely with NHS Board and clinical leaders from across the country to address pressures in a sustainable way.
We have established the National Oncology Coordination Group to provide a coordinated and collaborative response to immediate and foreseeable service pressures. It provides rapid real-time assessment of highest risk services and proactively develops risk mitigation proposals, in line with the overall strategic aim for cancer.
We continue to take action to address workforce pressures. Actions include expanding the Clinical Oncology and Medical Oncology specialty training programmes and providing £6.6 million of additional funding to Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) and Acute Oncology to increase regional working, workforce recruitment and to maximise capacity across the existing workforce.
More than £106 million has been allocated to NHS Boards in 2025-26 to address waiting times, with £21 million for imaging. We will reduce the radiology backlog so that 95% of referrals are seen within six weeks by March 2026, through expanding to seven-day services, recruitment, and utilising mobile scanning units.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its long-term workforce plan is for addressing any shortages in clinical cancer specialists.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Scottish Government recognises that NHS Scotland’s oncology capacity has been increasingly tested due to steady, long-term increases in demand driven by new medicines approvals, increasing complexity of treatment, an ageing population, more treatments for incurable cancers, and delayed presentations exacerbated by the pandemic.
The National Oncology Taskforce commissioned the Scottish Cancer Network to undertake an Oncology Workforce Review, completed January 2023 with a proposal for an Oncology Transformation Programme (OTP). We have mobilised the ambitious Oncology Transformation Programme and work to progress this is moving at pace. This includes consideration of workforce and training requirements, recognising that our NHS workforce is fundamental in delivering excellent and equitably accessible cancer care.
Asked by: Golden, Maurice (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated annual cost to Scottish Water is of removing wet wipes and related blockages from the sewer network.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold this information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:
The annual cost of blockages related to wet wipes and other items is some £7.5 million. The number of total blockages in 2024 was 34,635. Notably, around 80% of these blockages are due to the wrong items being put into the sewer network, such as wet wipes, sanitary products, and fats, oils, and grease.