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The review has now reported its findings, recommendations, and proposed actions. I am carefully considering these, particularly in the context of the Scottish budget set out on 19 December, ahead of publication in the coming weeks.

The building referred to on 11 October 2023 Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) Cross Sector Working Group minutes was the Ward 1 Plant Room at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.

The Plant room was surveyed on Friday 22 September 2023 . The surveying Engineer noted that there was no immediate concern of structural collapse and made recommendations. Immediate remedial action was taken to ensure the area was safe. There is no immediate risk to patients, staff, or visitors.

The Public Bodies referenced in the minutes of 11 October in respect of the presence of RAAC were NHS Lanarkshire, the Scottish Police Authority, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and SportScotland.

The Scottish Government has not carried out or commissioned research into the impact that the presence of fire can have on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). However, the Scottish Government works directly with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), is in close contact with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and officials liaise with UK Government colleagues as the issue around fire safety and RAAC is explored.

The condition of RAAC and any risk of weakness or collapse is clearly of critical concern to firefighters. Where RAAC is identified through SFRS Operational Intelligence information gathering or a Fire Safety Enforcement audit, SFRS staff will record information regarding any affected buildings. This allows SFRS to develop a tactical plan to protect firefighters and minimise risk to the wider public in the event of any emergency incident, including those with premises containing RAAC.

More generally, the Scottish Government engages with various academic and building industry organisations which are themselves involved in research work, including through meetings of the Cross Sector Working Group, and would promote awareness of the findings of RAAC related research as and when appropriate.

The following table shows the number of participants undertaking Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training over the last 5 years, including numbers to date in 2024, based on the latest available data, as well as the total number of MHFA trainers (active and inactive) since 2020 to date.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24710 on 5 February 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 .

The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many people have accessed earwax removal services. Health Boards are responsible for the delivery of primary medical services in their areas.

Formerly most ear wax management procedures were carried out in GP practices. The new GP contract, introduced in 2018, committed Health Boards to set up Community Treatment and Care (CTAC) services to shift workload away from GP practices to NHS Board employed staff so that GP practices could focus on what only they can do. The Scottish Government has confirmed to Health Boards that CTAC services should cover ear wax management generally.

We are supporting the development of CTAC services through the Primary Care Improvement Fund (£190 million in 2023-24).

We are now also introducing an additional ‘phased investment programme’ working with a small number of areas to demonstrate what model CTAC and other related services can look like in practice. The findings from this programme will build understanding of the national context for further implementation and inform future long-term Scottish Government investment.

Undertaking a health capital investment project is an iterative process and estimating the cost and completion date is a complex exercise and we did not identify individual budgets and completion dates when the programme of investment was originally announced.

Since then, additional projects have been added to the programme and we have experienced unprecedented levels of inflation in the construction sector which makes comparison of costs and completion dates difficult.

The latest position for all projects is noted in the following table:

The Scottish Government is aware that there have been supply issues with Pancreatin, also known as Creon, with one or more strengths over a number of years. Other brands of prescription pancreatic enzymes are also available including Nutrizym® and Pancrex®. Patients should discuss alternative options with their GP or specialist.

Officials from the four UK Administrations work together to mitigate and manage responses to medicine shortages. The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Scotland is a member of the UK-wide Medicines Shortage Response Group (MSRG), set up to identify and co-ordinate responses to medicines shortages across the UK and provide advice to clinicians on alternative therapeutic options.

The NHS in Scotland has robust processes in place to manage supply issues when they do arise.

The prohibition of pavement parking, along with double parking and parking at dropped kerbs at known crossing points was brought in with the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019. With the passing of necessary secondary legislation, local authorities have the powers to enforce these prohibitions from 11 December 2023. These parking prohibitions are a significant alteration for most road users. An awareness raising campaign ran in November and December of 2023, with radio adverts, outdoor posters, digital and social media, to highlight the dangers caused to pedestrians by inconsiderate parking and to help foster the necessary behaviour change within road users. This advertising material has also been made publicly available and has been used by local authorities to produce posters, social media content and warning notices to further publicise this in their areas.

Transport Scotland produce an annual report detailing Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued by each local authority, which for the 2023/24 period will include PCNs issued for the new parking prohibitions. This is expected to be published by the end of 2024.