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Information on the number of patients within NHS Scotland who were waiting for diagnostic procedures as of 31 March can be found here:

NHS waiting times - diagnostics - Quarter ending 31 March 2021 - NHS waiting times - diagnostics - Publications - Public Health Scotland

The information shows the number of patients waiting for diagnostic procedures up to 31 March 2021. Diagnostic treatment at 1 July 2021 will be published by PHS on 24 August 2021 and can be found using the same link.

The Scottish Breast Screening Programme invites women between the ages of 50 and 70 for routine breast screening every three years. This is in line with advice from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), which is an independent scientific body that advises all four nations of the UK on screening matters. The Scottish government will only act to widen screening age ranges if this is recommended by the UK NSC.

I will shortly be writing to the UK NSC to ask them to examine the merits of lowering the current age thresholds for screening programmes. I recognise in doing so that any change to age ranges for screening must be based on the highest standards of evidence, and balance both potential harms and benefits.

We know that high quality early learning and childcare (ELC) can make a huge difference to children’s lives, particularly those experiencing the most disadvantage. That is why we target funded ELC to two year olds who are most likely to benefit from early access. This includes children who have experienced care themselves or have a parent who has, and children whose family receive a ‘qualifying benefit’, (including out of work benefits or income-related benefits).

We estimate this eligible group equates to around a quarter of the total two year old population. Within this group there will be children who require additional support for learning and the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (‘the 2004 Act’) extends to children in funded ELC. The 2004 Act places duties on education authorities to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their children. More information on how the 2004 Act supports children in funded ELC can be found in the refreshed Statutory Guidance here: Early learning and childcare: statutory guidance - July 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

In addition to the increased number of funded hours of ELC (rising from 600 to up to 1140 hours a year from August 2021) local authorities have discretion to offer funded or subsidised ELC that goes beyond the existing legal entitlement. Local authorities can and do use this discretion to accept referrals from health visitors and other agencies for children who they believe will benefit from this provision who may not meet the statutory criteria for a 2 year old place.

The Scottish Government has also committed to expanding funded early years education to all 1 and 2 year olds, starting with children from low-income families in this Parliamentary session. As we develop future policy we will continue to consider the best way to support our youngest children with additional support needs.

Tackling health inequalities remains a clear ambition for this Government. Our Programme for Government 2020 sets out our commitment to promote lifelong health and wellbeing including a renewed focus on tackling health inequalities.

The impact of persistent deprivation, poverty and other long-standing social inequalities – which we know impact on health – have been thrown into sharp relief by COVID-19. In the face of the pandemic we acted quickly to ensure that local authorities, third sector partners and community organisations were empowered to take the action needed to protect people from the social harms of the virus. In the course of 2020-21, we allocated over £1 billion to help people and communities impacted by the pandemic and to build resilience in public services. We will continue to give our communities and local services the support they need to tackle these issues head on.

We know that socioeconomic inequalities drive health inequalities and we must focus our efforts on addressing poverty, promoting fair wages and improving our physical and social environments. In line with the Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts, we are committing £3.5 billion in forecast social security payments which will reach over 800,000 people. Money which will go directly to the people in Scotland who need it the most. This includes £68 million for the first full year of the Scottish Child Payment, a ‘game changing’ new benefit which will be instrumental in tackling child poverty. We are bringing this together with healthcare through our Welfare Advice and Health Partnerships that integrate local authority and third sector welfare rights and money advice services into primary care services.

Scotland has a proud history of taking ambitious action to improve health and we continue to make progress against our Public Health Priorities and major healthy living action plans. These strategies are already tackling some of the most significant health challenges we face including diet, alcohol and smoking. These bold packages of measures will help tackle key issues and support everyone in Scotland to live longer healthier lives. This includes bringing forward legislation to restrict promotions of unhealthier foods, evaluating the impact that Minimum Unit Pricing of alcohol has had and introducing a smoke-free perimeter around all hospital buildings.

As we look to renew and recover as a society, we will continue to ensure the necessary resource is directed at improving equity for our people and communities who are most in need.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01507 on
‎ 30 July 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at Written questions and answers | Scottish Parliament Website

Table 1 shows the average daily number of Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) Contact Tracers scheduled to work on the COVID-19 Test and Protect service each week from 1 May. These are projected workforce figures taken from management information submitted by Health Boards in weekly returns and therefore do not necessarily represent final deployment figures. Wider support and administration staff are not included in these returns.

The Scottish Government does not hold data centrally on the proportion of these staff who are secondees or redeployed; the secondment and deployment of staff is a matter for each board.

Table 1. Whole Time Equivalent Contact Tracers working for the COVID-19 Test and Protect service in each week from 1 May 2021

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government or by Public Health Scotland.

Information relating to the number of patients awaiting a colposcopy and their length of wait would be held by individual Health Boards.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01507 on
‎ 30 July 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at Written questions and answers | Scottish Parliament Website

A new Early Cancer Diagnosis Programme Board has been formed – this group will be responsible for shaping and supporting the delivery of Scotland’s early cancer diagnosis efforts over the coming years. The exploration of any future public awareness campaigns will be considered here and will be undertaken with close consultation from the Scottish Cancer Coalition, which includes third sector ovarian cancer representation.

The Scottish Government is committed to finding cancer early when the chance of survival and even cure is higher – this is reflected in our £44 million Detect Cancer Early (DCE) Programme.

September marks Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month - DCE’s social media channels will help raise awareness of common signs and symptoms, signposting to an online interactive ‘symptom checker’ tool.

Enforcement of the Coronavirus Regulations is a matter for the Chief Constable and Police Scotland.

The latest data available on Police Scotland’s website Enforcement and Response Data - Police Scotland shows that as of 14 July 2021, 16,993 fixed-penalty notices have been issued and 971 arrests have been made under these regulations.

The published figures are not broken down to show the reasons for issuing of fixed-penalty notices or arrests; the presentation and format of Police Scotland data, is an operational matter for the Chief Constable.