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The Complex Pelvic Mesh Removal Service in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHS GGC) is managed through a Service Level Agreement with NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). The service reports to NSS on a number of indicators, including patient experience data, any significant adverse events and waiting times. This information will be used for comparison across the UK specialist centres, and will support quality assurance and improvement.

In addition, NHS Scotland is taking part in the development of a UK-wide Pelvic Floor Registry, which will aim to monitor and improve patient safety. It will record surgical mesh implants, and related medical devices, given to patients, and the organisations and surgeons that have carried out the procedures.

The registry will also collect information about patients that receive alternative procedures that do not include a medical device or implant so that outcomes can be compared and complications can be understood.

The main aim of the registry is to improve patient safety. It will mean that patients can be traced in the event of a product recall or safety concern relating to a specific type of implant or treatment. Outcomes data collected by the registry will also be used to improve procedures offered to future patients.

NHS Scotland will pilot the registry in Scotland and the NHS GGC will be involved.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00790 on‎ 13 July 2021. 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 expects 81,000 hectares of new woodland to be created over the lifetime of the Parliament; that’s well over 150 million new trees, making a critical contribution to our ambitions to become a net-zero nation.

We are accelerating woodland creation rates, going from the current 12,000 hectares per year to 18,000 hectares of new planting by 2024-25. This is an ambitious and stretching target and will require huge efforts from everyone in the public and private forestry sectors, building on our existing successes. Currently, Scotland produces around 80% of all new woodland creation across the UK, tackling climate change, improving biodiversity and supporting a billion-pound industry.

Furthermore, whilst these are very ambitious plans, we will be looking closely at what more is possible, as part of our commitment to publish a catch-up report on the Climate Change Plan within six months of the 2019 statistics being published.

During the recent debate on the Climate Emergency, on the 9 June, we supported the principle of the next full Climate Change Plan being brought forward as soon as possible during this Parliamentary session. This reflects our commitment to ever increasing action in response to the climate emergency.

The Tenant Hardship Loan Fund is operated and administered on behalf of the Scottish Government by Energy Savings Trust (EST), using a variation of an existing contract. EST carry out affordability checks based on the income and expenditure information provided by the applicant. Initial credit scoring is undertaken by Credit Safe which is powered by TransUnion. Applicants can appeal the credit scoring and in this process a separate credit score is obtained from Credit Karma. This ensures that any error in the original credit check does not impact final decision-making.

All costs associated with operation and administration of the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund are with EST. These costs form part of a wider contract and are commercial-in-confidence, although these can be shared in confidence with the Finance and Constitution Committee where appropriate.

The Transvaginal Mesh Removal (Cost Reimbursement) (Scotland) Bill was introduced on 23 June 2021. It is published on the Scottish Parliament website .

The Scottish Government does not hold any trend data for grey partridge across Scotland, due to low sample size in the Breeding Bird Survey annual monitoring scheme. The UK trend shows a 64% decline over the period 1995-2018. The more recent 10-year trend (2008-2018) is lower at a 34% decline.

Although the Scottish Government’s Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) does not have any options specifically for grey partridge, it does provide funding for options that benefit the habitats of grey partridge, namely:

• Beetlebanks,
• Creation of Hedgerows,
• Management or restoration of existing hedgerows,
• Forage Brassica Crops for Farmland Birds,
• Grass Strips in Arable Fields
• Retention of Winter Stubble for Wildlife and Water Quality
• Species Rich Grassland Creation and Management
• Species Rich Grassland Management only
• Stubbles followed by Green Manure in an Arable Rotation
• Unharvested Conservation Headlands for Wildlife
• Wild Bird Seed for Farmland Birds

The Scottish Government has committed to spending £66.16m towards these options from 2016 through to 2025. 1,838 businesses have these options in their AECS contracts, with over 29,000 Ha due to be managed throughout Scotland in 2021.

Further information about the scheme and how to apply can be found at Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (ruralpayments.org)

Please note that data regarding the number of COVID-19 vaccination sessions delivered are held by individual NHS Health Boards.

This information is not held centrally. It is the responsibility of territorial Health Boards to ensure there is adequate provision of NHS Pharmaceutical Care Services, working with community pharmacy contractors listed on the Boards Pharmaceutical List.

The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 set out the responsibilities for community pharmacy contractors to notify Health Boards when there are instances in which the contractor is unable to provide those NHS services.

When an application to the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund is received an initial affordability assessment is performed, based on estimates of income and expenditure provided by the applicant. Where affordability is not shown the application is not credit checked. Applicants can ask for an appeal of the affordability assessment.

As at 21 June there were 8 applications that failed the affordability check and a further 4 applicants that unsuccessfully appealed the affordability assessment.

There were 254 applications which failed to reach the minimum credit score and a further 142 applicants who unsuccessfully appealed the credit score check.