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The Scottish Government does not hold information on the newborn hearing test and newborn infant physical examination. These would need to be requested from health boards directly.

Further to the answer to question S6W-02448 which provided information on the number of babies screened using the bloodspot test in the newborn screening programme for each month between January 2019 and 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 following table provides information on the number of babies screened using the bloodspot test in the newborn screening programme, for each month in the period that followed from August 2021 to June 2022:

NHS Scotland Assure has carried out twenty Key Stage Assurance Reviews (KSARs) since it was established. At the conclusion of the KSAR, NHS Assure advises whether it supports or does not support a project. Where a project is not supported, an action plan is prepared by the responsible Health Board with support from NHS Scotland Assure to address the issues identified. The project can subsequently be reassessed. Twelve of the twenty KSARs resulted in a “supported” decision and eight resulted in a “not supported” decision and work is underway to address the issues identified. Responsibility for approving business cases continues to lie with the Scottish Government.

NHS Scotland Assure has so far supported the following projects at the full business case stage:

There are a range of options available to women who require transvaginal mesh removal surgery. A contract with Spire Healthcare, where Professor Hashim operates, was agreed earlier this year and arrangements for the first patients to travel to Bristol are underway. Furthermore, the Scottish Government can now also confirm that a contract has been agreed with Gynaecologic and Reconstructive Surgery Ltd, Missouri, USA, where Dr Veronikis operates. NHS National Services Scotland will now work closely with NHS GGC and local Health Boards to facilitate the arrangements for those who wish to travel to Bristol or to the USA for mesh removal surgery.

These additional options, alongside the potential for referral to NHS England services, complement the Complex Pelvic Mesh Removal Service in Glasgow. Despite Covid-19, we were able to introduce that service on a phased basis and a number of patients have been seen in the intervening period and have had surgeries carried out. It is expected that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will work towards improving waiting times as services begin to open up more fully.

Medicated grit can only be used under licence administered by a veterinarian. A veterinary prescription is required to purchase flubendazole coated medicated grit and it is recommended following predetermination of worm levels in grouse .

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is the competent authority in the UK responsible for the testing of food producing animals for residues of authorised veterinary medicines products and prohibited substances. The National Residues Surveillance Programme is carried out by VMD in accordance with The Animal and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations of 2015. Food Standards Scotland collect samples on behalf of VMD in approved game handling establishments.

The testing of red grouse for the presence of anthelmintic compounds authorised for use in medicated feed, such as flubendazole, has been carried out since 2016 and VMD publish its annual figures on gov.uk.

International science collaboration is vital in both supporting Scotland’s own research and innovation, and in ensuring Scottish expertise contributes to international research addressing global challenges such as the climate and biodiversity crises. Satellite information, including Earth Observation data, is a key resource that underpins this research, and processing it is one of the many strengths of the Scottish space sector. Over the period 2018-2021, the European Commission and European Space Agency provided 8% and 29%, respectively, of Research and Development funding for Scottish Space Companies. Maintaining access to European Programmes such as Copernicus is therefore extremely important to both Scotland’s industry and academic institutes and to the international science community as a whole.

Whilst the Copernicus Climate Change Service has an open data policy meaning data produced by it will therefore remain freely available to UK users, until an agreement on UK participation in Copernicus is finalised, the UK will not be able to participate in the parts of the Copernicus programme that are open only to EU member states. For example, UK-based businesses, academics and researchers will not be able to bid for Copernicus contracts tendered through the EU, funded through the EU’s Multi-annual Financial Framework or through any process using EU procurement rules after December 2020.

UK organisations could previously bid for Copernicus contracts tendered through ECMWF and Mercator Ocean. Until the Copernicus agreement is implemented, UK organisations cannot bid for Copernicus Services contracts except in exceptional circumstances that need to be justified to the European Commission.

The Scottish Government therefore strongly supports the UK’s continued involvement in EU programmes such as Copernicus and continues to liaise with the UK Government on EU programmes to reiterate the impacts of the continued delays.

Spending on active travel will increase throughout Scotland as we realise the Programme for Government commitment to increase the active travel budget to at least £320 million or 10% of the transport budget from 2024-25 onwards. The detail of how that significant increase in investment will apply in different local authority areas is still to be determined.

The Scottish Government supports all local authorities to deliver active travel through a variety of programmes including several run by third sector partners which local authorities can bid into and two direct funds – a LA resource fund of £2 million and a capital fund of £35 million (Cycling Walking and Safer Streets) both distributed pro rata this year across all 32 local authorities.

As the programme managers and project owners, the details of any such exercises lie with Sustrans and City of Edinburgh Council (CEC). We understand that a value engineering exercise was undertaken by CEC and Sustrans in view of escalating cost pressures and timescales for several Places for Everyone projects. Places for Everyone is an active travel infrastructure programme run and programme managed by Sustrans with grant funding from Transport Scotland.

Scottish Government funding for active travel in Edinburgh and other local authority areas is channelled through a number of programmes overseen by Transport Scotland. The single biggest programme is the Places for Everyone (PfE) programme, run by Sustrans with grant funding from Transport Scotland. From PfE, City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) has an indicative amount of £52,129,410 allocated to active travel projects over the next four years.

In addition, CEC receives £3,378,467 of Cycling Walking and Safer routes funding directly from Transport Scotland from a £35 million annual pot distributed pro rata to all 32 local authorities in Scotland. There are also various other partner delivered programmes which CEC can bid into for active travel projects, including the Smarter Choices Smarter Places fund for behaviour change projects, run by Paths for All.

The Charter for Grandchildren aims to highlight the role of the wider family. The Charter is available at the link below:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/parenting-plan-charter-grandchildren/ .

In the Family Justice Modernisation Strategy (FJMS) the Scottish Government committed to promote the Charter for Grandchildren. The FJMS is available at the link below:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/family-justice-modernisation-strategy/pages/1/ .

The Scottish Government is reviewing the actions in the FJMS and will consider prioritising work to promote the Charter for Grandchildren following delays during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The steps the Scottish Government intends to take to promote the Charter include engaging with key bodies to raise awareness and ensuring information on the Charter is more widely available.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08949 on 26 July 2022. 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 .