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All farmed fish, including cleaner fish, are protected by the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, which places a duty on fish farms to ensure their needs are met. The Scottish Government’s Fish Health Inspectorate inspects the legally required veterinary and mortality records held by fish farms. Significant cases of poor welfare observed during inspection are reported to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

The Farmed Fish Health Framework Steering Group, which includes fish vets, regulators, sector representatives and Scottish Government officials, and which is chaired by the Scottish Government Chief Veterinary Officer, provides the appropriate forum within which future policy relating to the health and welfare of farmed fish will be developed.

Currently, there are no plans to introduce further legislation relating to the use of cleaner fish in Scottish aquaculture.

Animals protected under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 are defined as those that are: (a) of a kind which is commonly domesticated in the British Islands; (b) under the control of man on a permanent or temporary basis; or (c) not living in a wild state.

The Scottish Government considers that the sheep on St Kilda, for the purposes of welfare legislation, should be regarded in the same way as an unowned and unmanaged population of wild deer or other wild animals. This position was first communicated in correspondence in February 2020, and was the Scottish Government position prior to that date.

Action 12 of our Learning/Intellectual Disability and Autism: Towards Transformation Plan committed to explore the establishment of mandatory autism and learning/intellectual disability training for all NHS staff. We will consider how this applies across multi-disciplinary settings and use the evaluation findings from the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training pilot to inform our approach to learning disability and autism training in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has also commissioned NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to develop the NES autism training framework as a tool for services and learners, alongside funding a Learning Disability Team at NES to improve the knowledge and skills of the health and social care workforce.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with COSLA, will publish a new suicide prevention strategy in September 2022. As part of that we will consider how to further embed suicide prevention across health and social care services.

The assessment of people with long COVID is informed by the clinical guideline ‘managing the long-term effects of COVID-19’ developed by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, and the Royal College of General Practitioners. The guideline recommends using a holistic, person-centred approach when assessing someone for long COVID which should include a comprehensive clinical history and appropriate examination involving physical, cognitive, psychological and psychiatric symptoms as well as functional abilities.

The allocation of £3 million from the long COVID Support Fund to Health Boards across 2022-23 will provide extra resource to support people with long COVID to have a holistic assessment of their needs, both physical and mental, to ensure they can access the community or healthcare support and services most appropriate for their individual circumstances.

Giving people access to clear information is one key part of supporting people to feel more in control of their condition. That is why we have launched a long COVID information platform on NHS Inform, which provides people with information and support including in relation to low mood, depression and anxiety, with signposting to self-help guides that use cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT).

We have also invested £40,000 in a public awareness campaign, through Community Pharmacies across Scotland about how people can access further advice and support in relation to their symptoms.

Shortages of medicines are an ongoing part of the day to day management of the NHS. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) medicines and all other medicines experience supply issues for varying times and for varying reasons, including difficulty in sourcing core ingredients, divestment by pharmaceutical manufacturers and international market volatility. Many shortages are short in nature.

There are over 70 HRT products available in the UK. There have been ongoing supply problems with some products, some are irregular supply while others are a longer term shortage. The Scottish Government first issued (26 August 2019) NHS Circular PCA(P) (2019) 18 on HRT supply issues. Regular Medicines Supply Alert Notice (MSAN) are issued for any HRT product experiencing supply problems. All MSANs are published at SHOW - Scotlands Health On the Web - Publications

A serious of UK wide Serious Shortage Protocols (SSP)were introduced for the following HRT products

Premique® low dose 0.3mg/1.5mg modified release tablets

Oestrogel® pump-pack 750mcg/actuation gel,

Ovestin® 1mg cream,

Sandrena® 0.5mg and 1mg gel sachets,

Lenzetto 1.53mg transdermal spray

Each SSP is individually developed and authorised clinically, to enable community pharmacists and dispensing doctors to dispense a different strength or formulation or alternative medicine or appliances in accordance with the protocol, rather than having to refer prescribing decisions back to the original prescriber. These protocols are time limited. SSPs can be found at SHOW - Scotlands Health On the Web - Publications .

We continue to press the UK Government to seek a lasting resolution to HRT supply issues as quickly as possible.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00456 on 18 June 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

As referred to in response to S6W-08593 on 1 July 2022, we were pleased to receive the report and recommendations from the National Partnership for Culture, and recognise that the broad themes in the report align with our priorities across Scottish Government. Scottish Government officials are working together across the Health and Culture portfolios to review the Health and Wellbeing recommendations. Our response to the National Partnership for Culture recommendations will be published shortly.

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

In 2019, there were 191 unexplained deaths. In 2020, there were 202 unexplained deaths.

This information is published annually in the Vital Events Reference Tables published by National Records of Scotland. Data for 2019 and 2020 can be found in table 6.01 here: Vital Events Reference Tables 2020 | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk)

Please refer to the cause of death category "R96-R99 - Other ill-defined and unknown causes".

Data for 2021 is not yet published. The Vital Events Reference Tables for 2021 are due to be published in June and will be available on the NRS website.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

A 2018 report by the Mammal Society under contract to Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and Scottish Natural Heritage, which reviewed the status of British mammal populations including the red fox, is the most recent survey to have been carried out.

The full report can be found at: http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5636785878597632

Following my response in January I can provide more detail around the issues pertaining to paediatric audiology in NHS Lothian. I am providing one response that covers all three questions.

The British Academy of Audiology (BAA) reports have been widely distributed amongst professionals, including all GP practices in NHS Lothian, ENT surgeons, community child health doctors, and speech and language therapists. NHS Lothian has had extensive communication with a range of partners including teaching staff and the Director of Education. As part of this process, those working with children who had any concerns about a child's hearing were encouraged to contact the Audiology department directly or to refer the child through the normal route.

The frequently asked questions, which was developed, has also been shared with specialised teams in education in the four local authority areas across NSH Lothian. My officials are also engaging with local authority heads of service for deaf education and NHS Lothian to address any additional concerns regarding support and education planning for families.

So far, 124 families have been contacted directly by NHS Lothian and offered a retest; 39 children have now had their retest with a further 11 with an appointment to date. From the 39 retested, 10 children have been found to have a new hearing impairment.

Officials continue to work closely with NHS Lothian regarding paediatric audiology, including communications. As highlighted, information has been widely circulated amongst professional staff groups working directly with children and their families, with clear mechanisms for children to be referred to the audiology department where there are concerns about their hearing. Indeed, NHS Lothian established a telephone line in December last year and this continues to be operational to make it easy for families to make direct contact with the Board about any audiology concerns, the board is also working closely with the National Deaf Children Society.