 Felly, eich myfaf o bufyn am gyffredin, oedd y cwestiynau'n dweud ar hunain yng ngyprodu yw'r cwestiynau yr unrhyw gwaith ar ôl yn lluildag angenu ohyn a nu. Mae angenu yn myfyrdd y gallu cwestiynau ar gyfer ar amser fe ffôr am agnod y cwestiynau, oes y ddyddol i'n gwestiynau ar gyfer i gwestiynau kaerai cwestiynau? Maen nhw'n lleiwch ar gyfer ar gyfer ar gyfer y cywestiynau? Rwy'n meddwl aquwysiwr nifer 1. Fodd y cyfgrifenni, irm ôl i'n meddwl allan i'r am lawer o y lliad, i roi amddangosolweithu i Wahot Arwyr, a i hoffa hwn o'r hwn i gweithio'i fflydd o'r lliad. Rydym yw arweithwyr i Wahot Arwyr i gesu eu gweld, ac byddwn wef i'n mynd i gyda'r ysgrffór. Rwandol amser, wrth gwrs rheswm yn gyfodol yn gweithio'r Ysgol Cymru ein lleolau, am y 23rd y Prif, i gynyddu i ridingig o'r matern ac picsad oedd unig eu gweld. to climate change and the impact of extreme weather events on Scottish agriculture. In response to Storm Babot last year, we provided grants of up to £30,000 to farmers and land managers to help to repair damaged flood banks. Support is also available to farmers and land managers through the agri-environment climate scheme. Since 2015, the grant is issued on options that support management of water has amounted to £8.1 million. We also support local authorities with £42 million a year and £150 million over this Parliament to invest and improve flood resilience for local communities, and we'll be consulting on a flooding resilience strategy. All of this is incredibly slow, and none of the money that the minister refers to from the agricultural budget is to do with flooding, all of it is to do with water scarcity and also in terms of the river bank management, which is not to do with flooding. I want to understand from the minister, despite the wealth of evidence that exists and existed for a long time in terms of managing waterways but also managing the land, what practical measures will come out of this meeting that he's talking about on 23 April? Where are the river management catchment plans? Where's the grants? Where's the clear guidance? Because farmers need that guidance in order to better manage their land. I thank the member for that question. We will discuss all of these issues at the flood forum, which I've already stated, but the point that I'm going to make to Willa Rennie is that where we are right now is in a season that has been absolutely horrendous for the farming community. It has been absolutely brutal. The spring has been horrendous. I'm going to make a couple of points if you don't mind, Presiding Officer. To say to the farming community, please stay connected and talk to friends and family, because mental health right now is absolutely as low as EB through a lack of sleep, very long tiring hours and nature. We are doing our damnedest to test every nerve and sin you. It's a feeling that I'm very well acquainted with. It's for that reason that I want to help a friend at the weekend in a lambing shed, not for the physical work aspect of it, but in order to make sure that he had somebody else that he could talk to. We understand that these flooding issues are a problem, but we are tackling them and we are doing everything we can to make sure that we help to give that mental support to the farming community. A couple of supplementaries will need to be brief as will the responses first. Elinor Whitham. Clearly dealing with the impact of flooding and adverse weather is challenging. It's affecting lambing, crop sowing and growth, and it's taking its toll on animals and people, including in my constituency of Carrot Cymru in Doon Valley. What advice and support can the minister offer to farmers and crofters during one of the most difficult springs that we have experienced and really undertake to come back with the outputs from the meetings that he has discussed in his answer to Willie Rennie? I think that land management and flooding is really important. Yes, absolutely. I will commit to come back and give the outcomes. As I have already said to Willie Rennie and as I will reiterate to my colleague Elinor Whitham, things are really tough at the moment. If people are finding it hard and they need someone else to talk to about the problems that they are facing just now, I would direct them to the RSABI, who are doing amazing work in keeping folks spirits up and giving practical help and advice on most situations, and they are available seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Please do not feel as though you are on your own that there is actually help out there. When it comes to supporting farmers and landowners to protect river banks, the Scottish Forestry grants scheme falls way short of England's woodland creation offer. Just over the border in my constituency uplift payments for riparian buffers is £2,500, whereas in Scotland they are just £230. Minister, if your SNP Government, as you say, takes flood mitigation and prevention seriously, why are you shortchanging and swimping on schemes that support people to do exactly that? The Government has actually increased that, but I am happy to come back with the details to the member at a later point. To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to reiterate the harms caused to both livestock and farmers by livestock worrying. Minister Jim Fairlie. The Scottish Government recognises the distress and the serious welfare and financial implications livestock worrying causes. We continue to consider education a key factor in reducing the number of incidences. The campaigns undertaken in partnership with NatureScot and the Scottish SSPCA have reiterated the importance of responsible dog ownership. Our support of the member's dog's protection of livestock amendment Scotland Bill gave a very clear indication of how seriously we take livestock worrying incidences. Should they be convicted of an attack or a worrying livestock by the minority of responsible owners, they could be fined up to £40,000 or face prison for up to 12 months. Thank the minister for his response and thank the Government for supporting me in my member's Bill. There is a sheep farmer minister in the South Scotland region called Cammie Wilson. He is doing excellent work to increase awareness around the seriousness of livestock attacks from an animal welfare perspective as well as from a health and wellbeing perspective for the farmer. So can I ask the minister what consideration the Government might give to a national awareness raising campaign to ensure that the menace of out of control dogs and livestock worrying is treated with the utmost seriousness that it deserves in the minds of the public? Minister. I absolutely take on board all the points that Emma Harper has made. In fact, I have watched Cammie's videos. They are pretty brutal. If anybody has any doubt as to what a small family pet can do, they should watch his video of a spaniel worrying lambs. It really is very distressing. However, the Scottish Government recognises those effects that have won both animal and human welfare that livestock worrying has, not just financially, but on the wellbeing of those responsible for the livestock. The Scottish Government firmly believes that education is a key. We want everyone, including dog owners, to enjoy the countryside via their access rights. I encourage everyone to familiarise themselves with the outdoor access code. Russell Findlay. I asked the Lord's question first to ask the Scottish Government what actions it has taken to reduce the number of cases of livestock worrying. I absolutely take the question in the spirit in which it is meant that any dog attack is one too many and increasing awareness is a key factor in the prevention of livestock worrying incidents and the associated unnecessary suffering. We continue to work with partners, including NatureScot, whose message on responsible dog walking is generating some 3 million impressions and 15,000 visits to the Scottish outdoor access code website every year. We also continue to work with Police Scotland, local authorities, the SSPC and other relevant interests to keep communities safe from the small minority of irresponsible dog owners and their dangerous dogs. In 2021, the Scottish Government supported the introduction of Emma Harper's Dog Protection Livestock Bill, delivering greater powers to Police Scotland and to the courts to deal with irresponsible dog owners. Russell Findlay. I agree with the Minister on raising public awareness about livestock worrying, which causes significant distress and even death, but the law must also be a deterrent. My colleague Rachel Hamilton has established that there have been just 21 convictions for this crime in the two-year period until last November. I would be interested to know how many reports of livestock worrying were reported to the police in that same period, and to ask the Minister whether he thinks that the law is protecting farmers and their livestock. Unfortunately, it changes the tone. However, I would point out to the member that we have actually got the law in Scotland, which Westminster is only just beginning to follow up on it and actually copy it. However, in terms of the numbers that he is asking for, I cannot give a definitive number right now, and we will come back to him with that. However, I re-emphasise the fact that, for those who are walking their dogs in the countryside, please take a moment and look at the potential damage, watch the Cammys video and see what pets can do to livestock and make sure that you keep your dog under control when you are amongst livestock. To ask the Scottish Government where there is land reform Scotland Bill will help to protect communities from development of land of public importance. The land reform Bill will ensure that the benefits of land ownership and decisions about how it is owned, managed and used are more widely shared. The owners of very large landholdings will now have to engage with local communities about how their land is used, and the Bill also seeks to empower communities with more opportunities to own land through introducing advanced notice of certain sales from large landholdings. The Bill does not include reforms to development management, which is a matter for the planning system, and development plans guide the development and use of land in the long-term public interest. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Land in Bathgate, which was home to a war memorial and a site where veterans scattered their ashes, has seen rapid planning applications denied by the council. However, the developers have repeatedly appealed to the Scottish Government, despite previous appeals for less substantial proposals being rejected. Can the cabinet secretary outline the steps that Scottish Government is taking to prevent vexious appeals and ensure communities in all parts of Scotland have a say in how land is used? In relation to the specific incident that the member mentions, I am not aware of the details of that, but I am more than happy to look into it. That sounds like a matter that should probably be raised by the planning minister, but I am more than happy to follow up with him in relation to that. One thing that I would note, particularly when we are talking about what are the significant pieces of land in communities, is that the changes that have been introduced through the 2019 Planning Act put community voices at the heart of the planning system. Before preparing a local development plan, planning authorities now have to invite local communities to prepare local place plans, and that is really where those areas of significance can be considered. However, as I say, I am more than happy to follow up with the member, as well as the relevant minister. We have all seen over the years examples of sales of whole islands or other large estates, causing real issues for the people who live there. What steps are the Scottish Government giving or taking to give island residents greater protection from having their communities and often their livelihoods being bought and sold in this way? The member, of course, raises a really important point there, which is why the measures that we are introducing as part of the land reform bill are so important. The bill will prohibit certain sales over 1,000 hectares until ministers can consider the impact on the local community, and potentially that could then lead to some land holdings being lotted into smaller parts. We also believe that it will empower communities. It is going to give communities more opportunities to own land by introducing advance notice of certain sales, and the owners of large land holdings will have to engage with local communities on their plans for the use of the land too. Those requirements will apply if a land holding is more than 25 per cent of a permanently inhabited island and then if it also exceeds 1,000 hectares. I believe that the proposals, some of the measures that I have mentioned there, as well as the wider proposals introduced through the bill, will benefit many of our island communities. Question 4, Jackie Dunbar. To ask the Scottish Government how its work on wildlife management can help address the reported threats to nature and biodiversity restoration posed by American Mink. American Mink is an invasive non-native species that is contributing to the decline of Scotland's vulnerable native species. The Hebride and Mink project shows how investment of £250,000 per year since 2001 has achieved eradication or very low Mink populations in the Hebrides to allow ground nesting birds and wider biodiversity to recover and thrive. Through the Nature Restoration Fund, the Scottish Government is providing £2.5 million to the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative and Biosecurity for Scotland's Sea Birds Islands project to train and work with communities and volunteers to control non-native species including Mink to allow biodiversity to recover. Jackie Dunbar. I thank the minister for that answer. Controlling Mink requires extensive surveying of rivers and burns, for example, done by volunteers. Can I ask the minister what is being done to recruit volunteers in the northeast, where Mink are a particular threat? The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative has a dedicated team of around 155 volunteers working on Mink control across northeast Scotland. With the aim of building on their success, the CC has put out a call for more volunteers to tackle Mink in an expanded area across northern Scotland. The project will train the new volunteers to operate innovative smart traps and mink rafts to survey for Mink. I would like to recognise the hard work and dedication of all the CC staff and volunteers who are tackling invasive non-native plants as well as Mink across northern Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the register of persons holding a controlled interest in land since it launched on 1 April 2022. The register of persons holding a controlled interest in land, known as the RCI, is maintained by the keeper of the registers of Scotland. The RCI went live on 1 April 2022 with a two-year transitional period before the offence provisions for non-compliance took effect. As of 12 April this year, 12 days after the end of the transitional period, there were 5,438 entries on the RCI and a further 10,273 entries have been submitted and are pending publication as details are not published until 30 days after submission to the register. I'm very grateful indeed for that reply. When Russia invaded Ukraine on a full-scale basis in 2022, there was rightly a focus on the Russian oligarchs who own land in Scotland. We know of four, at least two of whom have links to the Kremlin and were included on the Putin list published by the US Treasury Department in 2018. However, there is a loophole in the register which means that some landowners are exempt from it, which could mean that there are still landowners hiding their identity and potential wealth and may have links to Putin's kleptocracy. Can I ask the cabinet secretary whether she is satisfied with the system as it exists today, and what plans the Government has to further increase transparency around this issue? I think that this is an area. First of all, I think that the measures that we've introduced are very important, but I think that, as with anything, as we see how this progresses, I think that if there are any improvements to be made to the system, then of course more than open to looking at what they may look like or to indeed engage with the member on these discussions. I know that this is an area of interest for the member, and I think that in previous responses I've also outlined that we had fully supported the UK-wide emergency legislation that had been introduced on the UK Economic Crime Act which was about the register of overseas entities as well. I believe that we are making strong progress when it comes to this, but again, I'm more than happy to keep this under review. I've got a couple of supplementaries for Christine Grahame. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Minister, my question may be too specific for an immediate answer, but following a query from a constituent who represents a Scottish charity, Glynchorth Centre, which is also registered as a UK company limited by guarantee, he is not clear under the guidance whether he is required to register the charity as having a controlling interest in land. If he can't clarify just now, I'd be happy to receive a written answer. I'd be more than happy to follow up with the member in relation to the particular circumstances that she talks about there, but I would also encourage the organisation that she talks about, and if members are receiving similar queries, I encourage their constituents to get in touch with the register of Scotland, who should be able to help to clarify that position and offer some advice. When land is owned through a company and the controlling interest of the company changes, is the register updated automatically and can triggers be fitted to the system, given that the land reform bill might require that in future? Again, the points raised by the member are more than happy to follow up afterwards with particular responses to those specific queries. To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it's had with the UK Government regarding Scotland's agricultural funding post 2025. Brexit means that we no longer have long-term certainty of funding. HM Treasury have only provided yearly allocations for the current UK parliamentary term, and, as it stands, we have no funding commitment from 2025. The Scottish Government has made repeated requests to UK ministers to engage on this, and that includes several letters to Steve Barclay since his appointment as Deputy Secretary, but he's still await a response. The Scottish Government has been clear and consistent that we expect full replacement of EU funds to ensure that there is no detriment to Scotland's finances. Thank the Cabinet Secretary for that response. Everything about Brexit is last minute. In my constituency there are small food producers now facing a huge hike in fees for imports, threatening their viability and with trade bodies warning of the risk of a hike in food prices. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that it is time for Scotland to escape the unrelenting harm caused by the Westminster Government's irrational adherence to a Brexit that is breaking our economy? I thank the member for raising that important point, particularly about the recent checks that have been introduced. The Scottish Government had agreed to implement the UK Government border target operating model, ultimately to ensure that we are protecting our people, businesses and environment from the biosecurity risks that can come with different types of products entering the country. Right throughout this process, we have worked pragmatically to try to balance the need for introducing those controls with minimising burdens on traders. However, since publication, the Scottish Government has been locked out of key discussions. We have been asked to make important decisions at very short notice and have been faced with the UK Government making unilateral decisions in areas of devolved competence. Fundamentally, Brexit is the reason why new checks are needed on imports from the EU, and Scotland is now paying a very high price for a Brexit that it did not vote for. We have repeatedly called for the UK Government to sign a veterinary agreement with the EU, which would remove those barriers. Ultimately, the Scottish Government continues to believe that the best trading relationships for Scotland will be found when we are an independent member in our own right. The cabinet secretary may stand in her show box blaming on certain to the UK Government, however, the fact is that the UK Government did provide multi-year ring-fence funding since the UK left the EU and uplifted payments after the bureau view. It is the Scottish Government that continues to raid the agricultural budget. It is clear to farmers, but perhaps not the cabinet secretary, that it is this Government who is wholly responsible for the uncertainty surrounding future farm payments by not publishing the future rural support plan. Can the cabinet secretary set out now exactly when the workings after the plan will be available? First of all, there are a number of points of misinformation for that that I would be happy to clarify for Findlay Carson that he has raised. The funding that is provided from the UK Government is done so on an annual basis. Rather than having a seven-year block of funding that we previously had as members of the EU, which came through as a mixture of resource and capital, we now receive that through on an annual basis and only as resource funding and not receiving any of that as capital replacement. We have also received the worst budget settlement since devolution, with significant cuts to our capital budget of around 10 per cent, which, of course, have meant difficult choices of how to be made. On the ring-fence funding, because I think that this is important to clarify since the Tories continue to perpetuate this misinformation, that ring-fence funding will be returned in full to the portfolio that has been committed by me, by the Deputy First Minister and by the First Minister himself as well. The nature of that funding is ring-fenced, which means that it must be returned to the portfolio, £15 million of which has been returned this year. To ask the Scottish Government how Crown Estate Scotland supports marine tourism in coastal communities. Since 2020, Crown Estate Scotland has distributed more than £1.4 million through its Sustainable Communities Fund, supporting local regeneration and development, including several marine tourism projects. Crown Estate Scotland has three community marine officers in place to enable Scotland's people, communities and visitors to make the most of our coastal waters. They also co-fund a marine tourism officer in Mr Gibson's constituency. Since 2019, more than £50 million in revenues from Scottish Crown Estate marine assets have been allocated to local authorities for local spending to support priorities in their areas, and that includes tourism. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. In June 2021, Crown Estate Scotland earmarked £3 million for boat-based tourism. My constituency, Milport Marina and Ayrshire Growth Deal project, is reliant on that funding given the impact of inflation on other future funding streams. Despite a duty to support coastal communities, Crown Estate Scotland recently reneged on their commitment to support marine tourism. Can the cabinet secretary advise how local stakeholders can help the Crown Estate to deliver their stated objectives to islands like Cumbria? I thank the member for raising that important point. Ultimately, Crown Estate Scotland's fundamental role is to maintain and enhance the value of the Scottish Crown Estate. That is a key aspect included in the criteria when assessing the investment proposals of the bids in relation to the particular scheme that the member is talking about. Criteria also included the nature of the investment and how it aligns with Crown Estate Scotland's statutory duties and how it delivers wider sustainable development benefits, financial value and requirements relating to fair competition. I know that applications to the fund are currently still undergoing assessment, and I know that additional information has been requested from applicants to ascertain whether their investment proposals meet the fund's criteria. I cannot comment at the moment in relation to some of the specific bids, but I know that Crown Estate Scotland has been engaged in on-going dialogue with the applicants to the fund. I would also encourage anyone to engage with Crown Estate Scotland directly regarding any specific issues or queries around the fund that they might have, as well as if that relates to its processes too. Thank you. That concludes portfolio questions on rural affairs, land reform and islands. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business to allow front benches to change. The next item of business is portfolio questions on NHS recovery, health and social care. As ever, if a member wishes to ask a supplementary question, I would invite them to press the request-to-speak buttons during the relevant question, and I call question number one, Jamie Greene. Thank you. To ask the Scottish Government when the health secretary last met with the chief executives of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Ayrshire and Arran and what was discussed. Cabinet Secretary, Neil Gray. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Ministers and Scottish Government officials regularly meet with representatives of all health boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Ayrshire and Arran, to discuss matters of importance to local people. Jamie Greene. Here's something of importance. The referral to treatment waiting time is 18 weeks in Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Just 68 per cent of patients have been seen within that time, and in Ayrshire and Arran just 66 per cent. That's over a third of people in my region waiting over four months to start treatment. They haven't seen those health boards meet that target or anywhere near that target for nearly a decade now. The problem is that people are dying whilst they're waiting for treatment. The big question is, when will those health boards meet those targets, if ever, and how many more people will needlessly die whilst waiting for treatment? I thank Jamie Greene for raising that question. First of all, I say that it's not just regrettable. I'm very sorry for all those who are having to wait too long to receive the treatment that they need. It's not something that we are complacent about. We are investing, as Jamie Greene will have seen, £30 million of the first tranche of the £300 million that the First Minister committed to in order to tackle those longest waits. We have seen some improvements there, as well as a number of specialties regarding outpatient waits, eradicating all of their waits over two years. Many have made significant progress compared to the 30th of June 2022, including gastroenterology, down 99 per cent, general surgery, down 91 per cent, GP, down 83 per cent, ENT, down 97 per cent. Impatient day case activity for quarter three last year was the highest since the start of the pandemic. So, Jamie Greene is absolutely right to point to the fact that there are still too many people waiting for too long. However, there is improvement, there is recovery happening, and we will continue to invest to make sure that it continues to be the case. The adult eating disorder service in Glasgow works with people who have anorexia and bulimia, both of which have the highest mortality rate of all mental health conditions. I understand that the contracts for five key roles in this service are due to end in the coming months. Did the cabinet secretary discuss this particular issue in his most recent meeting with the health board, and will he commit to adding that to the agenda for his next meeting? That is not an issue that I was discussing the last time I met with the chair of the chief executive, however it is something that I will be more unhappy to write back to Paul Swinney about in more detail. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the current model of care for children with gender dysphoria. The Scottish Government is already supporting NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde as provider of the Young People's Gender Service and NHS National Services Scotland to consider how best to provide specialist young people's gender care in Scotland. This is part of the implementation of the NHS Gender Identity Services strategic action framework 2022-24. Last week, the independent review of gender identity services for children and young people, chaired by Dr Hilary Cass, published its final report. The findings of the review into services in NHS England are being closely considered by both the Scottish Government and wider partners. The minister will be aware of my efforts to bring forward a ministerial statement on the cash review, as a portfolio question session just isn't enough time to scrutinise in the 400-page report. The Scottish Government may not wish to talk about the issue, but parents, campaigners and young people deserve answers. Minister, can I ask you a simple yes or no question? Will the Scottish Government adopt the recommendations of the cash review, including limiting the use of puberty blockers in cross-sex homeroons? I thank Megan Gallacher for her question. As she pointed out, it is a long report, but it is very much worth reading. It is very accessible, and I encourage as many people as possible to read it. We, the Scottish Government, our officials and our senior clinicians are all looking at what the report contains. We will be giving an initial review on that as soon as possible. I fully associate myself with the minister and Dr Hillary Cassie's comments that the increasingly toxic, ideological and polarised public debate does nothing to serve the young people accessing this care, and instead our focus should be on supporting and improving gender identity healthcare. Can I ask the minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to improve access to and delivery of NHS gender identity services for all, including children and young people? I thank Bill Kidd for his question, and I would like to note that, behind every headline, there are children, parents, carers and clinicians that are all impacted. I agree with the member and want to reiterate this Government's absolute commitment to improve the lives of trans people living in Scotland. In order to improve access to and delivery of gender identity healthcare in Scotland, we have invested over £2.8 million since December 2022, with £2.2 million of that being allocated directly to NHS health boards with gender identity clinics to support local improvement work, in particular to addressing waiting times and service capacity. As I have said, we are working with Healthcare Improvement Scotland to develop national standards for gender identity healthcare and supporting NHS national education Scotland to develop new training materials for staff. The publication of the cash review is undoubtedly significant. I know that the cabinet secretary and the First Minister have continually said that they will leave this decision to the clinicians, but, ultimately, the Scottish people expect the Government to step up and make a decision on whether it will implement well-evidence-based recommendations to protect Scottish children, and, if not, why not? Can I ask the minister not if, but when a statement will be made to this Parliament on this important issue so that members have time to discuss this? I thank the member for her question and would reiterate that the Government and our officials and your clinicians are reviewing the report. I do not think that it is appropriate to respond quickly. I think that we have to do that in the appropriate time, so we understand exactly what the implications are of the cash review to gender identity services within Scotland. I want to make sure that we put the children, their families and the clinicians at the centre of this work. Many people will be watching the chamber this week as MSPs here discuss their healthcare, and I want to send solidarity and support to all the young people watching this. Can the minister outline if any young people are distressed by the discourse that is currently happening around their healthcare? What services are there to support their on-going wellbeing? I thank Gillian Mackay for her question and I agree with her entirely that it is the young people that we have to put at the centre of this, and we have to ensure that they get the support that they need. I am pleased that Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the Sandyford are still providing that support to young people and their families through a multidisciplinary team. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in implementing its diabetes improvement plan. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living with diabetes can access clinically appropriate, safe, effective and person-centred healthcare treatment and support. The implementation of the diabetes improvement plan is overseen by the Scottish Diabetes Group. Delivery on work is under way on improving diabetes education, prevention of food ulceration, inpatient care and supporting people with diabetes during and after pregnancy. A key commitment in the plan is to increase access to diabetes technology. Since 2021, the Scottish Government has provided £19 million of additional funding to NHS boards to support this commitment. In a letter to me last April, the minister stated that our aim is to improve access to closed loop and artificial pancreas systems at the earliest opportunity. Patients across Edinburgh have told me that they will not get those innovative solutions, because despite being clinically appropriate, there is a severe financial situation facing the health board. Even worse, a patient who was on a trial who was successful has been told that she will have to return to her glucose pump system, even though the closed loop system has made a huge difference to her health and her quality of life. Will the minister meet me and patients affected? Although there is a real opportunity to improve diabetes patients' quality of life, that opportunity is not just being denied to my constituents, it is now being snatched away. I thank Sarah Boyock for that question and I sympathise with the situation that her constituents find themselves in. I am very happy to meet her and her constituents to hear directly from them as to how that is impacting and to continue discussions with the clinical leads as we do on a regular basis. Can the minister outline how much funding the Scottish Government has invested in recent years on the provision of diabetic technologies and what has been achieved as a result? Minister. In 2016 and 2022, we invested £29.6 million specifically for diabetes technologies. That was in addition to baseline funding to NHS boards. In 2023, we also invested £350,000 to pilot a national onboarding pathway to support the roll-out across Scotland. This funding is supporting people living with type 1 diabetes to access life-changing technologies such as insulin pumps, including more than 1,700 children. We know that there is a lot more that we can do to increase access to diabetes technology, and we continue to work with key stakeholders to determine the best way to do this and how to fund it. A constituent in Lothian, Stippin, was granted access to an insulin pump after a shocking three-year on waiting list, with reports that Lothian waiting times could increase to 10 years by the end of 2024. Waiting times in part of England for the same technology are 14 months. Will the minister advise what action is being taken to reduce these terrible waiting times? I thank Faisol for his question. We are working closely with NHS boards to ensure that they choose to spend their money. I am also working closely with my officials to see what else we can do from a Government perspective. To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent reports, that one in 10 planned operations in the NHS were cancelled in January, what steps it is taking to reduce the rate of cancelled operations? Surgical procedures can be cancelled for various reasons. In the year to February, 6.3% of all planned procedures were cancelled for either clinical reasons or by the patient, and only 2.2% were cancelled due to capacity or non-clinical reasons. In fact, there has been a general upwards trend of operations performed since May 2020, with a 10.3% increase in the year to February, compared to the previous year. Activity will further increase through our investment of £30 million to target pandemic backlogs, including orthopedic treatments. The revised waiting times guidance published in December also instructs health boards to complete waiting list validation on a regular and continual basis. That ensures that waiting lists are accurate and helps to identify patients whose needs have changed, in turn reducing the number of cancellations. I thank the cabinet secretary for her response. The message that this level of cancelled operations is standard fair is certainly not good enough. A teenager who only had months to undergo life-changing spinal surgery was woken after being prepared for surgery and told that the operation had been cancelled due to staff shortages. Cabinet secretary, this is an intolerable situation for these parents and patients and families. What action can we put in place to ensure that others in similar positions are treated with the urgency and the respect that they deserve? Alexander Stewart for his question. I think that the case that he is referring to was within NHS Lothian. He may be aware that I met both the medical director and the chair of NHS Lothian off the back of some of the coverage of the situation regarding spinal surgery there. I have also asked the chief medical officer and the chief nursing officer to intervene to look at what support could be provided to ensure that where is a capacity issue that is seen in these cancellations that we are addressing those concerns. As I said in response to my Mr Stewart's initial question, the number of procedures is going up. The number of cancellations is coming down. A recovery is under way and we will continue to invest in it so that the situation that Mr Stewart outlines can be reduced. My constituent Liz suffered with a bad prolapse in 2021. She was told that as her womb was bearing down on the prolapse, she would need hysteriactomy. The waiting list for which could see Liz waiting up to two years in pain and discomfort for her operation. Can the cabinet secretary advise what urgent action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce those long painful hysteriactomy waiting times? Thank you very much to Faisal Chowdry for raising the case of the hysteriactomy issue of his constituent. I'd be happy if he wishes to send further details on to me to see what more can be done in the constituent's case. I point him to the response that I gave to Mr Stewart in terms of the investments that we are making and the reduction in weight that we are seeing as a result of some of the interventions that we are taking and also the reduction of cancelled operations and the increase in the number of operations being undertaken. If he would like to write to me with the details, I'd be happy to do what I can within the limits that he would expect. To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is given to the location of the headquarters of the proposed national care service. We are currently at stage 2 of the NCS bill and at this point consideration has not been given to the location of any potential premises. As I set out in my letter to the convener of the Finance and Public Administration Committee in December, we anticipate that existing premises will be used removing the need for additional cost. That aligns with Scottish Government policy on the new single Scottish estate approach and its more efficient use of existing public sector assets, which the DfFM set out in our recent budget statement and the programme for government. I thank the minister for her answer. As she will be aware, there is a significant amount of innovative work under way in my constituency and the club manager part of my constituency, including the growing partnership between Forth Valley NHS Stirling University and Forth Valley College, as well as the sector-leading work on sustainable aging, which is planned as part of the Stirling and Club Manager city deal. She will also be aware of how central and fantastic a location Club Manager and Stirling are within Scotland. Does the minister agree with me that locating the HQ of Scotland's national care service, alongside the centre of innovation, would align with its goal of future proofing the social care sector for generations to come? Would she agree to meet with me to discuss potential opportunities further? Minister Keith Brown for his question. I mentioned in my previous answer that at this point we have not considered the location of potential premises for the NCS, but as ever I am always really pleased to hear about innovation and I would be very happy to learn more about the project with Forth Valley NHS Stirling University and Forth Valley College at an appropriate time. Supplementary Sandish Gohani. Minister, you said that we are at stage 2 of the national care service bill, so when will we actually see the amendments that you failed to produce, as promised? I will continue updating the lead committee. As you would expect, I have provided a response to the report from the stage 1 proceedings and we will proceed as normal. I would expect us to treat each other with courtesy and respect over this issue and we will, as you know, this is not entirely in my control. We have to work with Parliament and with other bodies to ensure that we can absolutely see the passage of this bill and you will hear through your lead committee. Let us listen to both the questions and the responses with respect and I call brief supplementary Craig Hoy. Is the minister aware that the Abbey Care Home in North Berwick, the Errington care provision in North Berwick and the Bellhaven care provision in Dunbar are all set to close and shouldn't the minister's attention be focused on the crisis in Scotland's social care sector, not where they might house bureaucrats in a £2 billion national care service bureaucracy? As I said in my response to the original question, we haven't given any time to consider the premises of the headquarters for the national care service as yet. We are simply at stage 2 of that legislation. The member points out a number of issues that are acute within the social care sector and we are working very carefully through those with our partners and local authorities who have the responsibility for both commissioning and procurement of social care at present. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the health secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the plans for health infrastructure investment in its revised infrastructure investment plan, including the likely publication date of any such plans? The capital position is extremely challenging. The UK Government has not inflation-proofed its capital budget and the latest forecasts show that our block grant for capital is expected to reduce in real terms by 8.7 per cent by 2027-28, a cumulative loss of over £1.3 billion. As a result of that cut, all capital projects are now under review and I expect the Deputy First Minister to set out the results of that review soon following cabinet consideration. Murdo Fraser? I thank the cabinet secretary for his response. However, it was long before the current budget issues that he mentions were identified back in the spring of 2021, the plans for the new elective surgery centre at Perth Royal Infirmary were announced, with a promise that it would be completed and receiving patients by the end of this year. Three years on, an outline business case has still not been approved, the costs have spiralled and nothing seems to be happening. Will this much-needed and long-awaited facility for the people of Perthshire ever be delivered, or was this just an empty pre-election promise? There are a number of projects that are before me that I wish to see happen. Murdo Fraser lists one for which the case is well and truly made. The situation that we have is a financial reality that Murdo Fraser may not wish to hear, which is that UK-based inflation, especially construction inflation, means that the costs of those projects have spiralled upwards, thanks to uncontrolled UK inflation. Meanwhile, the UK Government does not appear to see the merit in inflation-proofing its capital investment, neither for the economy nor for the health service, and as a result we have a diminished capital budget. That means that we have to review our capital projects, which is an undertaking that we are committed to, including looking at alternative forms of finance to see as many of those projects come about. Like Murdo Fraser, I wish to see those happen for the improvement and recovery of our health service. Unfortunately, the plan when it is published may make rather thin reading as almost all capital projects in health have been cancelled. I want to focus also on national treatment centres and cancelled projects in Esher and Arran, Lanarkshire, Lothian, Grampian and Tayside, because those were central to the Government's plans to tackle long waiting lists. I ask the cabinet secretary what is his plan to deliver those projects and when will they start? I wish to correct Jackie Baillie in her initial assessment, initial assertion that the capital projects in health have been cancelled. They have not. They have been paused while the capital position is under review. I wish to see a situation in which the Government wishes to see a situation in which many of those projects are able to get the go ahead. I would love to see a situation in which a UK Government was to come about that would see the merit in investing in capital projects. Whether that is a Labour Government or indeed a Conservative Government, I wish they would see the merit of that, not just from the health service perspective but for the economy. Then we can see about making sure that we can get all of those projects off the ground. The Gilbert Bain hospital in Lerwick is one of the oldest hospital buildings in the Highlands and Islands, as the cabinet secretary will know from his recent visit to Shetland. When will my constituents learn of the time table for crucial work to replace the 1950s design building? Will we need to wait until the publication of the revised infrastructure investment plan or can it be confirmed now that the anticipated timeline hasn't changed? I was at the Gilbert Bain a couple of weeks ago when I was in Shetland and was able to see, thanks to the tour that I was given of the Gilbert Bain by the chair, Gary Robinson and others, around the situation that is acute at the Gilbert Bain in particular areas that are in a particularly bad state. It is an area that I understand. I cannot give any further commitment in terms of the timescale while the review of capital projects is under way, but, as per other projects that are on pause at the minute, the case for them has been made. It is about raising the finance and ensuring that we can see them delivered and that is the consideration that both myself and the Deputy First Minister are embarked upon. Seven was withdrawn. Question 8 was not lodged. Therefore, that concludes portfolio questions. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business to allow front benches to change.