The Scottish Government works closely with categorised responders, who are responsible under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 for assessing the risk of an emergency occurring, maintaining plans to ensure they can continue to perform their functions in case of an emergency, and considering whether an assessment makes it necessary or expedient to add or modify plans. Scottish Government are not however responsible for, or the owners of, any of these plans.

To support categorised responders with their duties, the Scottish Government contributes to the UK’s National Security Risk Assessment and produces the Scottish Risk Assessment to supplement this with Scotland specific analysis. These national level risk assessments consider the most serious emergencies that the UK and Scotland may face in the near future, and contain specific risk assessments for both severe storms and wildfires.

It is for Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) to govern, plan and resource adult palliative care in their areas, using the delegated budgets under their control, to meet the needs of their local populations.

Evidence gathered to support the development of the draft palliative care strategy shows that, for people living and dying at home, general practitioners (GPs) and district nurses have important and valued roles providing ongoing relationships, care of the whole person and family, broad expertise and coordination of care. These relationships are particularly important in rural and island communities. The actions set out in the draft palliative care strategy seeks to support IJBs ensure equitable access to palliative care in their areas.

The following provides details of marketing activity that has run over the preceding five years, to address chronic diseases. Chronic disease is defined in the Scottish Health Survey as any physical illness or mental illness expected to last a year or more. Messaging has not been tailored to target rural communities specifically, however where possible media platforms and channels have been selected and partnerships have been utilised to reach rural communities.

Crohn’s and Colitis

A Crohn’s and Colitis public information campaign ran in March 2023 via stakeholder and community engagement. The campaign aimed to increase awareness of the symptoms of Crohn’s and Colitis, and signpost to trustworthy information to empower and enable the public to seek advice from a healthcare professional.

Community engagement included the distribution of posters to 1,256 community pharmacies, 908 general practices, 256 leisure/community centres and 32 library hubs (for onward distribution to community libraries) throughout Scotland. This included rural areas, the Highlands and Islands.

Campaign resources including a toolkit were sent to over 300 stakeholders, which included Local Authorities and NHS Health Boards.

Women’s Heart Health

To help improve awareness and signs of heart disease and communicate ways of lowering risk, a public information campaign was developed to coincide with national heart month in February 2023 and was activated through community and stakeholder engagement.

Resources highlighted a key stat:istic “heart disease is killing 10 women a day in Scotland” and signposted to NHS Inform for more information on symptoms and actions to take to lower risks.

The campaign was aimed specifically at women and was delivered via community engagement and included the distribution of posters to 1,256 community pharmacies, 908 general practices, 256 leisure/community centres and 32 library hubs (for onward distribution to community libraries) throughout Scotland, this included rural areas, the Highlands and Islands.

A campaign toolkit was also sent digitally to a comprehensive stakeholder list which included Local Authorities and NHS Health Boards.

Cancer

Between April 2020 to date, a number of campaigns have run to support earlier detection of cancer, including Lung cancer, Cervical screening and Detect Cancer Early campaigns. Local press and radio packages were purchased as part of a Scotland wide media plan, to reach rural communities. Press titles included the Ellon Times, Buchan Observer, Berwickshire Advertiser, Ayrshire Post, The Hawick Paper, Banffshire Herald, John 'Groat Journal and radio stations included Radio Borders, Moray Firth Radio, Northsound, Westsound and Tay Radio.

A new burst of the Detect Cancer Early campaign will run in March and includes community radio in a number of rural locations that network radio does not reach, including Argyll FM, Caithness FM, Radio Skye, Radio Wester Ross, Radio Nevis (Fort William) and Shetlands (SIBC). Also included is a content partnership with local publications such as Ellon Times, Buchan Observer, East Fife Mail, Berwickshire Advertiser and Ayrshire Post and Field activity in locations that are more accessible for those living more rurally such as Elgin, Fort William and Stranraer.

Dementia Stigma

The Rethink Dementia campaign launched on 4 September 2024 and ran for 6 weeks in paid-for media. A number of Local Press Titles were purchased as part of the campaign, including:

Community Scotland Zone Newspaper

South Annandale Series

South Ayr Advertiser

South Berwickshire News

South Border Telegraph

South Cumnock Chronicle and Muirkirk Advertiser

South Dumfries Courier

South Eskdale & Lidderdale Advertiser

South Galloway Gazette

South Lanark and Carluke Gazette

South Peeblesshire News

South Southern Reporter

South Stranraer & Wigtown Free Press

South The Hawick Paper

North Angus County Press

North Banffshire Advertiser

North Banffshire Herald

North Banffshire Journal

North The Buchie & Inverurie Herald/ Ellon Times/ Fraserburgh Herald

North Caithness Courier

North Campbeltown Courier & Argyllshire Advertiser

North Deeside & Donside Piper and Herald

North Forres Gazette

North Helensburgh Advertiser

North Highland News Group

North Huntly Express

North Inverness Courier (Fri & Tues)

North Isle of Bute News

North John O'Groat Journal

North Mearns Leader/ Kincardineshire Observer

North Northern Scot

North Northern Times

North Oban Times and West Highland Times

North Ross-shire Journal

North Shetland Times

North Stornoway Gazette

North Strathspey and Badenoch Herald

North The Orcadian - Orkney

North West Highland Free Press

The Rethink Dementia campaign also utilised pharmacies, libraries, GP practices, community centres and sports centres, providing these settings with campaign assets across Scotland including rural communities.

There is a wide range of education and training programmes for those delivering palliative care suitable to their role. These training programmes encourage those delivering palliative care to be aware of cultural factors and how these can impact on individuals and their families.

Our draft palliative care strategy aims to build on this work and includes a number of recommended actions for the provision of palliative care education and training to support all healthcare professionals delivering palliative care services.

The Scottish Government works closely with the legally categorised emergency responder organisations, including Local Authorities, who are responsible for assessing, planning, responding to and recovering from the consequences of civil contingencies emergencies, as considered in the national risk assessment documents produced by the UK and Scottish Governments, as well as the public facing Community Risk Registers produced by Scotland’s three Regional Resilience Partnerships (RRPs). These documents include specific risk assessments for both severe storms and wildfires.

Representatives of all responder agencies are required, by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, to meet regionally in Scotland’s 3 Regional Resilience Partnership (RRP) areas, in the North, West and East and below that, 12 Local Resilience Partnerships (LRPs) are in place. The Resilience Partnerships meet to ensure plans are in place to co-ordinate a response to any kind of emergency event, including for wildfires and severe storms, should they require a multi-agency response. Existing plans are regularly tested in joint exercises and during real emergencies.

The Scottish Government Civil Contingencies Division co-chairs the Voluntary Sector Resilience Partnership which brings Cat 1 Statutory responders together with relevant Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations to discuss issues around VCS involvement in emergencies, to help empower Scotland’s communities to become more resilient.

The Scottish Government supports this partnership activity in many ways including supporting multi-agency partnership meetings, and organising a range of exercising, learning and professional development opportunities.

I wrote to the Economy and Fair Work Committee on 25 June 2024 to confirm that a market testing exercise for Glasgow Prestwick Airport was underway. Scottish Ministers’ longstanding position is that the airport should be returned to the private sector at the appropriate time and opportunity. This must be to an organisation with the commitment and capability to operate businesses directly relevant to GPA.

Any decision to sell GPA must represent value for money for taxpayers and be informed by what is right for the long-term success of the business and its contribution to the local and Scottish economy.

The process is ongoing and I will update Parliament when a significant development has been made.

I wrote to the Economy and Fair Work Committee on 25 June 2024 to confirm that a market testing exercise for Glasgow Prestwick Airport was underway. Scottish Ministers’ longstanding position is that the airport should be returned to the private sector at the appropriate time and opportunity. This must be to an organisation with the commitment and capability to operate businesses directly relevant to GPA.

Any decision to sell GPA must represent value for money for taxpayers and be informed by what is right for the long-term success of the business and its contribution to the local and Scottish economy.

The process is ongoing and I will update Parliament when a significant development has been made.

The Scottish Government has plans to raise awareness about community optometry services, but is unable to take this forward at the present time due to financial constraints. In addition, the NHS Inform and Eyes. NHS.Scot websites have content relevant to the provision of NHS funded eye examinations in Scotland.

The Scottish Wildfire Forum, which is chaired by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, includes Local Authorities, Regional Resilience Partnerships and other Agencies as members to assess wildfire risks and consider what mitigating actions might be taken.

The aim of the forum is to develop and communicate strategic wildfire protection and prevention initiatives to stakeholders and the wider community. Alongside the Forum, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service continue to work closely with land managers and local communities prevent wildfires occurring. Scottish Forestry also actively seeks to promote awareness of wildfire management practice through working with partners on the Forum.

Scottish Forestry also led the 2023 review of the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) (2023) - the Government’s reference standard for sustainable forest management. The UKFS Practice Guide Building Wildfire Resilience into Forest Management Planning (Practice Guide 22) focusses on reducing the likelihood of wildfires occurring, reducing the severity of damage and impacts on people and the environment if they do occur, and assisting with fire suppression activities.

The Scottish Wildfire Information Note supports forest owners, planners, and managers in Scotland to implement Practice Guide 22 in a Scottish context, to understand the wildfire risk to the forests they manage, and how to reduce this risk through good practice in forest design and planning.

Work is also ongoing within the National Parks to address the risk and impact of wildfires. Following a consultation the Cairngorms Park Authority board agreed on in June 2024 to develop a seasonal fire management byelaw, which would last from 1 April to 30 September each year to reduce the risk of ignition of wildfires.

Both the CNPA and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) also engage with key stakeholders through Visit Scotland’s Visitor Management Strategy Group Visitor Management: Scotland's Plan & Objectives | VisitScotland.org to develop messaging around visitor related fires.

The Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 introduced new legislation including a new licensing scheme which will require that all practitioners of muirburn need to have completed appropriate training. Poorly managed muirburn can increase the risk of uncontrolled wildfire. However, undertaken properly, muirburn can be an important tool in managing fuel loads and so reducing the risk and intensity of wildfires. NatureScot, who are implementing these new measures, are currently consulting with relevant stakeholders, including land management organisations.

With regards to funding, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s (SFRS) wildfire strategy was launched in 2023 and is supported by a planned spend of around £1.6 million over the course of three years. The strategy considers the increased risk of wildfire and changing climate in Scotland; the latest developments in wildfire management, training, and operational procedures; and the advances in technology that have been made in PPE and equipment. The Scottish Government does not hold details of relevant spending by the CNPA, LLTNPA, or local authorities.

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 provides the legislative framework for resilience activity in Scotland.

Category 1 responders, including Local Authorities, are obliged under the Act to maintain arrangements to warn the public, and to provide information and advice to the public, if an emergency is likely to occur or has occurred. This includes emergencies such as severe weather and wildfires.

In addition, the Scottish Government has a longstanding commitment to providing the public with advice on preparing for and responding to a range of emergencies through its Ready Scotland channels.

The Ready Scotland website (ready.scot) provides information on how the public can prepare their home, their family and their businesses for severe weather and other emergencies. It also provides information on how to respond, keep safe, and help others in the community when emergencies do occur.

When areas are at risk from severe weather or severe wildfires, the Scottish Government, responder organisations and other resilience partners all work closely to share public safety advice through a variety of channels.