Chamber and committees

Presiding Officer, before I answer Mr Findlay’s question, I acknowledge the announcement that you made at the weekend of your intention not to seek re-election to Parliament at the next election. I express my appreciation of your leadership in Parliament as Presiding Officer. [Applause.]

On cancer treatment waiting times, Mr Findlay raises a serious and important issue. I begin by expressing my regret that the cancer treatment waiting times are, in all circumstances, not being achieved around the country. The target for 95 per cent of patients to start treatment within 31 days of an assessment having been made that treatment is required is very close to being met—it is at 94.1 per cent—but performance against the 62-day target is not acceptable.

The Government is focusing on improving the activities and the investment that is made in individual boards to ensure that the performance can be improved. We are able to demonstrate, as the data shows, that, in parts of the country, the target is being met. It is being met in Lanarkshire; the model of care in Lanarkshire, which is achieving both the 62-day target and the 31-day target, is meeting the standard. We are ensuring that learning from NHS Lanarkshire is being applied in other boards around the country to ensure that improved performance is achieved. That is the approach that the Government is taking to ensure that the needs of patients are met and that we can move at the earliest possible opportunity to address any concerns about cancer in the population.

On the statistics, two important observations have to be made in addition to what I have already said to Mr Findlay. First, we are treating more patients with cancer on time compared with the same quarter six years ago—pre-pandemic—on both the 31-day standard and the 62-day standard. Our services are treating and interacting with more people than they were pre-Covid, which demonstrates the increases in capacity that we have put in place.

The second point is that, in relation to the 31-day target, the median wait—the mid-point at which people are being treated—is three days. Last year, it was four days, so we are finding that there have been improvements in the time in which treatment is being delivered. I hope that that gives Mr Findlay some confidence that the focus on improving capacity in the national health service to deal with cancer is at the heart of the Government’s plans.

Mr Findlay referred to the underspend in the budget, which has been applied to the financial provisions for this financial year. I reassure members of the public that all the underspend from the previous financial year will be able to be deployed to support public services. Of course, that will assist us in supporting the budget that we have in place, which has already increased funding for cancer services as part of the national health service budget, which is the highest budget that has ever been deployed in the history of the NHS. The Government attached the priority to that important investment in putting forward its budget, which has provided a record financial settlement for the national health service.

Mr Findlay started his questions by raising very serious issues about the delivery of cancer care. I am determined to engage on those issues, because I recognise them to be of genuine concern to members of the public. I assure the Parliament that the focus of the First Minister, the health secretary and the Government is on improving waiting times. That is what we were elected to deliver, and we are taking steps to ensure that that is the case. That is why we put in place the investment, which Mr Findlay did not support. That is why we have focused discussions with health boards about improving performance and learning lessons from areas of the country that are performing well—so that we can improve standards in other parts of the country. This Government is absolutely focused on reducing waiting times for treating cancer and other conditions, and that will remain the focus of my Government.

Forgive me, Presiding Officer, but I will repeat some of what I have said already: we are treating more patients with cancer on time, within both standards, compared to the same quarter six years ago. We have expanded capacity. We recognise that there are challenges in waiting times, but the Government has put the investment in place to enable that expansion of capacity.

We can see where the best practices are operating in the country, and the health secretary and I are working to ensure that they are deployed in all parts of Scotland.

The Scottish Government has taken a number of measures to address the cost of living challenges that members of the public face, whether that is about our investment in early learning and childcare, which saves families thousands of pounds in childcare costs; the investment in the Scottish child payment, which boosts household income for those in poverty; or the steps that we, in the Scottish Government, are taking to lift the two-child limit—a cap that should have been lifted as one of the first acts of the United Kingdom Labour Government.

We will always take actions to support families who are facing financial hardship and difficulty, but we face a new threat, which is the benefit cuts agenda of the UK Labour Government. At a time when many Labour MPs are saying that the cuts are unacceptable, is it not telling that Anas Sarwar is supporting the Prime Minister in implementing the benefit cuts? It demonstrates that Anas Sarwar will not be standing up for Scotland any time soon.

There are a number of issues in Mr Mountain’s question that I need to address, because there are a number of different factors at play. The issues in relation to maternity services in Caithness have been addressed in that way because of clinical assessments about the most appropriate way in which services should be delivered. I think that the Parliament would take a dim view of ministers who ignored clinical assessments of the safety and efficacy of maternity services. We would not be doing anyone a service if we ignored that clinical opinion.

On other questions, such as the point about vascular surgery, I note that we face challenges in different parts of the country—indeed, this lies at the heart of some of the cancer care issues that I have addressed already—in our ability to recruit clinical leadership to deliver services. I have absolutely no desire for us not to be able to provide services of the type that Mr Mountain has raised but, if we struggle to recruit individuals to deliver those services, the Government has to address the practical realities of that.

Finally, the Government has invested in establishing a national treatment centre in Inverness, which is delivering thousands of procedures for Highlanders and people from other parts of the country, because of the focus on delivering high-quality healthcare in that environment. That is an indication of the Scottish Government’s commitment to the Highlands, which is one of many other commitments that the Government will continue to deliver.

I very much associate myself with the comments of Mr Torrance on the challenges of the cost of living. On Monday, I set out the approach that the Government is taking to the delivery of a pilot exercise in eight local authority areas. On Monday, I visited Springburn academy in the city of Glasgow and saw at first hand the benefits of the offer of a healthy and nutritious free school meal to young people in S1 to S3. The families of those young people are in receipt of the Scottish child payment.

The Government will take forward that proposal and it will be rolled out in about 60 schools across eight local authority areas during the next school year. That could benefit more than 6,000 young people and contribute to tackling the cost of living while giving young people a healthy and nutritious school meal as part of their day.

I am very happy to take forward those points. I take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the distinguished public service and clinical leadership of Professor Alison Britton. Perhaps the best way to take things forward would be for me to meet Mr Carlaw to discuss those issues over the summer, so that I can properly and fully take stock of the progress that has been made and what requires to be undertaken. We can then report to the Parliament at the start of the parliamentary session in September. I will ask the health secretary to engage with the United Kingdom Government on the Hughes report. I will make arrangements to meet Mr Carlaw to discuss those issues.

I understand that there is to be dialogue on the guidance with stakeholders over the summer. That is part of the necessary process of dialogue that the Government has to go through when it is reviewing such material. In preparing for the new academic year, local authorities should follow the existing guidance when considering those questions. The guidance is clear on the need for local decisions to be based on effective engagement with the community, reflecting the needs of local families. That issue will matter significantly to Christine Grahame, given her local engagement on all those issues, which she has raised with me previously and which I know are at the heart of her concerns.

The health secretary is in Japan, at the Osaka expo, in partnership between the Scottish Government and the United Kingdom Government. On three occasions this year, Scotland will have the opportunity to highlight some of the strengths in the Scottish economy. One of those strengths, which the health secretary is promoting, is the life sciences sector, which is a huge asset for Scotland. The health secretary is in Japan at my request and with my approval to ensure that Scotland’s life sciences sector is able to be promoted to an international audience, given its significance to our university and research community.

I make it clear to Mr Findlay that the Government has put in place the investment provided for in the budget, which Mr Findlay did not support, to ensure that we are able to support the delivery of healthcare services in Scotland with record funding available. Mr Findlay asked me what steps could be taken to reassure patients. I say to patients that the learning that has been developed in NHS Lanarkshire about the improvements in the delivery of cancer services is being shared around the country. Rapid cancer diagnostic services, which are also in place in a variety of other health boards in the country, have led to significant reductions in waiting times. All those measures will be deployed to ensure that cancer care is delivered where people need it.