Chamber and committees

AI is currently at different stages of deployment across a wide range of clinical and administrative functions. This includes AI-enabled diagnostic pathways for lung cancer, stroke and breast screening, use of Microsoft Copilot to support administrative productivity, and evaluations of Ambient Voice Technology in clinical settings.

NHS Boards are responsible for ensuring that technologies, including software and AI, are deployed safely and used appropriately. Any use of AI is subject to relevant safety, governance and assurance processes, with human oversight remaining a key principle. The Scottish Government published Interim Guidance on the Use of AI in Health and Social Care in August 2026 and will publish an AI Policy Framework for Health and Social Care later this year further clarifying appropriate safeguards. We will also be responding to the recommendations made by the National AI Commission on regulatory and assurance frameworks for AI in healthcare.

These matters fall within the responsibility of rail freight operators in their capacity as employers.

The Memorandum of Understanding for the Additional Investment for the Aberdeen City Region sets out arrangements for the delivery, monitoring and reporting of £254 million of additional funding commitments made by the Scottish Government under the Aberdeen City Region Deal agreement. It does not impose any obligations in and of itself and does not contain provisions around the approval or allocation of funding.

The Scottish Government is aware that the NHS Lothian ‘Increased-Risk Breast Surveillance’ service for all eligible individuals has been relocated from Ardmillan House, Edinburgh to St John’s Hospital, Livingston.

Whilst this is an operational matter for NHS Lothian, the Scottish Government understand that this decision was driven by sustained growth in Edinburgh’s routine screening population (aged 50 to 70), which has increased by 10% since 2018 and exceeded the capacity Ardmillan House was originally designed to support. The Health Board undertook an assessment of patients booked in January 2026 which found that St John’s Hospital was more accessible for those travelling from Fife, West Lothian, South and West Edinburgh, and Midlothian, although longer public transport journeys were recognised for some residents of Central and North Edinburgh and East Lothian. As one of NHS Lothian’s three acute hospitals, St John’s provides a reasonable and equitable location for the service, with limited alternative options currently available.

The Scottish Government wants everyone accessing health services to be treated as close to home as clinically appropriate. Where travel is necessary, the Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to work collaboratively with transport providers to make suitable arrangements to ensure that the necessary treatment and services can be provided in a patient-centred way.

The Scottish Government understands calls from the retail and tourism sectors for the restoration of tax-free shopping for overseas visitors. Scotland’s retailers have highlighted that many international competitors continue to offer tax-free shopping schemes and have argued that the UK's current approach may place Scotland at a competitive disadvantage in attracting high-spending international tourists.

VAT is currently reserved, therefore any decision on tax-free shopping is a matter for the UK Government. However we would continue to call on the UK Government to engage with industry on this matter and keep the current arrangements under review.

As set out in the Programme for Government in early September, we will publish and consult on a blueprint for a transformed childcare offer in 2027, focussing on what matters most to families. Given the scale of our ambition to transform childcare, it is only right we take the time to develop that blueprint and we will publish it for consultation next year. Decisions on future delivery and costs will be considered through the appropriate parliamentary and budgetary processes.

The Scottish Government is providing national leadership for skills planning while supporting regions to identify and respond to their own workforce and skills priorities in line with national objectives. Strengthening regional skills planning is a core part of wider reform, recognising the important role of regional partners in providing labour market insight and informing skills provision across key sectors.

Addressing workforce and skills challenges within tourism and hospitality remains a priority. We continue to work collaboratively with the sector through the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Leadership Group and the Tourism and Hospitality Skills Group to support actions that help employers attract, develop and retain the workforce they need.

Through our ongoing engagement with industry and regional partners, we continue to consider the skills needs of the tourism workforce and the barriers that employers face in accessing the skills required to support visitors and grow the sector.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-31539 on 6 December 2024. 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 Scottish Government is not responsible for the regulation of companies in the United Kingdom and does not have statutory powers to determine the suitability of owners of privately owned businesses.

This government is committed to maintaining Scotland's domestic steel capacity and fully appreciates the economic importance of Dalzell to the local area. The priority of the Scottish Government is to see the plant operational.