Chamber and committees

Consideration of future funding for Hybrid Closed Loop technology, including any further expansion of access, will form part of the Scottish Government’s wider budget and spending decisions for 2027-28. The Scottish Government remains committed to improving outcomes for people with Type 1 Diabetes and recognises the benefits that Hybrid Closed Loop systems can provide in supporting diabetes management and reducing long-term complications.

I have asked Stephen Pathirana, Chief Executive of the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) to respond. His response is as follows:

The following tables, provided by Public Health Scotland, contain data concerning the annual numbers and crude rates for deaths by suicide among males resident in NHS Dumfries and Galloway from 2015 to 2024, along with annual Scotland-level numbers and crude rates for comparison.

In addition, five-year averages of the annual numbers and crude rates for deaths by suicide for NHS Dumfries and Galloway and Scotland have been included.

The figures show that Dumfries and Galloway has seen an increase in the average annual suicide rates for males in the latest 5 year period (2020-2024), compared to the previous five years (2015-2019); moving from an average of 11.2 to 15.4 deaths per 100,000 male residents. The current rate is comparable with the national average, which has remained steady over this ten year period.

The Scottish Government look at national trends using the data contained in table 1b and 2b, while local areas look at local trends using the data contained in table 1a and 2a. The data provided in table 1a and 2a is for Dumfries and Galloway only.

In Dumfries and Galloway, the local Suicide Prevention Action Group is delivering a range of targeted work, supporting the aims of our national strategy to reduce suicide rates and ensure that anyone affected by suicide gets the help they need. This includes:

?providing suicide prevention training sessions to men’s groups, or in workplaces with a majority of male employees

?delivering support to specific groups who may be at higher risk of suicide, including Armed Forces Veterans and LGBTQ+ community.

?working closely with National Farmers Union (NFU Scotland) and linking with FarmStrong to support the agricultural community

Data tables

Table 1a) Deaths caused by probable suicide and crude rates per 100,000 for male NHS Dumfries and Galloway residents by year; 2015 - 2024.

The Scottish Government recognises the potential of AI to improve outcomes, support service renewal and increase productivity across health and social care. The Programme for Government includes a five-year commitment to "Develop an AI Hub to accelerate safe adoption of AI across the health and care system." The purpose of the AI Hub for Scotland is to provide greater support for organisations navigating the challenges of deploying AI safely and effectively and to develop common approaches to accelerate progress in high impact use cases.

Work is underway to support the safe adoption of AI at a national scale. For example, the Chest X-ray AI programme, approved through the Accelerated National Innovation Adoption (ANIA) pathway in July 2026, will implement and evaluate an AI-enabled lung cancer diagnostic pathway across NHS Scotland to support earlier diagnosis and treatment.

The NHS Scotland Innovation Hubs support the development, testing and scaling of innovative technologies, including AI. By working with staff, patients and communities, they help address real-world challenges, build evidence for decision-making, and ensure technologies are evaluated safely and robustly. Their work helps to create the conditions for safe and effective adoption of AI.

While structural change will support long-term financial sustainability, the greatest benefits will come from service redesign, better planning and reducing variation in health care and outcomes across Scotland. The costs and benefits of reform will be set out through the programme's business case and developed in partnership with NHS Boards.

This work will complement existing plans to improve financial sustainability and support Boards in returning to financial balance. The programme will be supported by a clear benefits framework and ongoing monitoring to assess whether it delivers improved outcomes and value for money. Decisions on final service structure models and their locations will be worked through during this design phase.

The Scottish Government has invested over £40m over the past five years to support cancer services and improve waiting times for treatment. In response to oncology pressures, we have committed to additional funding for chemotherapy services, including for lung cancer. This funding will reach up to £10.5m per annum by 2027, with £3m released in 2023-24, £4.6m released in 2024-25, £6.6m in 2025-26 and £10.5m this financial year.

Through the Respiratory Care Action Plan and wider long-term conditions work, the Scottish Government is strengthening prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation services for people living with serious respiratory conditions, including severe asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease and sleep apnoea, while working with NHS Boards and third-sector partners to improve access to care across Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to honouring the historic deal made with the BMA to invest £531 million over three years in primary care. The funding will help boost staff numbers and capacity, support day-to-day operations and make it easier for people to access GP services.

GP practices based in remote and rural communities in Dumfries and Galloway will receive a proportionate share of this funding.

On the 1 September, as part of the Programme for Government, the First Minister announced the Scottish Government’s intention to simplify the NHS by replacing the current 14 territorial Health Boards with two Strategic Health Boards and build on planned reforms to further reduce the number of special Health Boards.

We remain fully committed to partnership working and will work closely with trade unions throughout this process.

We will be relying on the workforce to achieve high-quality services, so it will need to be involved in the design phase. As part of that process Ministers will develop and communicate timescales and we will also need workforce input on those. There will, of course, be impact assessments as part of any required legislation, and I am committed to a rigorous programme of engagement.

On the 1 September, as part of the Programme for Government, the First Minister announced the Scottish Government’s intention to simplify the NHS by replacing the current 14 territorial Health Boards with two Strategic Health Boards and build on planned reforms to further reduce the number of special Health Boards.

We remain fully committed to partnership working and will work closely with trade unions throughout this process to ensure the voices and needs of those who deliver our services are heard and taken into account.

Robust local, regional and national governance arrangements will be established to support both the transition and the longer-term model. We will ensure detailed impact assessments will be undertaken as part of the programme's next phase. Equality, fairness and reducing health inequalities will be fundamental considerations in the design of the reforms. The intention is that structural reform will align organisational arrangements with the way many services, staff and patients are already working across East and West Scotland, as a result of the sub-national planning structures.

Work also includes progress regarding the national hospital flow plan. This plan includes immediate actions around the expansion of hospital at home and the roll out of discharge without delay.

Around 9 million passenger journeys were made in the Highlands and Islands region in 24-25 of which over half were concessionary travel and a significant proportion of the remainder were under £2 in cost. It is estimated that between 2.5 million and 3 million journeys will benefit from the cap during the financial year 26-27. This is subject to considerable uncertainty.