Chamber and committees

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 of those who deliver our services are heard.

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.

In the last three years, the Scottish Government has provided NHS Dumfries and Galloway with baseline funding as follows.

2026/27 - £462.8 million

2025/26 - £425.4 million

2024/25 - £364.7 million

Whilst the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care support policy in Scotland, the delivery of mental health services is the responsibility of local territorial Health Boards and Integration Joint Boards (IJBs). We expect Health Boards and IJBs to provide high-quality mental health services to their local areas that meet the needs of their communities.

In addition to this, £1,427,339 has been allocated to Third Sector organisations in the NHS Dumfries and Galloway area through the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults. The following amounts have been provided in each year:

2026-27 - £450,372

2025-26 - £532,303

2024-25 - £444,664

The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults supports a wide range of valuable community mental health projects, including those focused on men’s mental health and suicide prevention. It aims to build resilience, reduce the need for clinical interventions and improve mental wellbeing within communities.

The Fund is distributed in all 32 local authority areas of Scotland by Third Sector Interface (TSI) organisations who, working in collaboration with other local partners, are responsible for determining and allocating the funding to local community initiatives which support mental health and wellbeing. This is based on local priorities and in line with their local partnership plans.

The Scottish Government recognises the significant impact that preventable ill health and premature mortality have on men across Scotland. Improving population health and reducing health inequalities, including those experienced by men, therefore remains a key priority.

The Scottish Government's approach is set out through a range of national strategies and frameworks, including the Population Health Framework, the Programme for Government and Scottish Government's wider programme of health and social care reform.

Last year, the Scottish Government and COSLA published the Population Health Framework, which sets out a cross-government, cross-sector approach to improving population health and reducing inequalities over the next decade. In addition, Scottish Government's Programme for Government places a strong emphasis on the need to shift towards prevention and early intervention. This includes action to address alcohol and drug-related harm and to encourage healthier lifestyles among men, helping to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and poor mental wellbeing.

Scottish Government are also supporting targeted action to improve men's health outcomes through initiatives delivered with a range of partners, including increased investment in suicide prevention; continued investment in SAMH’s Extra Time programme; the ‘Be the Early Bird’ campaign to detect cancer early which uses targeted marketing to ensure it reaches men in places they spend their time; and benefiting from the impact of Minimum Unit Pricing policy - where the largest estimated reductions in deaths and hospital admissions wholly attributable to alcohol were among men and those living in the 40% most deprived areas in Scotland.

Embedding prevention across public services is fundamental to improving population health outcomes for individuals and securing the long-term sustainability of Scotland's health and care system.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of baselining centralised funding for Hybrid Closed Loop technology on the delivery of the ambitions set out in Scotland's Population Health Framework 2025-2035.

We recognise the benefits of Hybrid Closed Loop systems in supporting diabetes management and reducing the risk of long-term complications. NHS Boards are expected to provide access to these technologies in line with clinical guidance and the needs of their local populations.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-03250 on 28 September 2026. 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.

Individual portfolio areas keep their work under review to ensure continued focus on delivering the Government’s priorities.

The Programme for Government outlines our ambitions for the five years of this Parliament. This marks a new approach that strengthens the connection between priorities, delivery and outcomes. Each portfolio area contributed to the programme and will ensure effort remains focused and shaped by our wider work on strengthened strategic decision making.

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.

As we develop our blueprint for the future, we are already making significant new investments in 2026-27, improving the affordability and flexibility of childcare and supporting access to work, education and training. Through the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, ‘Bringing Hope, Building Futures’, we are providing up to £15 million of funding during 2026-27 to support low income families with their childcare costs. This funding will start flowing to families in the next month, providing real practical help at key moments of challenge.

Delivery will be phased across the Parliamentary term, with families able to access breakfast clubs across Scotland from August 2027, and a new after school and holiday childcare offer for primary school children available from August 2029.

On 1st 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 are currently in the design phase of the work, which includes developing the business case. The work will be developed in partnership with staff, staff representatives, trade unions, stakeholders and the public, with a strong focus on the needs of rural and island communities.

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.

Integration arrangements will also be reviewed as part of wider health, social care and public service reform. Over the next three months, we will undertake an intensive programme of engagement with local government and partners to consider how health, social care and wider public services can work more effectively together, make best use of public investment and improve outcomes for people and communities. Detailed arrangements will be developed as part of wider public service reform.

As a result, it is not yet possible to provide detail on any specific implications for the governance, funding or accountability of Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs). As no decisions have been taken on future integration arrangements, existing statutory integration arrangements will remain in place while wider health, social care and public service reforms are developed. ADPs play an important role in supporting the delivery of national and local priorities to reduce alcohol and drug-related harm and will continue to do so as this work progresses.

The previous Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise and the First Minister both wrote to COSLA on the issue in March 2026 before the dissolution of Parliament, calling for action to address the concerns of affected families in relation to local decisions restricting the choice of cross-boundary provision and noting that cross-boundary provision would be a key issue for local and national government to consider during the next parliamentary term.

Following her appointment, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic highlighted concerns about cross-boundary provision to the COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People at their introductory meeting on 1 June 2026.

This issue remains a priority for Ministers, who have committed to exploring cross-boundary provision further with COSLA within the context of wider reform and the Scottish Government’s ambition to transform the wider childcare offer during this parliament.

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