Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to continuing to explore innovative drug harm reduction measures. We have not undertaken a formal national assessment of the clinical efficacy or cost-effectiveness of integrating rapid testing strips into existing harm reduction networks or injecting equipment provision services, however we are aware that nitazene test strips are available from some services in Scotland.

We are aware of both the potential benefits and limitations of rapid testing strips as harm reduction tools, including their role in supporting engagement and risk reduction, alongside recognised limitations relating to accuracy and false negative results. We are working with partners including Public Health Scotland and Healthcare Improvement Scotland to consider the evidence and inform appropriate Scottish guidance.

Scotland follows the advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), the independent expert body that advises all four UK nations on screening programmes.

On 28 May 2026, the UK NSC recommended that prostate screening should be offered to men aged 45 to 61 who have both a confirmed BRCA2 gene variant and a family history of breast, ovarian, pancreatic or prostate cancer. We have accepted this recommendation and are strengthening existing high-risk surveillance pathways for prostate cancer, which already enable eligible men to access testing in line with the UK NSC's recommendation. The recently established Prostate Screening Working Group are also considering what is required to develop a nationally managed prostate screening programme.

After closely examining the existing evidence around screening men with the BRCA1 variant, or men with a BRCA2 variant without a family history of associated cancers, the UK NSC currently does not recommend prostate screening for these groups. It has found that there is not yet a suitably accurate test for a national screening programme of asymptomatic men, and there is currently insufficient evidence that the benefits of screening outweigh the risks for other higher risk groups.

However the UK NSC is monitoring emerging evidence closely and will consider whether new evidence supports expanding their recommended eligibility criteria for prostate cancer screening. In recognition that the UK NSC may expand their recommendation in the future, we are exploring what would be required to extend prostate cancer screening to other groups. Should they recommend screening all men with a BRCA1 or 2 variant, we would work with the NHS to take that forward in Scotland.

The Scottish Government's fuel poverty and energy efficiency schemes continue to deliver the same range of retrofit measures as the ECO4 scheme. However Scottish Government schemes already include some measures, such as battery storage, that are not available from ECO4 installers.

In most cases, households that were eligible for ECO4 finance will continue to be eligible for retrofit measures delivered through Area Based Schemes (ABS), Warmer Homes Scotland (WHS) or the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan scheme. We encourage households interested in making their homes warmer and less expensive to heat to get in touch with Home Energy Scotland for further advice about the assistance available from the Scottish Government.

As of 17 September 2026, 1,305 FFIS cases remain to be concluded.

Of these, 472 businesses have yet to submit an evidence return for grant payments totalling over £5.7 million. The extended deadline for submitting evidence is 30 September 2026, and verification cannot begin until the evidence is received.

Review has started in 566 cases. Review has yet start for 267 cases, of these, 219, 81% were received in August and September.

The total number of concluded cases is currently 446, which has resulted in the need to recover over £373,000 from 45 businesses.

The Scottish Government does not collate payment data at a region level. The breakdown by Area Office is:

The Scottish Government has had ongoing discussion with the National Records of Scotland, The National Archives, and the UK Government about the future of the Wallace Letter.

While the letter was originally intended to return to England permanently it will now go on display at Kew in 2027 as part of The National Archives’ public programme before returning to Scotland from 2028. This new loan will similarly allow for curated display in Edinburgh and potentially more widely across Scotland, working with other Scottish cultural institutions.

The Scottish Government believes the letter should be in Scotland and will engage on the matter of permanent settlement during the coming, newly negotiated loan period.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a formal assessment of the accessibility and suitability of the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF).

However, ongoing assessment of accessibility is in place. For example, the YPFF claim form and Terms and Conditions have been translated into a range of languages to support families who may find it challenging to access information in English. Translated document are available here.

Information leaflets are available across all Health Boards, and staff are encouraged to ensure that eligible families are made aware of the support available.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) monitors visitor numbers at several sites within the 7stanes network. Available data shows that visitor trends have varied across the network over the last five years, with some sites recording increases and others experiencing periods of decline before recovering.

For example, recorded visits to Glentress increased by 12% between 2023 and 2025, while visits at Dalbeattie declined between 2021 and 2024 before recovering by 29% in 2025 compared with the previous year.

FLS considers that a range of factors have influenced these trends, including increased participation in outdoor recreation during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic, storm damage and associated trail closures, forestry operations affecting site access, the introduction of parking charges at some locations, and investment in new trails, visitor facilities and major events such as the UCI Cycling World Championships at Glentress.

As visitor counters are not currently in place at every 7stanes location, it is not possible to determine a single overall trend for the whole network. However, FLS have recently approved investment to expand and improve its visitor number monitoring infrastructure next year.

The Scottish Government does not provide a specific national training programme to third-sector organisations on the use of drug testing strips. However, we work closely with a range of partners, including Scottish Drugs Forum, Public Health Scotland, and local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships to support the provision of evidence-based harm reduction information and advice.

The Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) website – coordinated by Public Health Scotland – includes information on the use of nitazene test strips, which highlights limitations. This information notes that the accuracy of test strips varies depending on the type and concentration of nitazene present, that not all nitazenes can be detected, and that a negative result does not guarantee that a substance is free from nitazenes.

The Young Patient Family Fund (YPFF) is a demand-led fund and the Scottish Government has ensured full funding against demand in each year since its launch on 26 July 2021. The 2026-27 budget has been set based on expected demand levels and the Scottish Government remains committed to provide full funding for the YPFF in 2026-27.

The current contract for the administration of the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) runs from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2029. Any new contract would commence on 1 April 2029, following a competitive procurement process.