Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many Scottish-domiciled medical graduates did not enter employment in NHS Scotland in each year since 1999.

Discussions with Public Services Delivery Scotland and Scotland’s medical schools have confirmed that no organisation holds a complete dataset identifying Scottish-domiciled medical graduates and tracking whether they entered employment in NHS Scotland for the period requested.

Data provided by Public Services Delivery Scotland shows the number of individuals who took up a Foundation post with a Scottish Primary Medical Qualification over the last ten years:

The Scottish Government does not hold data for diagnostic waiting times and routes to diagnosis for children and young people presenting with potential cancer symptoms.

The Scottish Government has commissioned a clinically-led review of latest data and evidence to determine whether there is merit in specific, additional or alternative cancer waiting times standards for different types of cancer and cancer treatment, which is underway. This will review the benefit of including data or setting standards for children and young people.

The Managed Clinical Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MCN CYPC) collect a number of data performance measures across children and young people’s cancer services – see their latest published report - MSN-Children-Young-People-with-Cancer-Annual-Report-2024-25.pdf.

The Scottish Government supports strong alliances to tackle the availability of illicit vapes.

Officials meet regularly with the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) alongside HMRC, who work with Border Force, to take action to tackle the import of illicit tobacco and vaping products at the border.

Intelligence is also shared across the 4-nations as part of the Cross Government Vape Enforcement Committee, which is led by the UK Department of Business and Trade and includes representation from HMRC and Trading Standards.

HMRC, Border Force and the NCA are also valued members of Scotland’s Serious Organised Crime Taskforce (SOCT). The SOCT meets every three months to discuss current and emerging threats and agree where action is required by partners to disrupt serious organised crime.

HMRC also sit on the Multi Agency Tasking and Delivery Board (MATDB) based at the Scottish Crime Campus, Gartcosh. As part of the MATDB, HMRC takes part in the intensification periods organised under Operation Machinize which disrupts a range of criminal activity on the high street.

In July 2024, Public Health Scotland published a three-year Adverse Weather and Health Plan. With support from the Scottish Government and key stakeholders, the plan will help to protect the health of the population from adverse weather-related harm, including extreme temperatures.

To monitor effectiveness of the plan, a multi-agency steering group was developed which includes key stakeholders, the Scottish Government and third sector partners.

Public Health Scotland has published guidance on outdoor air quality and wildfires which is available on NHS Inform.

Public health messaging and preparedness plans for increasing temperatures and wildfires are the responsibility of the local emergency services and health boards with support from Public Health Scotland, if required.

The Scottish Government has committed to a review of the Patient Travel Reimbursement Schemes guidance. However, as the scope, timing, and governance of the review have not yet been agreed and no start date has been confirmed, it is not currently possible to provide details of any wider reform programme that the review may inform or support, or when the work is expected to conclude.

The Scottish Government will provide further information on the review, including its remit and timescales, once these have been established.

Understanding the unique support needs of children and young people with cancer is a priority for both the Scottish Government and the Managed Clinical Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MCN CYPC).

The number of children and young people diagnosed with cancer in Scotland is small compared to adult cancers, and due to small patient numbers, it is challenging to produce detailed, anonymised data. Special consideration is required for children who are under 16, because they require tailored resources to capture their unique treatment and care needs, while recognising the additional sensitivities involved for those under 16, relating to information governance requirements for children.

The MCN CYPC are continuing to work with NHS Scotland Health Boards to establish consistent national approaches for information governance and approval processes across Scotland, relating to data collection for children under the age of 16.

Risk assessments, registers and mitigation plans relating to the Vision migration programme are held by Public Service Delivery Scotland who have been commissioned to manage the programme by Scottish Government. There are no plans to publish these at present.

The Scottish Government has committed to a review of the Patient Travel Reimbursement Scheme guidance. No further details are available at this stage as the work on determining scope, terms of reference and timings have still to take place.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on GP Practices implementing short term reductions in clinical activity, appointment availability or service provision. The Scottish Government has agreed with Public Service Delivery Scotland to increase the post migration support to help practices familiarise themselves with the new system and reduce any short-term disruption.

The Scottish Government recognise the harms that can be caused by gambling. As set out in our Population Health Framework, we are taking a Public Health approach to tackle these harms and improve the treatment services.

Through the Gambling Levy, the Scottish Government has committed to providing £7.9 million in funding to a wide range of organisations in 2026-27. This includes over £3.9 million of funding to third sector organisations. The funding is being used to increase access to prevention and treatment services to support individuals and families affected by gambling related harms across all of Scotland.

We are working closely with our delivery partners to support them to progress this work.