Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people can access extracurricular activities, regardless of family income, and we recognise that cost remains a significant barrier for some families.

We are taking forward a range of measures to reduce these barriers.

We continue to support the Active Schools programme, which provides free opportunities for children and young people to participate in sport and physical activity before, during and after the school day across all local authority areas, ensuring access irrespective of socio-economic background.

Our Summer of Sport investment is also providing opportunities for children and young people to take part in free and low-cost sporting activities this year. The aim is to create opportunities for children and young people, particularly those facing disadvantage, to get active, stay active, and enjoy the benefits of physical activity. We want children and young people to benefit from an inclusive system which leads to longer-term participation.

We recognise the importance of children and young people having the opportunity to take part in a wide range of hobbies, such as sport, music and the arts. We are engaging with key stakeholders to consider the overall landscape of provision across Scotland in order to better understand the barriers families face and identify further action to ensure all children can access the hobbies they enjoy.

These actions are part of our broader efforts, including through the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, to reduce costs for families and ensure that all children have the opportunity to benefit from activities that support their wellbeing, confidence and development.

I refer the member to the answers to questions (a) S6W-40567 on 29 September 2025 and (b) S7W-00862 on 11 June 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.

NHS Boards are responsible for general medical services and ensuring that their GP contractors act within the agreed terms of their contracts. If an NHS Board believes that a communication from GP contractors does not reflect those agreements, that is a matter for the board to raise with the practice.

I have asked Linda Pollock, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS publishes prison numbers on a quarterly basis via the Prisoner Information Page (PIP), the most recent of which can be found here: Public Information Page.

Additionally, SPS publish Prison Population Data Reports which illustrate the population in custody broken down by custody type, gender, and age, the most recent of which can be found here: Data, Research and Evidence | Scottish Prison Service.

The National CAMHS Specification establishes a consistent national standard, requiring Boards to ensure all children and young people receive timely support appropriate to their needs, including care-experienced children.

The Specification explicitly recognises the importance of supporting care-experienced young people during transitions between services.

The Transition Care Planning Guidance, published in 2018, places young people at the centre of decision-making and should inform all decisions about their care, including meeting the specific and often complex needs of care-experienced young people.

National performance against the 18-week CAMHS standard has been sustained for over a year, with 91% of children and young people starting treatment within 18 weeks of referral. 1 in 2 children and young people referred to CAMHS now start treatment within 5 weeks.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01438 on 20 July 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.

I refer the member to the answer to S7W-01438 on 20 July 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.

The Scottish Government is firmly committed to ensuring that Scotland has the right nursing workforce, in the right place, with the right skills and competencies to support current and future service reform and sustainability.

The Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce sets out a number of recommended actions which are being progressed at pace to expand pathways into the nursing profession, have a meaningful and lasting impact on workforce wellbeing, improve retention, reduce stress and burnout, create a more positive and resilient workforce and ensure nursing remains an attractive career. The Taskforce has recognised the need to develop the career structure in Scotland and enhance the journey through pre-registration to post-registration, to advanced practice and onto leadership. Newly qualified nurses are not specifically mentioned in the recommended actions, however there are many recommended actions that address wellbeing and enhance professional support that would benefit newly qualified nurses.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01252 on 23 June 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.