Chamber and committees

Following the statutory review, Ministers have committed the Scottish Government to a programme of reform of the National Performance Framework (NPF).

Activity to support the review has been undertaken as part of the Scottish Government’s core business and delivered within existing staff and programme budgets. As such, a detailed breakdown of costs is not available, as expenditure is not routinely recorded against the NPF as a separate budget line.

Work to develop proposals for a reformed NPF is ongoing, with detailed options to be considered by Ministers. Subject to this process, we expect to publish a reformed NPF soon. An update will be provided to Parliament in due course.

Since 1 January 2021, a total of 10 planning appeals for renewable energy developments in the Highland and Islands region have been allowed.

The breakdown of that total by year and by planning authority are set out in the following table. The information includes appeals dismissed for context.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00062 on 2 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00062 on 2 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00263 on 2 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00062 on 2 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.

The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (Commencement No. 1) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 will commence provisions extending the existing Retail Register, so that any retailer selling nicotine products and herbal smoking products must register in the same way as retailers selling tobacco and vaping products are already required to do.

Our Programme for Government for 2026-27 will be put to the Parliament in due course. The Scottish Government published the Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework (SRF) in July 2025. The first Major Change of the SRF includes a specific focus on long term conditions. As part of this we are continuing to engage with the third sector, clinicians and others to develop our approach to long term conditions, including respiratory conditions.

Reporters, appointed by Scottish Ministers to consider applications for electricity transmission infrastructure are guided by the statutory framework of the Electricity Act 1989 and the associated Code of Practice for inquiries.

In all cases where Scottish Ministers are responsible for deciding applications made under the Electricity Act 1989, submissions made by all parties are fully considered. Weight is not accorded to representations on the basis of the status or identity of the person who made them.

The decision-making process takes into account matters including Scottish Government policy, UK Government policy on reserved matters, National Planning Framework 4, environmental information, consultation responses, views of affected communities and representations made by members of the public, as well as any public inquiry report.

The merits of each proposal are considered on a case-by-case basis, and a careful balance must be struck between the potential impacts of the development and the associated policy, environmental, economic, renewable energy and climate change benefits as well as other local community effects. This ensures that the right developments are planned and approved in the appropriate locations.

The Scottish Government has been working closely with Heath Boards to ensure a wide range of actions are in place to reduce waiting lists for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). This includes increasing funding over recent years to expand service capacity and provide over 320 additional staff, increasing capacity for cases by over 10,000. We are also continuing to support NHS Boards to redesign their services to improve efficiency and access.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of CAMHS teams across Scotland, we have now met the waiting times standard of Boards seeing 90% of those referred within 18 weeks for over a year and one in two children and young people referred to CAMHS start treatment within 5 weeks. The majority of Health Boards have now eliminated their longest waits of over a year and we are continuing to work with Boards to improve that further.

The Government is also investing in early intervention and community-based supports, such as school counselling and third-sector services, to support children and young people and their families to address mental health issues earlier in order to reduce demand for specialist CAMHS.