Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00214 on 1 June 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found athttps://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The First Minister’s 100 days programme commits to developing outline plans that will facilitate delivery of public service renewal. This includes working in partnership with stakeholders, such as public bodies, and trade unions to scope plans for additional legislation to deliver this commitment.

Ministers are in the very early stages of considering how to take forward this commitment and cost estimates will be developed in due course.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on registration and participation centrally. Public Services Delivery Scotland publishes information on patient registration and participation for NHS Boards, including NHS Dumfries and Galloway: NHS dental data monitoring report.

The Scottish Government understands the importance of sport and physical activity to support positive mental, physical and social health outcomes. We believe that sport and physical activity should be accessible to everyone, with no barriers.

The £40 million uplift for sport in the 2026-27 Budget will support opportunities for people across Scotland to be more active including for disabled people and those with additional support needs.

The Budget included £20 million for the delivery of a Summer of Sport. The programme, administered by sportscotland, aims to remove barriers and increase participation by offering free or low-cost activities for children and young people in every local authority across Scotland. Scottish Disability Sport was a key member of the working group to develop the principles of the Summer of Sport funding, ensuring that the programme is inclusive by design. In addition, inclusive training will be available to the delivery workforce across Scotland from organisations such as Enable.

Our national agency for sport, sportscotland, will invest up to £590,372 in Moray Council for 2026–27, including support for Summer of Sport activities.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group, advises all four UK nations on population health screening programmes. Officials from the governments of all four nations, including the Scottish Government, attend all meetings of the UK NSC as observers, and regular meetings are held between the four UK nations to discuss the work of the Committee.

The Chief Medical Officer for Scotland has been sighted on the evidence which has formed the basis of the recent UK NSC recommendation on prostate cancer screening. Additionally, Scotland is represented on the UK NSC by the Scottish Director of Screening, who liaises regularly with Scottish Government officials.

In considering the provision of specialist services, NHS Boards are expected to plan capacity in line with population need and service demand, supported by regional and national collaboration where appropriate.

We are aware of pressures within some specialist services, including in the West of Scotland, and expect Boards to take these into account as part of their ongoing service planning and prioritisation.

The responsibilities of all Cabinet Secretaries are published on the Scottish Government website; the detailed responsibilities for the role of Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform is available here: Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform - gov.scot.

I am responsible for the overarching policy on Public Service Reform (PSR) including implementation of the PSR strategy (published June 2025) which sets out how we will increase the scale and pace of reform through changing our system of public services to be more preventative, joined up and efficient, to deliver excellent public services that are fiscally sustainable. Further, I am responsible for public bodies and public sector productivity and efficiency, procurement and shared services, and civil service operations and efficiency.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. We would direct the member to the NHS Grampian health board to obtain this information.

In order to support the reduction of waiting times, patients may be asked to travel to appointments out with their local health board. It is expected that most patients will be seen and treated locally wherever possible and appropriate, based on clinical need and operational effectiveness. However, it may not always be possible for Health Boards to provide access locally, for all patients and for all services, where Health Boards are, for example, constrained by geography or specialist services.

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.