Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-40575 by Neil Gray on 23 September 2025, whether it can now confirm what its position is regarding the recommendations in the independent review of the anaesthesia associate (AA) and physician associate (PA) roles in England.
The Scottish Government is continuing to consider the recommendations from the independent review of the AA and PA roles in England, and I await further policy and legal advice before reaching a formal position. As part of my consideration, I will also have a keen interest in any outcome of the judicial review ongoing in England.
I did write to the MAPs Programme Board to commit to using the Leng Review as a framework for future discussions. Given this, and the agreement to a four-nations approach to the work, the views of Scotland are actively being considered through new structures that have been established by the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England. This includes Scottish representation on a newly established Clinical Advisory Panel.