Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.

As the strategic housing authority for the area, Fife Council assessed the opportunity to purchase these homes and concluded that it was a strategic priority – taking into account the potential risk of homelessness to the tenants in-situ, the proposed purchase price of the homes, and the longer-term benefit of increasing the stock of affordable housing in Fife. The proposal presented to Scottish Government demonstrated clear alignment with the Council’s strategic priorities and demonstrated value-for-money compared to average grant rates.

As the strategic housing authority for the area, Fife Council assessed the situation and took a strategic decision to redirect Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) (2026-27) funds in Fife to purchase these homes. Fife Council requested AHSP grant funding of 57% grant which provides value for money at around £73,000 grant per unit across all 26 units and is broadly in line with other open market purchases in Fife. By enabling this, the threat of homelessness will be removed for all tenants bringing the matter to a successful conclusion. This year Scottish Government will invest over £926m to support delivery of affordable housing, with Councils as the strategic housing authorities setting the investment priorities within their areas.

As the strategic housing authority for the area, Fife Council assessed the situation and took a strategic decision to redirect Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) (2026-27) funds in Fife to purchase these homes. Due to funding commitments for other projects, Fife Council requested additional support from Scottish Government to ensure the purchase could be supported quickly without creating pressure on existing AHSP projects. The AHSP already allows for the purchase of homes with tenants in situ where this meets a clear strategic purpose and where the tenant is at risk of homelessness, as set out in published guidance. Guidance+and+Procedures+-+MHDGN+2023-01+-+Affordable+Housing+Supply+Programme+%28AHSP%29+Process+and+Procedures.pdf.

Grant awards for projects supported with grant through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) for social rent will vary across Scotland based on a number of factors such as tenure, location, property type, property size, client group and a range of other variables.

The number of students who began undergraduate nursing programmes (entrants) and the number of students who completed undergraduate nursing programmes (qualifiers) at higher education institutions (HEIs) in Scotland in the last five years are as follows:

The Scottish Government recognises that anxiety can impact people’s ability to enter and sustain employment, and is committed to ensuring timely, joined up support that improves wellbeing and enables access to fair work. Our social security system takes a compassionate approach to delivering Adult Disability Payment, ensuring people can access the support they are entitled to.

Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and our accompanying Delivery Plan prioritises early intervention and prevention, ensuring people can access support quickly and at the earliest stage before their condition worsens. We fund a range of accessible services, including Mind to Mind Scotland and 24/7 support through NHS 24’s Mental Health Hub, alongside the Breathing Space helpline.

We have invested £164 million since 2020 in community-based mental health and wellbeing supports, including over 6,100 projects through the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults. These provide early, practical support such as peer support, social connection and activity based interventions that help people manage anxiety and build confidence, including for work.

Through our funding for devolved employability services, support for people to progress towards and into employment is available in all 32 local authority areas. Our Specialist Employability Support offer ensures place-and-train models of support for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions are in place across the country.

Together, these actions ensure that people experiencing anxiety can access timely support and are helped to progress towards fair and sustainable employment reducing the risk of long-term welfare dependency.

At this early stage of the new Parliament, it is not possible to provide a specific date for full implementation beyond the existing commitment. Progress is, however, well underway: twenty partnerships are in development and seven Bairns’ Hooses are already delivering services across Scotland.

As set out by the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic in her statement on 2 June 2026, we will launch a public health campaign promoting safe and healthy use of social media and screen time, recognising that this work must form part of a wider, whole-systems public health approach to tackling online harm. We will provide a further update in due course.

The following table shows the number of individuals entering the NHS Scotland workforce following completion of pre-registration education (headcount), by sub job family. Midwifery is included for completeness alongside nursing sub job families. Figures may be subject to future change, as some individuals who have completed training may enter the workforce at a later date.