Chamber and committees

Following annual reviews of the number of specialty training places needed to meet anticipated future service demand and consultant need, the Scottish Government has funded the creation of approximately 850 additional posts across multiple specialities since 2014, including in ophthalmology.

The number of Ophthalmology Consultants working in NHS Scotland has increased by 54.7% in the last 20 years, from 86.4 WTE in September 2006 to 133.7 WTE as of 31 March 2026. Over the last decade, the workforce has increased by 3.4%, from 129.3 WTE on 31 March 2016 to 133.7 WTE on 31 March 2026.

NHS workforce planning is undertaken through established national and local workforce planning processes. Health Boards are responsible for workforce planning and ensuring they have the staffing required to deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations.

The numbers of ophthalmology specialty training posts that were advertised and filled are set out in the following table.

The Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) Programme aims to create the enabling conditions for local areas to transform their delivery of holistic whole family support. As such, system change outcomes are the key focus of the Programme evaluation, with the long-term outcomes being improvements in the wellbeing of children, young people and families.

WFWF has been independently evaluated since 2022. This is done on a national basis, informed by CSPP reporting and more in-depth case studies. Report findings show that Children’s Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs) value the flexibility of the funding to respond to local needs, have strengthened the delivery of early family support, and are supporting more families to access services. Evaluations have also found evidence of improvements in service quality, informed by feedback from families, with many families reporting support that is delivered without stigma or judgement. CSPPs continue to report positive partnership working and have made further progress against programme recommendations identified in earlier evaluations available from Year 1 and Year 2. The Year 3 activity review also highlights continued progress against earlier recommendations.

We are continuing to evaluate the WFWF programme and have commissioned IPSOS to carry out the Year 3-4 evaluation. This will cover the period April 2024 to March 2026, with publication planned for early 2027.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to amend the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 in this way. Closure orders under Part 4 of the Act, including which bodies may initiate the closure process and the grounds on which a sheriff may close premises, are within the scope of the legislative review of the Act announced in December 2025. The review is being taken forward in close consultation with local authorities, Police Scotland and other delivery partners, and its evidence base includes the operation of the equivalent powers in England and Wales under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Decisions on whether legislative change is needed will be informed by the review's findings.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01665 on 29 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 Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) Programme was established to create the enabling conditions for local areas to transform their delivery of holistic whole family support. Decisions on how WFWF resources are deployed to support this system change are the responsibility of local Children's Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs), based on local priorities, needs and long-term plans.

The Scottish Government’s criteria around the spend is based on ensuring that the funding is not used to support business as usual activity, or replace funding already in the system, but rather is used as additional resource to support the transformation of the system in line with the National Principles of Holistic Family Support. This includes funding new posts to support system change, testing and implementing new approaches, leadership development and workforce skills, as well as scaling approaches that have a clear pathway to sustainable integration within local CSPP plans.

Children's Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs) report on their Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) activity via annual Children’s Services Reports, annual WFWF reports, and Children’s Services Plans.

Annual WFWF reports include data on the use of the funding, including the activities being delivered, the outcomes achieved and the funding allocated to each activity. This information supports our ongoing oversight of how funding is being used and the progress being made towards delivering transformational change for children, young people and families.

Scottish Government officials engage regularly with all Children's Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs), including Highland, as part of the oversight of the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) Programme. Ongoing engagement combined with annual reporting supports our understanding of how funding is being used locally, and the progress being made towards delivering transformational change for children, young people and families.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with local authorities on the powers available to tackle antisocial behaviour, including through the legislative review of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 which was announced in December 2025 and is being taken forward in close consultation with local authorities, Police Scotland and other delivery partners. Closure orders under Part 4 of that Act, including the question of which bodies may initiate them, are within the scope of the review.

The recommendation from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute and the Anti-Counterfeiting Group, in their April 2026 report Hidden in Plain Sight, that local authorities in Scotland be given the power to initiate closure orders has been noted as part of the evidence the review is considering. Officials have written to both the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland and Police Scotland seeking their views on the report.

Local authorities already hold enforcement powers in relation to the sale of age-restricted products to children. This includes the power to apply to the sheriff for a banning order under the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010 where a retailer has repeatedly committed offences, including the sale of tobacco or vaping products to under 18s.

The Scottish Government does not operate an application process for Element 1 of the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) Programme. Funding is allocated annually to all Children's Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs) via local authorities.

Recognising that local needs and circumstances vary across Scotland, the Programme does not prescribe a specific delivery model. Instead, CSPPs assess their local family support system, identify gaps and opportunities, and determine how funding should be deployed to improve local delivery of holistic whole family support. Any local commissioning and procurement, application processes, or distribution arrangements are therefore determined by individual CSPPs in line with local priorities and needs.