Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to undertake an evaluation of the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF). If this position changes, the scope would include relevant stakeholders such as charities and healthcare providers.

The Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) provides valuable financial support to eligible visitors of inpatients under the age of 18. There are currently no plans to extend the age range.

In addition to support available under the YPFF, young people aged between 18 – 25 years old continue to have access to the Patient Travel Expenses Scheme or the Highlands and Islands Travel Scheme. Under these schemes, patients and authorised escorts can reclaim reasonable costs of travel associated with attending hospital appointments, in line with eligibility criteria and medical requirements.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a formal assessment of the accessibility and suitability of the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF).

However, ongoing assessment of accessibility is in place. For example, the YPFF claim form and Terms and Conditions have been translated into a range of languages to support families who may find it challenging to access information in English. Translated document are available here.

Information leaflets are available across all Health Boards, and staff are encouraged to ensure that eligible families are made aware of the support available.

The Young Patient Family Fund (YPFF) is a demand-led fund and the Scottish Government has ensured full funding against demand in each year since its launch on 26 July 2021. The 2026-27 budget has been set based on expected demand levels and the Scottish Government remains committed to provide full funding for the YPFF in 2026-27.

Scotland follows the advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), the independent expert body that advises all four UK nations on screening programmes.

On 28 May 2026, the UK NSC recommended that prostate screening should be offered to men aged 45 to 61 who have both a confirmed BRCA2 gene variant and a family history of breast, ovarian, pancreatic or prostate cancer. We have accepted this recommendation.

The UK NSC currently does not recommend prostate screening for other groups of men. It has found that there is not yet a suitably accurate test for a national screening programme of asymptomatic men, and there is currently insufficient evidence that the benefits of screening outweigh the risks for other groups of men.

However, ongoing research studies, such as TRANSFORM, will provide new evidence about screening other potentially higher-risk groups and different screening methods. The UK NSC is monitoring emerging evidence closely and will consider whether it supports expanding their current recommendation. The Scottish Government and NHS partners are exploring what would be required to extend prostate cancer screening to other groups should the UK NSC expand its recommendation.

Scotland follows the advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), the independent expert body that advises all four UK nations on screening programmes.

On 28 May 2026, the UK NSC recommended that prostate screening should be offered to men aged 45 to 61 who have both a confirmed BRCA2 gene variant and a family history of breast, ovarian, pancreatic or prostate cancer. We have accepted this recommendation and are strengthening existing high-risk surveillance pathways for prostate cancer, which already enable eligible men to access testing in line with the UK NSC's recommendation. The recently established Prostate Screening Working Group are also considering what is required to develop a nationally managed prostate screening programme.

After closely examining the existing evidence around screening men with the BRCA1 variant, or men with a BRCA2 variant without a family history of associated cancers, the UK NSC currently does not recommend prostate screening for these groups. It has found that there is not yet a suitably accurate test for a national screening programme of asymptomatic men, and there is currently insufficient evidence that the benefits of screening outweigh the risks for other higher risk groups.

However the UK NSC is monitoring emerging evidence closely and will consider whether new evidence supports expanding their recommended eligibility criteria for prostate cancer screening. In recognition that the UK NSC may expand their recommendation in the future, we are exploring what would be required to extend prostate cancer screening to other groups. Should they recommend screening all men with a BRCA1 or 2 variant, we would work with the NHS to take that forward in Scotland.

Scotland follows the advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), the independent expert body that advises all four UK nations on screening programmes.

The UK NSC currently does not recommend prostate screening for the general population of men over the age of 50. It has found that there is not yet a suitably accurate test for a national screening programme of asymptomatic men, and there is currently insufficient evidence that the benefits of screening outweigh the risks.

The UK NSC is monitoring ongoing studies and emerging evidence closely and will consider whether new evidence supports expanding their recommended eligibility criteria for prostate cancer screening. Should they recommend screening the general male population aged 50 and over, we will work with the NHS to take that forward in Scotland.

Ensuring people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are supported is a priority for this Government. Whilst the Member will be aware that the responsibility for the content and delivery of undergraduate medical education rests with individual medical schools, the Scottish Government funded development of an educational resource on ME/CFS. The resource was reviewed by the Scottish Deans Medical Education Group (now LUMES) who advised that integrating ME/CFS learning outcomes across existing teaching better aligns with current educational approaches than introducing separate stand-alone modules.

LUMES has advised that ME/CFS learning outcomes will be incorporated within broader teaching on areas such as:

• General practice;

• Neurology;

• Chronic conditions;

• Person-centred care;

• Clinical assessment and diagnosis.

This reflects the approach used for many other conditions within undergraduate medical education. More generally the General Medical Council (GMC) sets the overarching standards and outcomes for graduates through Outcomes for Graduates. Individual medical schools determine how learning outcomes are delivered within this framework.

In 2025-26, the Scottish Government allocated more than £150 million additional funding to health boards to help tackle the longest waits for planned care. This funding delivered thousands more appointments, operations and procedures in 2025-26 compared to 2024-25 and saw waits of over a year decrease by 49% for inpatient and day-case and by 76.7% for new outpatient appointments between 31 July 2025 and 31 July 2026.

This shows our plan is working and delivering for the people of Scotland and, although demand pressures remain, we are seeing the tangible impact of our investment.

We are determined to continue building on this momentum and have invested an additional £100 million this year to build on the progress made in the 2025-26 NHS Operational Improvement Plan. In July, the First Minister also announced a further £90 million to support those waiting the longest for treatment and help to create more capacity within our wider healthcare system.

The Programme for Government (PfG), published on 1 September, outlines our intention to continue investing in elective services over the next 5 years to grow capacity as we work towards meeting the 26 week wait target by the end of 2031, ahead of recovering the 12 week Treatment Time Guarantee and New Outpatient standard.

We are transforming health and care services so that people in Scotland receive the best treatment, care and support to stay healthy, independent and connected to their communities for as long as possible.

We will simplify the NHS by replacing the current 14 territorial Health Boards with two Strategic Health Boards that will cover the East and West of the country. These two new boards will be responsible for the planning and delivery of NHS services across the whole of Scotland, with particular focus on making sure provision best represents local communities, particularly our rural and island communities. Within this planning framework, the Strategic Health Boards East and West will support and oversee planning and performance, identifying further opportunities to increase capacity, improve access to services and reduce waiting times.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02818 of 11 September 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.