Chamber and committees

As of September 2026, 71 GP practices across Scotland are registered under the General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans Recognition Scheme so far. Whilst GPs operate independently and registration rates have increased in the past year, we clearly have more work to do to increase participation.

The Scottish Government continues to promote the scheme through engagement with NHS Boards, GP practices, the Ministry of Defence, Veterans Scotland and the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland. Training resources remain available to all practice staff through NHS Education for Scotland's TURAS platform to help improve awareness of the health needs of veterans and Armed Forces families.

In addition, the Scottish Government has invested in Veterans Scotland during 2026-27 to deliver a dedicated GP Recognition Acceleration Scheme. As part of this work, a national GP Advocate has been appointed to promote the scheme directly with practices and primary care leaders, with the aim of increasing registrations and expanding the scheme's reach across Scotland.

The digital transfer of Defence Medical Services records into NHS Scotland is being progressed in partnership with the Ministry of Defence and other UK partners. As delivery is dependent on aspects of the programme being led by the Ministry of Defence, no date has yet been confirmed for full implementation across NHS Scotland.

On 1 September 2026, as part of the Programme for Government, the First Minister announced the Scottish Government’s intention to simplify the NHS by replacing the current 14 territorial Health Boards with two Strategic Health Boards and build on planned reforms to further reduce the number of special Health Boards.

We will set out a transparent approach to fair and equitable recruitment in due course, in line with existing NHS Scotland policies which have been agreed in partnership with trade unions.

The Scottish Government is currently processing a request for this information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. The response will set out any information held that can be disclosed, subject to the provisions and exemptions contained within the Act. To ensure consistency and compliance with statutory obligations, it would not be appropriate to provide a detailed response to this Parliamentary Question in advance of the FOI process being completed.

The Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (OMSE), which is a part of LIFT, is a demand led scheme which provides support for first time buyers and priority access groups, including veterans who have left the armed forces within the past two years, to purchase a property on the open market.

The administering agent for OMSE, Link Housing, market the scheme on behalf of the Scottish Government. Marketing was paused while the scheme was closed during 2024-25 and the end of 2025-26.

An insert on OMSE was included in Pathfinder magazine (Armed Forces resettlement magazine) for the reopening in June 2025 and another is planned for October’s edition.

More information on OMSE is also available on the Scottish Government’s help to buy your home website (Open Market Shared Equity scheme - mygov.scot) as well as the UK Government’s finding a civilian home as a veteran website (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/finding-a-civilian-home-as-a-veteran).

The final amount spent on working together towards a LDAN Bill - current proposals for potential Bill provisions' published in March 2026 was £7,203.01.

The Young Patient Family Fund (YPFF) is designed to support the families of all babies, children and young people under the age of 18 who require inpatient care in Scotland. While there are no plans at this time to introduce a cash-first approach through the YPFF, we recognise the importance of ensuring that families can access support without undue financial hardship.

Health Boards are asked, where possible, to pre-book travel and accommodation for families. In addition, to ensure that families can access support while their child is receiving inpatient care, free meals from hospital catering services, patient meals, or meal vouchers and tokens that can be used in hospital catering facilities may also be available.

The Young Patient Family Fund (YPFF) is designed to support the families of all babies, children and young people under age 18 who require inpatient care in Scotland. There are no plans to expand eligibility of the YPFF at this time.

In the last two years, the Scottish Government has provided over £3.1m per year in financial support to eligible families under this scheme.

In addition to support available under the YPFF, financial support for travel to hospital appointments is available through the patient travel expenses reimbursement schemes. Under these schemes, patients and authorised escorts can reclaim reasonable travel costs associated with attending a hospital appointment, in line with eligibility criteria and medical requirements.

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.