Chamber and committees

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.

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.