- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 27 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its draft Budget 2026-27 and the associated level 4 tables, whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the £125.920 million committed to digital health and care.
Answer
The 2026-27 Budget provides almost £22.5 billion investment in health and social care services exceeding consequentials and providing a real terms uplift to enable more sustainable and resilient services.
In line with our Digital and Data Health and Care Strategies, and our Service Renewal Framework, we are continuing to invest in technology to improve health outcomes, enhance patient experience, and deliver more efficient services across Scotland. The draft 2026-27 Scottish Budget includes an allocation of £125.920 million to support a range of initiatives, including:
- Digital and Data Infrastructure – For example, expansion of the National Digital Platform and continued development and rollout of systems such as the Digital Front Door, enabling better access to health and care information for citizens and professionals.
- Cyber Security and Core Infrastructure – strengthening resilience and ensuring secure, reliable digital services across NHS Scotland.
- Innovation and Data – enabling improved use of health data through AI-driven solutions, research partnerships, and projects that advance digital innovation.
- Service Transformation – investment in remote monitoring, telehealth, and virtual consultations to improve access and reduce pressure on frontline services.
- Workforce and Skills Development – building digital capability within the health and care workforce to support the effective adoption of new technologies.
The uplift in the digital health and care budget reflects increased funding to accelerate digital transformation focusing on Digital Front Door, and strengthen our underlying data infrastructure. These investments will help deliver person-centred care, improve efficiency, and support Scotland’s ambition to be a leader in digital health innovation.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 27 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its draft Budget 2026-27 and the associated level 4 tables, whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the £2.3 billion allocated to investment for social care and integration.
Answer
The 2026-27 Budget has not yet been passed by Parliament and is at draft stage. The level 4 breakdown provided in the budget tables is the most detailed breakdown currently available as spending plans are still being developed. However, the Budget shows total investment of £471 million for Social Care Support. This includes increased investment of £160 million to support an uplift for Adult Social Care (ASC) workers to the Real Living Wage, £7 million for the Care Inspectorate, £12.8 million for the Independent Living Fund (ILF),and £5.7 million to explore enhanced terms and conditions for ASC workers.
In addition to the £471 million set out in the level 4 tables, the Health and Social Care portfolio has also baselined over £1.8 billion of funding to Local Government and NHS Boards for social care, supporting policies such as the Real Living Wage and inflationary uplifts to Free Personal Nursing Care. This takes total investment to over £2.3 billion.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 January 2026
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 27 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that then health secretary, Shona Robison, u-turned on a promise to carry out an independent audit of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital before it opened to patients.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 27 January 2026
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its draft Budget 2026-27 and the associated level 4 tables, whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the £21.163 million committed to long-term conditions.
Answer
The 2026-27 budget has not yet been passed by Parliament and is at draft stage. Provisionally, some of the budget will cover the £18.180 million required for the ongoing cost of consumables for people who received diabetes technologies through our national roll-out programme in years 2024-25 and 2025-26.
There is a spending commitment of £4.5 million to NHS Boards to deliver specialist support for those living with Long COVID, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and other similar conditions. We have also committed a further £100,000 to continue to support the Rare Disease Action Plan.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 23 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its draft Budget 2026-27 and the associated level 4 tables, whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the £245.081 million in funding allocated to the Primary Care Fund.
Answer
The 2026-27 budget has not yet been passed by Parliament and is at draft stage. Spending plans are still being developed by policy leads but provisionally the budget will deliver £245.1 million for the Primary Care Fund which pays for various programmes and initiatives supporting general practice delivery e.g. the board employed multidisciplinary teams and GP walk-in service pilots among other measures.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 23 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been provided to local authorities to address delayed discharges, broken down by local authority, in each of the last five years.
Answer
The 2026-27 Budget provides a further real terms increase in the Local Government Settlement, delivering record funding of almost £15.7 billion including, a quarter of a billion pounds of unrestricted General Revenue Grant.
However, the Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on delayed discharges, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 21 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Scottish Spending Review 2026, what savings are expected in each year from each (a) territorial and (b) special NHS board to achieve the savings of £247 million in 2026-27, £290 million in 2027-28 and £220 million in 2028-29.
Answer
All NHS Boards are required to deliver at least 3% recurring savings against baseline funding each year to support long-term fiscal sustainability. It is for individual Boards to determine how best to deliver these efficiencies without impacting patient care.
The Scottish Government’s Finance Delivery Unit (FDU) carries out three-year financial planning with NHS Boards. Board financial plans are expected in March 2026 and will provide oversight of boards planned savings for 2026-27. Future year Boards’ savings plans will continue to develop and will be agreed on an annual basis.
The FDU provides Boards with the 15 Box Grid to identify priority areas for delivering savings and securing value for money across workforce, innovation, value-based healthcare and productivity.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 20 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the people who were experiencing a delayed discharge at the November 2025 census point, had been delayed for more than four weeks.
Answer
Public Health Scotland publishes monthly Official Statistics on Delayed Discharge in NHS Scotland. The number of people delayed for more than four weeks at each monthly census point can be found in the detailed data tables for Standard delays and Code 9 (complex) delays.
Please note, the number of people delayed for Standard or Code 9 reasons at monthly census point reflects the main reason at the census point, and reasons for delay may change during a delay episode. The number of people delayed for four weeks or more for Standard reasons at monthly census point may therefore include some people who were delayed for complex (code 9) reasons during the same delay episode.
https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/delayed-discharges-in-nhsscotland-monthly/delayed-discharges-in-nhs-scotland-monthly-figures-for-november-2025
https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/36782/2026-01-13_delayed_discharges_standard_delays_tables_to_november_2025.xlsx
https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/36781/2026-01-13_delayed_discharges_code9_delays_tables_to_november_2025.xlsx
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has a strategy for (a) the conservation of and (b) investment in country parks.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no role in respect of country parks. Local authorities set up and manage most country parks using their powers under Section 48 of the Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967, though the National Trust for Scotland manages Brodick and Culzean. These parks are non-statutory designations that enable local authorities to establish areas for public access and enjoyment of the countryside, and as such, some private landowners also use the country park name. Local authorities can make by-laws to regulate inappropriate behaviour within these parks.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 20 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what planning applications called in by the Scottish Ministers for consideration in the last five years have been subject to public hearings.
Answer
The following table lists 8 planning applications called in by Scottish Ministers and referred to the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeal (DPEA) for determination which were subject to hearing session/s being held and received over the last 5 years.
case reference | site address | case detail | date case received by DPEA | date report submitted to PARD |
NA-ABS-047 | Land South West Of Eskview Farm, St Cyrus, DD10 0AQ | Change Of Use Of Agricultural Land To Form 9 Stance Caravan Park Touring Gypsy/Travellers Site, Formation Of Road And Erection Of Boundary Fencing, Walls, Gates, Pump Station And Amenity Blocks (Part Retrospective) | 05-09-2019 | 21-01-2021 |
NA-ABS-048 | Land South West Of Eskview Farm, St Cyrus, DD10 0AQ | Retrospective Change Of Use Of Agricultural Land To Form 10 Stance Private Permanent Caravan Park, Formation Of Road, Erection Of Boundary Fencing, Walls, Gates And Education Facility | 05-09-2019 | 21-01-2021 |
NA-250-001 | Land Adjacent To Ferrycraigs House, Ferry Road, North Queensferry, KY11 1HW | 21/01770/Full | Erection Of Holiday Accommodation (Sui Generis) | Land Adjacent To Ferrycraigs House Ferry Road North Queensferry Fife | 20-12-2022 | 05-09-2023 |
NA-260-002 | Ingram Street/Albion Street, Glasgow, G1 1NQ | Mixed Use, Seven Storey Development Consisting Of 109 Apartments And Commercial Units, Site Bounded By Candleriggs/ Ingram Street/ Albion Street, Glasgow | 28-02-2023 | 29-01-2024 |
NA-001-002 | Nethy Bridge Station Yard, Nethy Bridge, Highland, PH25 3EP | Erection Of 21 No. Dwellings At Nethy Bridge Station Yard, Nethy Bridge, Highland | 19-10-2023 | 30-04-2024 |
NA-270-010 | Coul Links Golf Course Proposal, Land 1700M Nw Of Embo Community Centre, School Street, Embo, . | Construction Of An 18 Hole Golf Course, Practice Area, Access, Parking, Ancillary Infrastructure And The Change Of Use Of Existing Buildings To Form Clubhouse, Pro Shop, Maintenance Shed And Ancillary Facilities | 08-02-2024 | 29-08-2025 |
CIN-260-001 | 266 St Vincent Street, Glasgow, G2 5RL | Proposed Change Of Use Of Existing Vacant Offices To Form 14 Serviced Flats | 08-02-2022 | 22-09-2022 |
CIN-190-001 | Land Adjacent To Whitelee Windfarm, East Ayrshire, G76 0QG | Application For Planning Permission For Erection Of Green Hydrogen Production Facility With Associated Temporary Laydown Area And Ancillary Infrastructure Including Substation, Various Plant And Perimeter Security Fencing | 30-08-2022 | 20-08-2024 |
