Chamber and committees

Credit unions and financial cooperatives are important financial organisations across Scotland’s communities, offering accessible financial services and products, including to those who may otherwise be financially excluded. The activities of these organisations already support community wealth building ambitions.

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government Bonds Programme was developed following a recommendation from the independent Investor Panel that Scotland should consider issuing debt in capital markets to diversify funding sources, strengthen investor engagement, raise Scotland's profile with investors and establish a market track record.

The Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics are based on local authorities' audited accounts. The most recent published statistics report that the Scottish Local Government Pension Funds held £67,085 million net assets as at 31 March 2025. Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-local-government-finance-statistics-2024-25/pages/6--pensions/.

Separately, the Funds are currently undertaking routine triennial valuations using data as at 31 March 2026, which must be completed by 31 March 2027.

The Scottish Government continues to undertake due diligence in relation to the bond programme and will continue to consider all relevant evidence and market developments as this work progresses.

As Scotland has some of the best universities in the world, the adoption and commercial application of their research sits at the heart of our ambitions for economic growth.

Last year we piloted a £2.9m Proof of Concept Fund to focus on strengthening the pipeline of Scottish research capable of generating economic value. Following the success of the pilot fund, a second round of the fund with a total value of £2.92m has been launched this year, with successful projects expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

This year we increased the investment in core research and innovation funding by £26.8m to £355m, signalling our ongoing commitment to research excellence and its role in boosting the economy. This includes an uplift of £30 million for the Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Fund which is designed to support university-business interactions.

We also continue to fund a portfolio of knowledge exchange and innovation investments to strengthen collaboration been university and academia, including a combined £15.4m this year to the Innovation Centres, Interface, Converge and Alliances for Research Challenges.

Scottish Government increased its investment in the NHS Scotland Innovation Hubs by a further £300,000 to support business development activity and aid in the delivery of Scotland's Life Sciences Strategy. These Hubs have a core remit to bring together academia, industry, third sector and the NHS to develop, test, evaluate and commercialise new technologies and treatments, and act as a part in the broader NHS innovation ecosystem with the Centre for Sustainable Delivery and the Accelerated National Innovation Adoption Pathway.

In 2024, following a commission from the Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland began publishing nationally collated data on waiting times for NHS gender identity services, making Scotland the first country in the UK to publish such data. The third annual instalment of these data was published on 30 June 2026.

These statistics are essential for understanding local progress and variation in the impact of Scottish Government funding, and provide a foundation for ongoing improvement work. While these data demonstrate good progress in some areas in, we recognise that performance is not yet at the level we all want to see, particularly in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Scottish Government officials are engaging closely with the leadership of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to ensure that the Board is appropriately supported to improve its service delivery, and we will continue to share best practices and work collaboratively across NHS Scotland to build on improvements to date.

The Scottish Government recognise the harms that can be caused by gambling. As set out in our Population Health Framework, we are taking a Public Health approach to tackle these harms and improve the treatment services.

Through the Gambling Levy funds, the Scottish Government has announced funding of £7.9 million to a wide range of organisations in 2026-27. We are working with stakeholders funded through the Levy, including RCA Trust, GamCare and Citizens Advice Scotland to raise awareness of the support available across Scotland.

In addition, we are working closely with the UK Government over the National Gambling Helpline which is a key component for those seeking support.

The Scottish Government has worked closely with Trading Standards and COSLA during the development of the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (2026 Act) and will continue to do so during its implementation.

All Scottish Statutory Instruments resulting from the 2026 Act will be supported by the appropriate impact assessments as part of our usual policy development process.

Local Authorities have responsibility to ensure local budget decisions deliver local and national priorities including enforcement of existing legislation around sales, illicit tobacco and vapes, and the single use vape ban. The 2026-27 Scottish 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.

On 30 July 2026, the Scottish Government published statutory guidance for retailers of tobacco, vaping, nicotine or herbal smoking products on creating an age verification policy for their store, found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/selling-tobacco-products-vaping-products-nicotine-products-cigarette-papers-herbal-smoking-products-age-verification-guidance-age-verification-policies-retailers/ .

On 11 August the UK Government published UK-wide guidance on implementation of the 2026 Act which covers the following topics:

• Selling tobacco, herbal smoking and cigarette papers:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-tobacco-herbal-smoking-products-and-cigarette-papers
• Selling vaping and nicotine products: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-vaping-and-nicotine-products
• Tobacco, vaping and nicotine products: fixed penalty notices: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tobacco-vaping-and-nicotine-products-fixed-penalty-notices#nations-in-scope
• Tobacco and vaping product vending machine ban: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tobacco-and-vaping-product-vending-machine-ban .

The Scottish Government supports strong alliances to tackle the availability of illicit vapes.

Officials meet regularly with the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) alongside HMRC, who work with Border Force, to take action to tackle the import of illicit tobacco and vaping products at the border.

Intelligence is also shared across the 4-nations as part of the Cross Government Vape Enforcement Committee, which is led by the UK Department of Business and Trade and includes representation from HMRC and Trading Standards.

HMRC, Border Force and the NCA are also valued members of Scotland’s Serious Organised Crime Taskforce (SOCT). The SOCT meets every three months to discuss current and emerging threats and agree where action is required by partners to disrupt serious organised crime.

HMRC also sit on the Multi Agency Tasking and Delivery Board (MATDB) based at the Scottish Crime Campus, Gartcosh. As part of the MATDB, HMRC takes part in the intensification periods organised under Operation Machinize which disrupts a range of criminal activity on the high street.