Chamber and committees

Public Health Scotland (PHS) releases statistics, as part of the monthly Stage of Treatment (SoT) publication. This covers waits for new outpatient appointments under the 12-week standard, and for inpatient and day case admissions covered by the 12-week Treatment Time Guarantee (TTG). The latest statistics are published up to 30th June 2026 and can be found using the link below:

https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/stage-of-treatment-waiting-times/

Scotland’s NHS genomic laboratory service underpins the delivery of genomic medicine in Scotland and is critical to the delivery of the Genomics in Scotland strategy.

NHS National Services Directorate (NSD), the commissioner of NHS genomic testing in Scotland, leads a programme of laboratory transformation with funding from Scottish Government. Significant progress has been made in standardising best practice, data collection and laboratory costings, and through the implementation of new cancer testing as part of national end-to-end patient pathways.

NSD have produced a report and recommendations for the next phase of service reform for review by Board Chief Executives, which will be considered as part of our long-term approach to deliver bold and ambitious action to reform and renew our health and care systems in Scotland within a fiscal position that remains extremely challenging.

Throughout this process, we recognise the work of healthcare scientists working above and beyond in our NHS to provide critical services to the people of Scotland. We want to retain and nurture our existing workforce throughout any service redesign as we continue to work alongside NHS partners to make our laboratory service a more sustainable and innovative place to work.

Scottish Government worked with the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CSfD) to explore the potential benefit of applying our existing Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDSs) model for adults to children and young people. This exploratory work deduced that including children in the RCDS model would be unlikely to significantly improve earlier diagnoses beyond existing practice.

The Scottish Referral Guidelines (SRGs) for Suspected Cancer were revised in 2025 and included specific updates on supporting a diagnosis of cancer in children and young people specifically. This includes considerations for non-specific symptoms of cancer for under-18s, like those considered for Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDSs).

Understanding the unique support needs of children and young people with cancer is a priority for both the Scottish Government and the Managed Clinical Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MCN CYPC).

The number of children and young people diagnosed with cancer in Scotland is small compared to adult cancers, and due to small patient numbers, it is challenging to produce detailed, anonymised data. Special consideration is required for children who are under 16, because they require tailored resources to capture their unique treatment and care needs, while recognising the additional sensitivities involved for those under 16, relating to information governance requirements for children.

The MCN CYPC are continuing to work with NHS Scotland Health Boards to establish consistent national approaches for information governance and approval processes across Scotland, relating to data collection for children under the age of 16.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has advised that it is not possible to identify the number of Scottish-domiciled medical student places funded in each year prior to Academic Year (AY) 2013-14. Up to and including AY 2012-13, students from the rest of the UK (rUK) were eligible for funded places and the data cannot be disaggregated between Scottish-domiciled and rUK students.

The following figures therefore represent the total number of funded undergraduate medical student places available to student eligible for funding in each year. SFC advise that, following the removal of funded rUK places, the vast majority of funded places are held by Scottish-domiciled students, although eligibility is not solely restricted to Scottish-domiciled students.

Scottish Government engages with a range of stakeholders on matters relating to children and young people with cancer, These stakeholders include third sector organisations, the Managed Clinical Network for Children and Young People (MCN CYPC) and other clinical specialists as well as lived experience groups, who support and deliver cancer services for children and young people with cancer.

The Scottish Government recognises the impact that delays in diagnosis and treatment can have on people with obstructive sleep apnoea, as well as the wider consequences for health services and the economy.

NHS boards are responsible for the planning and delivery of sleep services to meet the needs of their local populations. The Scottish Government is supporting boards through investment to increase NHS capacity and reduce waiting times across services, including diagnostic and treatment pathways.

The 2026-27 Scottish Budget provides a record £22.5 billion for health and social care, alongside an additional £100 million to build on progress made through the Operational Improvement Plan. This investment will support the creation of additional NHS capacity and further reductions in waiting times, particularly for those who have been waiting the longest.

Through this investment and ongoing engagement with NHS boards, we are supporting improvements to referral, diagnostic and treatment pathways, including for patients referred to sleep services, with the aim of reducing waits and improving timely access to assessment and treatment for conditions such as obstructive sleep apnoea.

No formal review has been undertaken of the provision of sexual health clinics in rural areas. It is the responsibility of NHS Boards to ensure appropriate provision of services within their region.

As part of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan (2023 to 2026), Scottish Government officials carried out a programme of local area visits across all NHS Boards in Scotland. The purpose of these visits was to identify barriers to delivery and opportunities for improvement, including challenges associated with the provision of sexual health services in rural areas.

These visits have now concluded, and the learning and insights gathered will help inform the development of future sexual health policy, including the next Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan.

Everyone should be able to access the services they need, when and where they need them and that is why we have provided a record £17.6bn to territorial health boards for 2026-27.

Further to this, we are providing an additional £90 million investment in planned care to reduce waiting times. I refer the member to the answers to questions S7W-02165, S7W-02166 and S7W-02170 on 17 August 2026 and S7W-02168 on 20 August 2026.

Our Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework, as part of our wider Health and Social Care Reform Portfolio, sets out a ten-year strategic vision for reform focused on delivering sustainable health and social care services through prevention, integration, improved access, digital transformation and system redesign.

Following the election, work is underway to review and refresh programme priorities. Our Programme for Government will be put to Parliament in due course.

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.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to extend kinship care allowances to age 21.

We recognise, however, the importance of supporting young people in kinship care as they move into adulthood. Existing legislation allows local authorities, where they consider it appropriate, to provide an allowance to certain eligible young people in kinship care after they reach 16 and until age 18.

A range of other support is available to eligible care-experienced young people as they move into adulthood, including Continuing Care and Aftercare, depending on their individual circumstances and care history.