Chamber and committees

In NHS Scotland we have two cancer waiting times standards. These are:

• A 31-day standard from decision to treat until first treatment regardless of the route of referral.
• A 62-day standard from urgent referral with suspicion of cancer, including referrals from national cancer screening programmes, until first treatment.

For people with cancer, focussing on the cancer waiting times standards of 62 days from urgent referral to first treatment and 31 days from decision-to-treat to first treatment is supporting NHS Boards to consider how they best speed up the diagnostic pathway and reduce the period of uncertainty that can exist whilst trying to establish a diagnosis. The first treatment standards also provide assurance that any appropriate immediate measures are being started as soon as possible.

Our Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023 – 2026 includes a commitment to carry out a clinically led review of cancer waiting times. This will determine whether there is merit in additional or alternative standards.

This review, being led by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery, has been initiated with evidence reviews being commissioned through key partners such as Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and Cancer Research UK.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken work to this end.

It is important to note that there is no single nationally agreed Scottish definition of ‘rapidly progressing cancer’ or ‘aggressive cancer’. Whilst clinicians may use terms such as these on occasion to support patients understand their diagnosis, they are not recognised as clinical descriptors.

However, our Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023 – 2026 includes a commitment to carry out a clinically led review of cancer waiting times. This will determine whether there is merit in additional or alternative standards, including for different types of cancer.

This review, being led by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery, has been initiated with evidence reviews being commissioned through key partners such as Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and Cancer Research UK.

The Scottish Government expects primary care clinicians to refer to the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer (SRGs) when reviewing an individual with any suspected cancer symptom.

Our Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Pathways, operational in six health boards across Scotland, provide primary care clinicians with access to a fast-track diagnostic pathway for people with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer, such as weight loss and fatigue.

For all other individuals with symptoms of cancer, the Scottish Government would expect primary care clinicians to refer to the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer (SRGs). A clinical review of SRGs has been completed with updated guidance published on 6 August 2025

There is no single nationally agreed Scottish definition of ‘rapidly progressing cancer’ or ‘aggressive cancer’. Whilst clinicians may use terms such as these on occasion to support patients understand their diagnosis, they are not recognised as clinical descriptors.

Public Health Scotland reports cancer stage using standard stage groups one to four, with Stage One and Two typically classified as early-stage disease and Stage Three and Four as late-stage disease. Cases where stage cannot be assigned are reported as unknown stage.

The data on cancer waiting times is routinely published by Public Health Scotland and available on its website.

The cost of waking watch measures implemented in buildings affected by unsafe cladding are as follows:

1.The total cost to date has been circa £6.5m.

2.The total budgeted costs for the 2026-27 Financial year are £1.2m.

3.The average monthly cost is £166,948.

(Period covered in relation to total cost (1) and average cost (3) is from March 2023 to July 2026. Budgeted costs for 2026-27 (2) could be subject to change as part of the annual budget process).

Scottish Government has directly met all of these costs.

Following annual reviews of the number of specialty training places needed to meet anticipated future service demand and consultant need, the Scottish Government has funded the creation of approximately 850 additional posts across multiple specialities since 2014, including in clinical and medical oncology and key surgical specialties. Over the last ten years we have increased the Consultant Oncologists workforce by 46% (from 97.5 WTE as of March 2016 to 142.2 WTE as of March 2026). The number of consultants working in surgical fields relevant to cancer care stood at 1,096.1 WTE as at 31 March 2026. This is an increase of 28%, or 242.3 WTE, over the last decade.

The University of Strathclyde was invited by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD), following a competitive procurement process, to evaluate Scotland’s RCDSs in November 2021. This aimed to better understand their role in detecting cancer and ensure optimal components are embedded in future models, with an interim report published November 2022.

A final report, published February 2024, following a two year period shows that they’re achieving what they set out to do – find cancer – while delivering a high standard of quality care at speed.

As stated in the response to S7W-01350 on 8 July 2026, The Scottish Government has commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland to undertake an independent scalability assessment of our Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service Pilots. This project will explore what our options are to expand access to non-specific symptom pathways for cancer in the most efficient and effective way, ensuring we reach population level coverage.

This initial phase of work is due to be complete by Spring 2027 after which point the we will work with Healthcare Improvement Scotland, the Centre for Sustainable Delivery and NHS Boards to develop an appropriate plan for service expansion.

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.

Aggressive cancer is not a term recognised or used in NHS Scotland. This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.