Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises the significant impact that preventable ill health and premature mortality have on men across Scotland. Improving population health and reducing health inequalities, including those experienced by men, therefore remains a key priority.

The Scottish Government's approach is set out through a range of national strategies and frameworks, including the Population Health Framework, the Programme for Government and Scottish Government's wider programme of health and social care reform.

Last year, the Scottish Government and COSLA published the Population Health Framework, which sets out a cross-government, cross-sector approach to improving population health and reducing inequalities over the next decade. In addition, Scottish Government's Programme for Government places a strong emphasis on the need to shift towards prevention and early intervention. This includes action to address alcohol and drug-related harm and to encourage healthier lifestyles among men, helping to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and poor mental wellbeing.

Scottish Government are also supporting targeted action to improve men's health outcomes through initiatives delivered with a range of partners, including increased investment in suicide prevention; continued investment in SAMH’s Extra Time programme; the ‘Be the Early Bird’ campaign to detect cancer early which uses targeted marketing to ensure it reaches men in places they spend their time; and benefiting from the impact of Minimum Unit Pricing policy - where the largest estimated reductions in deaths and hospital admissions wholly attributable to alcohol were among men and those living in the 40% most deprived areas in Scotland.

Embedding prevention across public services is fundamental to improving population health outcomes for individuals and securing the long-term sustainability of Scotland's health and care system.

In the last three years, the Scottish Government has provided NHS Dumfries and Galloway with baseline funding as follows.

2026/27 - £462.8 million

2025/26 - £425.4 million

2024/25 - £364.7 million

Whilst the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care support policy in Scotland, the delivery of mental health services is the responsibility of local territorial Health Boards and Integration Joint Boards (IJBs). We expect Health Boards and IJBs to provide high-quality mental health services to their local areas that meet the needs of their communities.

In addition to this, £1,427,339 has been allocated to Third Sector organisations in the NHS Dumfries and Galloway area through the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults. The following amounts have been provided in each year:

2026-27 - £450,372

2025-26 - £532,303

2024-25 - £444,664

The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults supports a wide range of valuable community mental health projects, including those focused on men’s mental health and suicide prevention. It aims to build resilience, reduce the need for clinical interventions and improve mental wellbeing within communities.

The Fund is distributed in all 32 local authority areas of Scotland by Third Sector Interface (TSI) organisations who, working in collaboration with other local partners, are responsible for determining and allocating the funding to local community initiatives which support mental health and wellbeing. This is based on local priorities and in line with their local partnership plans.

There is a large amount of data collected and published on men’s health given the inclusion of a sex variable in most data collections, where applicable. Public Health Scotland report on a wide range of health conditions and outcomes for Scotland, and routinely make information available at NHS board level. Their current and future planned publications can be viewed and downloaded here:

https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/

National Records of Scotland (NRS) also release information on population and mortality figures, in some instances with a sex and NHS health board breakdown. A list of NRS current and future publications can be found here:

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/

Details of men’s health for a range of outcomes and conditions by NHS board areas are already available through various products such as the Scottish Health Survey dashboard and the ScotPHO area profiles. Links are provided here:

Scottish Health Survey dashboard

https://scotland.shinyapps.io/sg-scottish-health-survey/.

ScotPHO profiles dashboard

https://www.scotpho.org.uk/comparative-health/profiles/online-profiles-tool

The Scottish Government recognises that high-quality mountain biking infrastructure is essential to maintaining Scotland's position as a leading destination for the sport.

Through the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, the Scottish Government has committed to investing £5 million across the south of Scotland in the 7Stanes mountain biking trails, subject to business case approval.

In addition, through sportscotland's Cycling Facilities Fund, the Scottish Government has supported investment in cycling infrastructure across Scotland, including £322,710 for Dalbeattie Community Initiative's Rocks and Wheels project in Dumfries and Galloway.

The Scottish Government continues to support the development of mountain biking infrastructure through sportscotland and its partners. This includes providing core funding to Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland, which leads delivery of the Scottish Mountain Bike Strategy, as well as working with partners to support the development, improvement, and maintenance of Scotland's trail network. Through this support, and by working with local communities and stakeholders to identify opportunities for future investment, we are helping to further strengthen Dumfries and Galloway's position as a world-class mountain biking destination.

The Scottish Government has made no direct estimate of the economic cost of poor male health outcomes in Dumfries and Galloway.

Last year, the Scottish Government and COSLA published the Population Health Framework, with a whole-system, cross-sector approach to improving life expectancy and reducing health inequalities, including action in key areas that disproportionately affect men.

As noted in the Framework, maximising access to workplace support services, including online self-help at Healthy Working Lives and case management through Working Health Services Scotland, has the potential to significantly contribute to men’s health outcomes, through prevention of worsening ill health and active participation in labour market.

As part of the Population Health Framework, Scottish Government monitors outcomes using a range of tools including the ScotPHO Profiles tool (ScotPHO profiles) and the Scottish Health Survey (Scottish Health Survey). Both can be used to view outcomes for males in Dumfries and Galloway, among other breakdowns.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of baselining centralised funding for Hybrid Closed Loop technology on the delivery of the ambitions set out in Scotland's Population Health Framework 2025-2035.

We recognise the benefits of Hybrid Closed Loop systems in supporting diabetes management and reducing the risk of long-term complications. NHS Boards are expected to provide access to these technologies in line with clinical guidance and the needs of their local populations.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to review the legislation relating to responsible non-motorised access rights or the associated guidance, the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC). Responsible behaviour is fundamental to Scotland’s access rights framework, established under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, and further defined and promoted through the SOAC. The 3 key principles of SOAC - that people should respect the interests of other people, care for the environment, and take responsibility for their own actions – remain valid.

We know that the vast majority of people who exercise access rights do so responsibly and in accordance with the SOAC. At the same time, we are acutely aware of the impacts that irresponsible or anti-social behaviour can have on land owners and land managers, including gamekeepers, and the challenges that such behaviour can create for the effective management of land. However, it is important that the irresponsible actions of a minority do not diminish the hard-won access rights that are exercised responsibly by the overwhelming majority of users.

Walkers visiting areas which may be affected by deer-stalking should always consult the Heading for the Scottish Hills website or seek local information, where available, about deer stalking activity taking place that day so that they can plan their route to avoid disturbing any deer management taking place.

Local and national park authorities (access authorities) and NatureScot continue to work with land managers, and stakeholder organisations to promote responsible access and responsible land management, ensuring that Scotland’s access rights framework continues to balance the interests of those enjoying the outdoors with those who live and work on the land. Where new trends, activities or issues emerge, additional guidance is developed and published by NatureScot and the National Access Forum to provide timely clarification and advice. This approach enables emerging challenges to be addressed quickly and proportionately without the need for a full review of the SOAC or legislative change.

The Scottish Government is aware of three economic impact assessments undertaken for the 7stanes mountain bike network in 2004, 2007 and 2012. Those studies found that the network generated significant economic benefits for the South of Scotland, including Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders.

The most recent assessment, undertaken in 2012, estimated that the 7stanes network generated approximately £11 million of net additional visitor expenditure across the South of Scotland and helped attract almost 400,000 visits annually, with around 82% of visitors originating from outside the region.

The studies also found that the network supported local businesses, increased overnight stays and contributed to employment in rural communities.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a more recent economic impact assessment of the 7stanes network.

The Scottish Government committed to begin engagement on the Rural Renewal Bill within our first 100 Days, commencing on 18 June as the First Minister announced at the Royal Highland Show. Over the summer we have engaged with people, communities and organisations across rural Scotland to understand priorities and experiences.

Consultation will continue to take place throughout the Bill process. The Government’s future legislative programme will be announced as part of the Programme for Government.

While no specific assessment has been undertaken, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) recognise that prolonged closures can affect visitor experiences and continues to prioritise restoration and investment where resources and operational circumstances allow.

Trails are closed to protect public safety. Safety reasons include tree harvesting, trail failures, windblown or unsafe trees.

Where possible, diversions are provided to minimise disruption to visitors, although recovery from major storm events can take several years.

Trail maintenance priorities continue to be informed by safety, visitor demand, impacts of storm recovery and tree health interventions. In South Scotland, currently, 96% of FLS formal trails (walking and cycling) are open, with only 3% closed for forest operations and 1% for other safety reasons.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the 7stanes network to local communities, recreation and the rural economy. The long-term approach is to maintain the area as a nationally significant mountain biking destination while targeting investment towards sustainable infrastructure, visitor facilities and partnership-based delivery models.

FLS continues to plan for the future of the 7stanes through Frameworks for Recreation Investment developed with local communities, local authorities and other partners. Frameworks have been completed for Dalbeattie, Newcastleton, Glentrool and Kirroughtree, with work planned for Ae and Mabie.

This is supported by wider investment and development activity, including the £6.0 million Glentress Masterplan, exploration of long-term management options for Glentress and Innerleithen, and development of a Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal business case that could support up to £5.0 million of investment in Dalbeattie and Newcastleton. FLS also remain a key partner in delivering the Mountain Bike Strategy for Scotland and the South of Scotland Cycling Strategy.