The Scottish Parliament

Question reference: S7W-03282

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of men in the NHS Dumfries and Galloway area were diagnosed with prostate cancer at stages 1 and 2 in each of the last five years, and what action is being taken to improve early diagnosis rates.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

The member may wish to consult Public Health Scotland’s Cancer Incidence Data Set publication. This is available at the following link: Cancer incidence in Scotland - to December 2024 - Cancer incidence in Scotland - Publications - Public Health Scotland.

Regarding early diagnosis, Our Detect Cancer Earlier Programme takes a whole-systems approach to early detection and encompasses primary care, diagnostics, public education, data, innovation and screening.

In addition, a clinically reviewed refresh of our Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer was published in August 2025. For this first time this now includes guidelines for key groups who should consider speaking to their GP about PSA testing from age 45.

The Scottish Government is continuing to take action to improve waiting times, with over £14m of the £135.5m in additional planned care funding for 2025-26 to Cancer Waiting Times, focussed on colorectal, urological and breast as our most challenged pathways.

Question reference: S7W-03010

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many helicopters it plans to have on standby in advance of the next wildfire season.

Deployment of specific firefighting assets, including aerial support, is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

There is currently a Public Sector Framework contract in place for the provision of helicopter services, including for the use of firefighting.

Although arrangements for the next wildfire season are currently under review, new improved standby arrangements will maximise the availability of aerial support, including wherever possible, the locality of that support.

Question reference: S7O-00284

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will increase support for research into brain tumour diagnostics and treatment.

Question reference: S7W-02895

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment at the Rural Affairs Committee on 2 September 2026 that the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board had ceased to exist, whether it will confirm (a) on what date the board was discontinued, (b) for what reason this decision was taken and (c) how its role will be replaced.

I wrote to members of the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board (ARIOB) in August to confirm that the Board would no longer continue. At that time members were informed that the Scottish Government was forming a new stakeholder group, the Land, Agriculture and Nature Delivery (LAND) Group which will be chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs.

The LAND Group will be multi-disciplinary, made up of 12 member organisations reflecting the mix of key interest areas. These include agriculture, forestry, peatland, biodiversity, wildlife and species management and water. It will meet three times a year and will take forward strategic discussions around how land use can be integrated to deliver the multiple benefits needed to achieve the wider ambitions of ‘Scotland PLC’ and its people.

The Land, Agriculture and Nature Delivery (LAND) Group is not intended to be a direct replacement for the ARIOB but instead reflects the strategic understanding of our land as an interactive system and the expanded responsibilities in the current Climate Action and Rural Affairs portfolio. This approach ensures our stakeholder engagement is structured to provide a truly holistic approach to land use issues.

Additionally, the Agriculture Policy Development Group (APDG), which was originally set up to support the ARIOB, has been expanded and has met a number of times since the last meeting of the ARIOB. I attended their meeting in May to make clear the APDG is an essential part of our engagement with the industry on agricultural reform and the Scottish Government will rely on it to help get us into the delivery phase of the Agricultural Reform Programme. I will chair the Group going forward and we will continue working towards positive outcomes for agriculture in Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-02894

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board last met.

Question reference: S7W-03009

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether its new Public Procurement Taskforce will include consideration of how to reduce barriers to venison being used more widely in public sector catering menus.

The Public Sector Food Procurement Taskforce has been established to make recommendations to Ministers on strengthening public sector food procurement of local food.

The Taskforce's remit includes identifying barriers to local procurement, considering the capacity and capability of Scottish producers and processors to meet public sector demand, and identifying opportunities to strengthen routes to market for local suppliers.

Whilst decisions on menu content are made locally, the Scottish Government is undertaking a range of activity to support greater uptake of venison across the public sector. The Scottish Government is already working with industry partners to support growth in the venison sector and explore opportunities to increase demand, including through public sector catering and procurement routes.

The Scottish Government is supporting activity to strengthen the Scottish venison sector and increase market opportunities. This includes funding of £75,000 in
2026-07 to Scottish Venison and Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS), for a range of marketing and supply chain activities including work to increase awareness of venison amongst public sector buyers.

Alongside this, recent awards through the Food and Drink Processing Scheme Scotland have provided over £200,000 to three venison processing businesses to support equipment and infrastructure upgrades.

Question reference: S7O-00226

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that waiting times for High Court trials are expected to almost triple by 2028.

Question reference: S7W-02438

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken any assessment of the impact of the Vision 3 GP clinical system on GP appointment capacity and, if so, what the findings were.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken an assessment of the impact of the Vision 3 GP clinical system on GP appointment capacity.

Responsibility for the delivery and operation of GP IT systems, including the Vision 3 migration programme, sits with Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSDS), which manages the national GP IT service on behalf of NHS Scotland.

Public Services Delivery Scotland has advised that some short-term disruption to practices has been reported following migration. In response, a number of enhancements to post-migration support arrangements have been implemented in conjunction with OneAdvanced to support practices during their transition to the Vision 3 system.

Question reference: S7W-02439

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any increase in average consultation times, administrative processing times or task completion times following migration to the Vision 3 GP clinical system.

The Scottish Government has not made an assessment of any increase in average consultation times, administrative processing times or task completion times following migration to the Vision 3 GP clinical system.

Responsibility for the delivery and operation of GP IT systems, including the Vision 3 migration programme, sits with Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSDS), which manages the national GP IT service on behalf of NHS Scotland.

Information on any assessments undertaken in relation to the operational impact of migration to Vision 3 may therefore be held by Public Services Delivery Scotland rather than the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S7W-02447

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its answer to question S7W-01392 by Angela Constance on 23 July 2026, which indicated that the Vision 3 GP clinical system is currently the only GP clinical system available through the national framework for the replacement of EMIS PCS in Scotland, what work is being undertaken to identify alternative suppliers and avoid single-supplier dependency in future IT provision for GP practices.

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Question reference: S7W-03282

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