Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises the value of social care support to all who require additional support in living independently at home or in the community and appreciate the concerns that may arise following changes to this support.

Under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships have a duty to assess the social care support needs of people both in hospital and the community, and decide in light of that assessment, to arrange or re-instate suitable services, if required.

While the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care support policy in Scotland, it is Local Government who have the statutory responsibility to record and share decisions affecting a person’s choices and support, and to ensure that any decisions are made in line with the Self-directed Support (SDS) principles and duties set out in the statutory guidance.

Local Government will operate local eligibility criteria to prioritise responses to changes in care packages and reassessments based on risk and complexity of need. The eligibility criteria will usually prescribe standard waiting times for assessments, reassessment and reviews, including for exceptional and urgent circumstances, such as hospital admissions, individuals at risk and additional support for unpaid carers.

(a) Data on the number of adult social care packages which have been initiated is not held centrally.

Numbers of new personal care clients were previously collected and published annually until 2022-23. Data was based on one quarter of data (January to March), each year and was available at local authority (LA) level, although not all LAs were able to provide the information:

Social care: eligibility criteria and waiting times Scotland 2022-2023 - gov.scot.

Due to difficulties faced by LAs in providing the data requested, including issues with consistency and comprehensiveness, this data collection has been paused while SG work with Public Health Scotland to explore ways to obtain more robust data.

(b) Data on adult social care packages which have been cancelled is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

We are committed to ensuring that children and young people are equipped with the skills, knowledge and understanding to successfully navigate a world where AI permeates all aspects of society.

The current curriculum includes digital literacy which allows teachers to develop learners’ skills in the use of digital tools, including AI.

Work to consider and update all curriculum areas as part of the Curriculum Improvement Cycle, including Technologies, is underway. The Cycle will consider cross-curricular expectations, including digital literacy and political literacy and will involve input from a range of academic and industry experts, ensuring that our thinking reflects best practice in what is a fast moving and complex area.

In recognition of the challenges and opportunities that AI poses for teaching and learning, we have been pleased to provide funding to the University of Edinburgh to develop resources to support the teaching of AI across several subject areas.

Work also continues at pace to develop AI guidelines and guardrails for teachers on the ethical use of AI in schools. We hope to publish this in the coming months.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41944 on 1 December 2025, Education Scotland are currently reviewing the curriculum in line with the Curriculum Improvement Cycle programme. As part of this review, work is taking place to review the place of financial education within the curriculum. 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 engagement to date has included a series of collaborative sessions involving a broad range of practitioners, stakeholders, and academics, including representatives from the Money and Pensions Service, the Scottish Qualifications Authority, the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association, the National Association of Student Money Advisers, and Money Ready. These sessions have examined the current landscape of financial education, drawing on evidence-based research, and have initiated planning on how financial education might be effectively integrated into the Scottish curriculum to promote a coherent and equitable approach.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of Financial Education in equipping learners with key life skills. Financial literacy is embedded in the curriculum in Scotland through numeracy and maths, business studies and personal and social education classes. Financial Education is a key feature of Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes for Numeracy and Mathematics, assisting learners in making decisions about managing money, ensuring best value and budgeting. Credit, debt, earnings and deductions are also included within the curriculum alongside effectively managing money, making appropriate use of technology and appreciating the importance of budgeting.

Education Scotland provides professional learning resources enabling educators to reflect on their own understanding and knowledge in supporting learning and teaching about money. In addition, a wide range of teaching resources are provided by the private and Third Sector. These include Barclays Life Skills, financial education guidance from the Money & Pension Service and the work of the charity, Money Ready.

Education Scotland are currently reviewing the curriculum in line with the Curriculum Improvement Cycle programme. As part of this review, work is taking place to review the place of financial education within the curriculum. Education Scotland are engaging with a wide range of practitioners and stakeholders, including children and young people, to review current Financial Education teaching and practice and plan how it can most effectively be integrated into the curriculum, ensuring an equitable approach.

The Scottish Government is confident that NHS 24 adheres to robust clinical protocols, including regular clinical audits and staff training, to ensure that patients requiring care beyond the 111 service receive appropriate advice and follow-up support. The Scottish Government monitors these processes through regular engagement with NHS 24.

The Scottish Government does not collect or hold data on the number of patients who make multiple calls to the NHS 24 111 service. The service operates as a clinical triage and advice service, and repeat contacts can occur for a range of legitimate reasons. These may include changes in a patient’s symptoms, clarification of previous advice, or the need for further support following an initial call. As such, without specific data collection, it is not possible to determine whether the number of repeat calls has increased since 2020.

Improving access to primary care is a key priority for this Government. We recognise the vital role that GPs, community nurses, pharmacists, dentists and other members of the primary care team play as the foundation of healthcare in our communities.

We are committed to strengthening the whole primary care system, building on our ongoing commitment through the Service Renewal Framework to shift more care into community settings and make services more accessible for patients.

As part of this, we will develop options for new and innovative ways to improve access to primary care, including local walk-in models which will provide more flexibility for patients. It is our intention to develop proposals for a model would see these services open Monday-Sunday. We will develop these proposals first as a pilot model which will complement current core general practice and provide a range of same-day assessment and small-scale diagnostics. To do this we will work in collaboration with NHS Boards and primary care delivery partners to ensure they strengthen, rather than duplicate, existing primary care services.

The Scottish Government will set out further details as these plans develop.

The Scottish Government continues to invest in and support NHS 24 as a vital part of Scotland’s health and care system. Over the past two financial years, NHS 24 has received more than £26.9 million in additional funding to increase its capacity and improve patient access.

More than 100 new call handlers have been recruited, bringing staffing close to full levels to reduce handling times and manage demand.

Additionally, NHS 24 launched its digital transformation programme on 21 October 2025 to modernise services, improve patient experience, streamline clinical pathways, and ensure faster access to appropriate care.