Chamber and committees

We want patients to be treated as soon as possible. However, we know many are facing unacceptable waits and we are determined to do more. That is why we are targeting an additional £200 million to reduce waits and enhance capacity. Funding of £106m has already been agreed with Boards to improve waiting times during 2025-26.

We are also looking to optimise the full force of the £21.7 billion committed through the Scottish Budget to health and social care to improve performance.

We will continue to target resources to reduce waiting times, particularly for those waiting longest for treatment, through maximising productivity and additional resources.

This is all part of our programme to drive up productivity and tackle waiting lists, supported by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery. Together, our actions will further enable NHS Scotland to maximise capacity, build greater resilience and deliver reductions in the number of patients who have waited too long for treatment.

Scottish Ministers have asked the Marine Directorate to undertake a limited trial and pilot project with a number of inshore vessels to help gather further information to support a longer-term policy development on fishing for squid under the North Sea Cod Avoidance Plan (NCAP).

The squid pilot project will assess the likely impact of any future squid fishery through the collection of scientific data related to cod and other non-target stocks. Scottish Government will publish findings following evaluation of the pilot project.

The £60 million play park renewal funding is allocated to local authorities to use across their whole play estate. It is the responsibility of the individual Local Authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them based on local needs and priorities. The Scottish Government recognise that the extent of renewal and refurbishment will be influenced by local plans and investment priorities and engagement with children and young people.

As agreed with COSLA at the start of the funding programme in 2021, Local Authorities report annually on the number of renewals undertaken in their area at the end of April. Local Authorities are not required to list details of each renewal or the names or locations of every play park that has been renewed. However, in accordance with the agreed national principles and as per the reporting template agreed with COSLA, renewal work can include introducing new equipment, replacing existing equipment, extra seating, suitable surfaces, toilet facilities, planting, improved access points and circulation routes, water fountains and other suitable measures to make parks more inclusive, welcoming and enjoyable.

The Scottish Government worked with COSLA on the national principles for the play park renewal programme, which is used to guide Local Authorities’ renewal programme. The national principles set out how Local Authorities should review their existing estate, prioritise renewal work, and design play parks that offer improved play opportunities for children and families. The national principles state that access to play should be as wide-reaching and inclusive as possible, ensuring all children have access to play spaces where they feel safe and comfortable to use them.

The Scottish Government’s position on traditional fission nuclear energy is clear: we do not support the building of any new nuclear power stations under current technologies. Nuclear energy creates a legacy of radioactive waste, requiring complex and expensive long-term management to prevent environmental contamination and harm to the public.

New technologies such as the stable salt reactor are not yet proven. Should technologies emerge that can be proven to address the concerns with regard to safety, environment and value for money – then we will consider these further.

We must recognise that our health service has experienced unprecedented pressures over the past few years, including pandemic backlogs, staff shortages and the most difficult winter the NHS has ever faced, with the pausing of all non-emergency treatment inevitably leading to planned care delays and an increase in waiting times.

We have remobilised services but understand that activity levels are still lower than we would wish them to be. Patients requiring urgent care, including cancer treatment, are being prioritised. The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering reductions in waiting times.

Our Budget will provide a record £21.7 billion for health and social care. More than £106 million has been allocated to health boards to help tackle the longest waits for procedures and operations.

We are not able to provide you with this information as no stock assessments have been undertaken for squid in recent years.

The Scottish Government is considering the Soil Association’s review of their farmed salmon organic standards and is engaging with them in dialogue.

In response to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee inquiry on salmon farming in Scotland, we set out a broad range of actions we are taking alongside industry and regulators to enhance the development and sustainability of the sector. The Scottish Government is disappointed there was very limited consultation on the outcome of Soil Association’s review and proposals, in light of our work programme.

The Scottish Government recognises the crucial role innovation plays in enabling the sustainable development of Scottish aquaculture. We continue to work with our enterprise agencies, regulators and stakeholders to encourage innovation addressing challenges and creating opportunities for Scottish businesses.

For example, our Marine Fund Scotland awarded over £4.5 million to aquaculture projects in the year 2024-25, facilitating over £17 million of investment across the sector. In May 2024 the Scottish Government and Scottish Funding Council invested £1.5 million for the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) to deliver applied innovation projects to March 2026. We are also working with stakeholders to develop long term arrangements for innovation support.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) publishes statistics on the length of time patients wait to be seen as a new outpatient or admitted for treatment as an inpatient or day case in the Stage of Treatment (SoT) publication. The latest publication release contains data up to quarter ending 31 March 2025.

At 31 March 2025, there were 5,262 waits over two years for an outpatient appointment.

Trend information of the wait experienced by patients whilst still on the waiting list (ongoing waits) can be found in the ‘Waits over 52 weeks’ data table in sheets ‘Table 3.1.1’ for new outpatient appointments, and ‘Table 3.2.1’ for inpatient or day case admissions. The data is ongoing from 31 December 2019 onwards and can be filtered by health board and specialty: waits_over_52_weeks_may25.xlsx

In Scottish waters, Loligo forbesi have a spawning period extending from January to May, with the most intensive period from February to March. Loligo vulgaris are a rare sight in Scottish waters, being more commonly found in southern North Sea and the English Channel, and they spawn during December to April (with a peak between December and February).

Sources:

Graham J. Pierce, Peter R. Boyle, Lee C. Hastie, Linda Key (1994) The life history of Loligo forbesi (Cephalopoda: Loliginidae) in Scottish waters. Fisheries Research, 21(1–2,) pp. 17-41, ISSN 0165-7836.

Vladimir Laptikhovsky, A Louise Allcock, Leigh Barnwall, Christopher Barrett, Gavan Cooke, Christian Drerup, Christopher Firmin, Sophie Lozach, Eleanor MacLeod, Daniel Oesterwind, Michael Petroni, Jean-Paul Robin, Edel Sheerin, Anne-Marie Power, Graham J Pierce (2022), Spatial and temporal variability of spawning and nursery grounds of Loligo forbesii and Loligo vulgaris squids in ecoregions of Celtic Seas and Greater North Sea, ICES Journal of Marine Science,79 (6), 1918–1930, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsac128.

The Scottish Government is focused on delivering for people across the country and making the case for taking decisions in Scotland for Scotland with independence.

The Scottish Government will publish further material on independence to give the people of Scotland the information they need to make an informed choice about their constitutional future. We are not planning an independence convention this summer.