Chamber and committees

Any changes to the approved Forth Green Freeport tax sites, or changes to the legislative framework underpinning Green Freeport tax sites, is a reserved matter for the UK Government.

However, the Scottish Government would be willing to engage constructively with relevant partners should Forth Green Freeport seek to pursue this course of action.

For the purpose of this exercise we’ve included correspondence from MSPs on behalf of practices in their constituency, and one received from the RCGP representing practices from Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The results were as follow (a) 0 are direct from NHS boards (b) 6 are direct from practices (3 Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 2 Dumfries and Galloway, 1 Forth Valley). It should be noted that more than one correspondence may relate to the same practice.

Alongside our enterprise agency partners, we are always looking to improve our approach to attracting inward investment focusing on priority markets, pipeline development, investor aftercare and support for major investment projects. This will ensure Scotland remains an attractive destination for businesses looking to establish, expand or grow their operations, building on Scotland's position as the UK's top performing location outside London for inward investment for the eleventh consecutive year. We will continue to engage regularly with the UK Government on matters relating to investment, economic development and business growth.

The Tax Advisory Group (TAG), which was chaired by the previous Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, met from July 2023 and concluded with the previous parliamentary session.

Engagement remains an important part of policymaking, and I plan to engage with Parliament and wider stakeholders on tax policy including as part of Budget processes.

We have a strong record of engagement on tax policy beyond TAG, including the first Scottish Government conference on tax in September last year, and meetings with a range of organisations as part of the Budget process. Our second Tax Conference is planned for 24 September 2026.

Over the last few years the Scottish Government has updated a range of wildlife and nature conservation legislation. We do not have any plans to undertake further review of existing wildlife legislation, beyond existing statutory review and reporting requirements.

However, the Scottish Law Commission is currently undertaking a Nature Conservation Consolidation project, previously included in its Eleventh Programme of Law Reform. The project aims to bring together key pieces of nature conservation legislation, including legislation relating to wildlife and protected species, into a coherent and systematic body of law, helping to improve its accessibility and making it easier for the public, regulators and enforcement bodies to understand and apply.

Any proposals for new data centres would be subject to the statutory planning process, which would consider a range of factors including water resources, environmental impacts and wider infrastructure capacity. It is Scottish Ministers' expectation that new developments are designed and located in a way that supports long-term sustainability and water resilience.

Scotland's existing data centres account for a very small proportion of public water demand, and early engagement with developers is important to ensure proposals are aligned with local infrastructure and environmental considerations. There are opportunities for some future developments to make use of treated wastewater, helping to support economic growth while protecting drinking water supplies and the environment.

The Scottish Government's surge and resilience preparedness approach includes established monitoring, escalation and assurance arrangements to support NHS Boards and their partners in responding to periods of sustained operational pressure. These arrangements do not rely on any single intervention to deliver improvements in patient flow or hospital capacity.

Where pressures exceed local capacity, NHS Boards can implement local escalation procedures and access support through existing regional and national coordination arrangements. Alongside these arrangements, the Scottish Government is developing a National Flow Plan to support longer-term improvements in patient flow, occupancy management, delayed discharge and system resilience. The Scottish Government continues to work closely with NHS Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships to monitor pressures, support appropriate action and maintain safe and effective services.

The Scottish Government was pleased to note the publication of Breast Cancer Now’s Scotland Demands Change Report. It was positive to note that the charities two ambitions ‘quicker, earlier diagnosis to save and improve lives’ and ‘everyone getting the best care and support’ align closely with the ambitions laid out in the Cancer Strategy for Scotland 2023-2033.

Our work on earlier diagnosis includes our Detect Cancer Earlier Programme which takes a whole-systems approach to early detection and encompasses primary care, diagnostics, public education, data, innovation and screening.

Our work on ‘care and support’ includes our partnership Macmillan to improve the service we offer patients with cancer through the Transforming Cancer Care Programme (TCC) and our flagship Single Point of Contact programme which gives people with cancer a consistent contact throughout their treatment, enabling specialist staff to focus on complex clinical care.

The standards of care for cancer treatment are rightly developed independently of Scottish Government by those with the relevant clinical expertise.

The NHS Scotland Cancer Collaborative’s Clinical Management Pathways (CMPs) define national standards of care for cancer treatment. The CMP for breast cancer has incorporated the Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) Council’s 2023 independent recommendation on the use of commercial multigene assays for breast cancer patients across Scotland. SHTG have criteria and processes in place to judge whether new evidence is sufficient to revise its existing recommendations of these commercial tests. NHS genomic testing, delivered within our laboratory service, is nationally commissioned by NHS National Services Division to ensure equitable access across Scotland.

The Service Renewal Framework commits to increasing access to health and social care, including primary and community care. We are continuing to work with PSD Scotland to develop phase two of a rural and islands programme, consolidating work of the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care. We provide targeted support to General Practice through workforce initiatives, including the Golden Hello Scheme, ScotGEM, Rediscover the Joy and Rural Fellowships. While Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI) grants and Recruitment and Retention allowances are available to support and grow dental surgery numbers across Scotland, work is currently ongoing to revise these financial incentives to ensure they better target support for rural and island areas. Following a successful pilot with the Barra visiting optometry service, we will establish a framework to support eligible community optometry practices providing services in areas with limited access to NHS eye examinations.