Chamber and committees

Local authorities are independent statutory bodies with their own powers and responsibilities and are separate from the Scottish Government. It is for individual councils to determine how they engage with their communities, including the design and delivery of local consultation and feedback exercises.

The Scottish Government has funded 1,173 Foundation Year 1 training posts in Scotland for 2026-27, which includes the additional 72 posts announced previously. These posts have been made available through the national allocation process.

No additional places have been created in Scotland for applicants on the UK Foundation Programme reserve list. The Scottish Government has funded the number of Foundation Year 1 posts required to support medical training capacity in Scotland, while meeting the requirements of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026.

The final number of posts for the 2026-27 training year will not be confirmed until after the August start date, as applicants continue to complete pre-employment checks and General Medical Council registration requirements.

The Scottish Government recognises the vital role the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) plays in keeping communities safe. The 2026-27 budget provides an additional £23.8 million from the previous year, taking total funding to £436 million, demonstrating our continued support for SFRS to deliver the high standard of services required to keep Scotland safe.

The operational response and procedures relating to any fire is a matter for SFRS however, they have provided reassurances that all necessary training is provided to staff, to ensure they appropriately manage any incident, including those at waste recycling centres.

SFRS has set up a New and Emerging Risks Group that will consider, amongst other matters, lithium-ion batteries. The lithium-ion sub-group is made up of multiple internal and external partners (including Scottish Government officials) to identify any issues or concerns rising from this technology.

The Scottish Government encourages all victims and survivors to report sexual crimes, including those that may have happened some time ago.

On 2 June 2026 PSD Scotland published data on the number of Clinical Nurse Specialists across NHS Scotland for the first time since 2018, Clinical Nurse Specialists | Turas Data Intelligence. These data are published as Official Statistics in Development and PSD Scotland have a published plan to develop these into Official Statistics, New statistics on Clinical Nurse Specialists.

Through the Cancer Strategy and Cancer Action Plan, we are supporting NHS Scotland to improve access to named contacts for cancer patients, including through the Single Point of Contact (SPoC) approach. Evaluation has shown that SPoC services saved almost 4,000 hours of Clinical Nurse Specialist time over a 12-month period, enabling CNSs to focus on patients with more complex needs.

The 2024 Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey found that 93% of patients were given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist or other named contact during their care.

British Transport Police (BTP) is funded principally by the rail industry, including Train Operating Companies. ScotRail has continuedly met its funding obligations towards BTP. BTP distribution of funding is a matter for British Transport Police Authority (BTPA). Both of these organisations operate under the UK Government’s Department for Transport.

The previous Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop raised concerns with the BTPA about the impact of budget reductions in Scotland.

ScotRail has delivered a range of measures to tackle anti-social behaviour, including the expansion of its Travel Safe Team, which works closely with BTP to support staff and passengers on trains and at stations.

The Scottish Government established the Rail Enforcement Powers Working Group to consider further action to improve safety for passengers and staff. The Group published its final report and recommendations, which can be found here, and included a specific recommendation on preventing further reductions to BTP numbers in Scotland. The former Cabinet Secretary for Transport accepted these recommendations in full, with officials at Transport Scotland now considering the feasibility of these recommendations and how can they be delivered.

Operational policing decisions and workload considerations are for the Chief Constable who is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority - not to Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government works closely with local authorities to improve public services, deliver local and national priorities, and to support local area growth, investment and regeneration.

The Scottish Government recognises the pressure local services are under and that local authorities and their employees play a crucial role in our communities. That is why the 2026-27 Scottish Budget provides a further real-terms increase in the Local Government Settlement, delivering record funding of £15.7 billion, including a quarter of a billion pounds of unrestricted General Revenue Grant and full flexibility on council tax. In 2026-27, Inverclyde Council will receive £239 million to fund local services which equates to an extra £11.9 million or an additional 5.3% compared to 2025-26.

While decisions on longer term financial plans are matters for individual local authorities, the Scottish Government will continue to work with COSLA and Local Government in the context of Best Value to improve outcomes for communities and strengthen the long-term sustainability of local services.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of digital transformation in supporting efficient and sustainable local services. The Accounts Commission’s report highlights the benefits that can be achieved where councils take a strategic approach to digital modernisation and service redesign.

The Scottish Government support a range of sector-wide initiatives and in November 2025 the Scottish Government and Local Government published a joint strategic vision for digital in Scotland. The Sustainable Digital Public Services Delivery Plan was also published in 2025 and sets out the actions we will take to improve public services through greater use of digital technology, automation and service redesign. These programmes support councils to modernise administrative processes, improve customer experience and deliver better value for money.

While decisions on operational service delivery are matters for individual local authorities, the Scottish Government will continue to work with COSLA, the Digital Office and councils to support digital innovation and transformation that improves outcomes for communities and strengthens the long-term sustainability of local services.

NHS workforce planning is undertaken through established national and local workforce planning processes. Health Boards are responsible for workforce planning and ensuring they have the staffing required to deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations.