Chamber and committees

Cross-portfolio working across directorates and policy areas is a key priority for this Government and there are existing governance structures which support this work. Specifically in relation to the national Good Food Nation Plan, we have committed to establishing mechanisms that enable working at government official as well as ministerial level. Specific accountability mechanisms will be established once the legal duty for Ministers to have regard to the national Good Food Nation Plan when exercising certain functions is in force. These mechanisms will include internal reporting requirements to record how regard was had to the national Good Food Nation Plan.

The Scottish Government understands the importance of age-specific cancer care for children and young people, this why we are the only UK nation to have a dedicated strategy for children and young people with cancer.

The Collaborative and Compassionate Cancer Care: cancer strategy for children and young people 2021–2026 runs until the end of 2026.

The Scottish Government is actively considering the next steps. We will engage with a range of stakeholders to inform potential futures approaches that will ensure that the voices and experiences of those most directly affected continue. This will also inform progress made through the current strategy, while identifying opportunities to further improve care, support and outcomes.

We offer a range of support to GPs to take up posts in rural and island settings.

This includes incentives such as the Golden Hello Scheme, which offers payments of up to £10,000 to GPs taking up eligible posts in rural and island settings.

ScotGEM is helping to build the rural medical workforce through its four-year graduate-entry medical degree programme, which focuses on rural medicine and General Practice. We also fund fellowships to help GPs to develop the right skills and experience required to work in, rural and island settings.

The Rediscover the Joy of General Practice programme enables experienced GPs to undertake placements in practices across rural and island areas which require additional short-term capacity.

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.