The Scottish Government is taking steps to improve early detection of type 1 diabetes in children through research, awareness initiatives, and clinical guidance.

Scotland contributed to the UK’s largest screening trial for children with type 1 diabetes, the ELSA study, which screened 20,000 children aged 3 to 13 for early markers of the condition. The findings will help inform future policy decisions.

Our Diabetes Improvement Plan sets out priorities for early diagnosis and prevention and is overseen by the Scottish Diabetes Group, which brings together clinical leaders and stakeholders to drive improvements in care.

A key commitment within the Plan is raising awareness of type 1 diabetes in primary care to ensure clinicians can recognise early signs and symptoms and act quickly.

The Scottish Diabetes Group works closely with the Diabetes Managed Clinical Network-Managers and Leads group to ensure frontline perspectives inform policy and practice. National clinical guidelines are regularly discussed at Scottish Diabetes Group meetings to reinforce best practice.

At its next meeting in March, the Scottish Diabetes Group will consider a suggestion brought forward by the Scottish Government, to promote awareness of the 4Ts (Toilet, Thirsty, Tired, Thinner) which are key symptoms of type 1 diabetes in children. We remain committed to improving early diagnosis and will continue to monitor emerging evidence to inform future policy decisions on diabetes care for children and young people.

The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards and healthcare professionals to follow relevant clinical guidelines when assessing children and to refer them for testing where clinically necessary.

Decisions on testing are a matter for clinicians, guided by national clinical standards, and it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to mandate this. In May 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence updated its diabetes guideline (NG18), which recommends that any child displaying symptoms such as excessive urination, thirst or tiredness should be referred immediately to paediatric diabetes services for diagnosis and care. This process includes appropriate testing to confirm diagnosis.

The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards and healthcare professionals to follow relevant clinical guidelines when assessing children and to refer them for testing where clinically necessary.

We encourage parents and carers to contact their GP urgently if their child is displaying symptoms.

We remain committed to improving early diagnosis and awareness among healthcare professionals and will continue to monitor emerging evidence to inform future policy decisions.

While Transport Scotland provides funding to support the development of active travel infrastructure, decisions on specific interventions, such as work to improve routes to schools, are made by local authorities in line with their statutory duties under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984. This includes assessing local needs, engaging with communities, and determining the most appropriate solutions for their area.

Local authorities can apply through our Active Travel Infrastructure Fund for active travel infrastructure schemes, including those for schools and these have in the past helped in some cases to deliver safer routes to schools and applications are currently open for 2026-27.

The Scottish Government have a long history of working with local authorities and COSLA to make sure council finances are sustainable and will continue to work with our partners across the public sector to address any budget challenges.

Alongside this, the Scottish Government will continue to work with our partners on how we operate and collaborate on reforming public services to ensure communities across Scotland continue to receive high quality, sustainable public services that they expect and deserve.

Scottish Information Commissioner Decision 279/2025 is now the subject of live litigation proceedings. The Scottish Government is therefore not in a position to provide further information at this time regarding any advice it may have received, or any costs associated with this.

Following publication of the Learning: For All. For Life. report in July 2024, the Scottish Government and COSLA accepted recommendation 1.1 of the report to set up a joint CLD Strategic Leadership Group (SLG) in December 2024. The SLG has made good progress since its inception and has identified taking action on ESOL as an immediate priority.

There are several pieces of work currently being undertaken which will feed into the work of the SLG and will inform the next steps on ESOL. This includes:

• a survey undertaken by COSLA in relation to the provision of ESOL for New Scots across local authorities;
• work being taken forward to address the issue of ESOL access and coordination for New Scots in line with the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy: Delivery Plan 2024-2026 commitment. This involves engagement with key stakeholders and partners to identify potential solutions for effective ESOL delivery across Scotland. This work is expected to be shared with the SLG in the first half of 2026;
• a thematic inspection of ESOL led by HM Inspectorate of Education and focussed on the experience of learners in accessing provision within communities and colleges as well as how providers respond to demand. A final report will be published in early 2026.

The SLG are also in the process of establishing a working-level Strategic Delivery Group which will take forward tangible actions linked to the priorities identified by the SLG, including on ESOL.

Noting the need for immediate action, and in direct response to recommendation 3.2, since 2024-25, over £1.2M in funding has been made available for a short-term intervention in Glasgow where evidence of high demand for ESOL is documented. In the 2024-25 academic year this enabled over 1000 learners in Glasgow to access English language classes. The aim of the funding in the 2025-26 academic year is to enable 800 learners to access or progress in their learning.

In 2025-26, a further £200,000 has been awarded to ESOL Scotland for a nationwide online ESOL pilot for up to 1,800 learners responding to the demand identified by the review report.

As set out under the Scottish Ministerial Code, the First Minister is the ultimate judge of the standards of behaviour expected of a Minister. The First Minister's Independent Advisers on the Scottish Ministerial Code have considered this matter fully and their report is now available at: Ministerial code investigation: complaint about Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs - gov.scot.

The First Minister has accepted the conclusions and recommendations of the report in full. A letter from the First Minister to the Justice Secretary can be found at: Ministerial Code investigation: First Minister letter to Justice Secretary - gov.scot.

Within the Scottish Government, funding of Health and Care Research comes under the remit of the Chief Scientist Office (CSO).

CSO funds research projects via its Translational Clinical Studies (TCS) Committee and the Health Improvement, Protection and Services Research (HIPS) Committee

Response Mode Funding Schemes – Chief Scientist Office

CSO funds capacity building research via its Fellowship Funding programmes

Fellowship Funding – Chief Scientist Office

Research funding is not allocated to any particular condition and CSO funds research across the clinical spectrum. All applications go through a process of independent expert review to allow funding decisions to be made. Applications on Motor Neurone Disease are welcomed and CSO's role is well known across the Health and Care research community in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving life expectancy and tackling health inequalities across the whole population.

During the development of Scotland’s Population Health Framework in 2024, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care met with Movember, a charity that raises awareness of men’s health issues, who expressed their support for the development of a men’s health plan for Scotland. Other organisations have also publicly called for the development of a men’s health strategy, following the UK Government’s publication of a Men’s health strategy for England.

While noting the views expressed by stakeholders, the Scottish Government is embedding action to improve men’s health across key areas, rather than developing a separate, standalone strategy. In doing so, it is focussed on delivering concrete actions to improve men’s health, by considering the impact on men’s health throughout policy development and service delivery across a range of key areas.

On 17 June 2025, the Scottish Government and COSLA published the Population Health Framework, which sets out a whole-system, cross-government and cross-sector approach to improving population health and reducing inequalities over the next decade. By focusing on prevention, early intervention, and the wider determinants of health and wellbeing, the Framework aims to reduce the persistent health inequalities experienced across all of society, recognising that social and economic disadvantage, place and other structural factors impact on long-term outcomes. The Framework includes 30 initial actions, including in areas that disproportionately affect men, such as a commitment to develop a Healthcare Inequalities Action Plan to improve access to, and equity within, healthcare services and the development of an Alcohol and Drugs Strategic Plan - building on the progress of the National Mission - which will be published this year. In addition, a new Suicide Prevention Action Plan, for 2026 – 2029, will be published shortly.

Moreover, in response to insights showing that men were less likely than women to contact their GP, the Scottish Government’s Be the Early Bird campaign, for detecting cancer earlier, has used specific strategies to reach men, reaching over two million men so far.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving life expectancy and tackling health inequalities across the whole population, and delivering concrete actions to improve men’s health across key areas rather than developing a separate standalone strategy.

On 17 June 2025, the Scottish Government and COSLA published the Population Health Framework, which sets out a whole-system, cross-government and cross-sector approach to improving population health and reducing inequalities over the next decade. By focusing on prevention, early intervention, and the wider determinants of health and wellbeing, the Framework aims to reduce the persistent health inequalities experienced across all of society, recognising that social and economic disadvantage, place and other structural factors impact on long-term outcomes. The Framework includes 30 initial actions, including in areas that disproportionately affect men, such as a commitment to develop a Healthcare Inequalities Action Plan to improve access to, and equity within, healthcare services and the development of an Alcohol and Drugs Strategic Plan - building on the progress of the National Mission - which will be published this year. In addition, a new Suicide Prevention Action Plan, for 2026 – 2029, will be published shortly.

Moreover, in response to insights showing that men were less likely than women to contact their GP, the Scottish Government’s Be the Early Bird campaign, for detecting cancer earlier, has used specific strategies to reach men, reaching over two million men so far.